Today’s first word, sha•ah, an hour, was not a time unit in the Old Testament. It is mentioned several times, though, in the New Testament and with much precision: “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). The word was adopted into Hebrew from Aramaic probably around the time of Jesus. It has another related meaning in Hebrew, ‘time’. This could be an undefined term and may be used to indicate a specific time, such as a certain hour or even a day, such as in this example:
“On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, ‘Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you'”
Today’s second word, da•ka, a minute, is not mentioned in the Bible at all. It comes from the word ‘dak,’ which means ‘thin’ or ‘little’. The meaning of the word in English is identical, and it comes from the Latin word ‘minuta,’ which means ‘little.’
An expression made from sha•ah, hour.
The common expressions in Hebrew ‘what’s the time?’ and ‘the time is…’ make use of the word ‘sha•ah.’ We learned a few days ago the word ‘what.’ Do you remember it?
OK, it is ‘ma.’ So, ‘what’s the time?’ is ‘ma ha•sha•ah?’ (‘ha’ means ‘the’), and ‘the time is…’ is simply ‘ha•sha•ah…’ (followed by the number). Note that there is no need in Hebrew for the word ‘o’clock.’
Shalom David,
ma ha•sha•ah?
Shalom Dena,
ha•sha•ah arba.
Toda, David
Please don’t say that you did not understand this!
Recent Comments