Morning

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

A — 1: Πρωΐα (Strong'S #4405 — Adjective — proios — pro-ee'-ah )

"early, at early morn" (from pro, "before"), is used as a noun in the feminine form proia, "morning" in  Matthew 27:1;  John 21:4 (in some mss. in   Matthew 21:18;  John 18:28 , for B, No. 1, which see). Its adjectival force is retained by regarding it as qualifying the noun hora, "an hour," i.e., "at an early hour."

A — 2: Πρωϊνός (Strong'S #4407 — Adjective — proinos — pro-ee-nos' )

a later form of No. 1, qualifies aster, "star," in  Revelation 2:28;  22:16 (where some mss. have No. 3). That Christ will give to the overcomer "the morning star" indicates a special interest for such in Himself, as He thus describes Himself in the later passage. For Israel He will appear as "the sun of righteousness;" as the "morning" Star which precedes He will appear for the rapture of the church.

A — 3: Ὄρθριος (Strong'S #3721 — Adjective — orthrinos | orthrios — or'-three-os )

"pertaining to dawn or morning," in some mss. in  Revelation 22:16 (see No. 2); see Dawn , B, Note.

B — 1: Πρωΐ (Strong'S #4404 — Adverb — proi — pro-ee' )

"early," is translated "in the morning" in  Matthew 16:3;  20:1 (with hama, "early"); 21:18;   Mark 1:35;  11:20;  13:35;  15:1 "early" in   Mark 16:2 (with lian, "very;" AV, "early in the morning"); 16:9;   Matthew 21:18 and   John 18:28 (in the best texts for A, No. 1); 20:1;   Acts 28:23 (with apo, "from").

C — 1: Ὄρθρος (Strong'S #3722 — Noun Masculine — orthros — or'-thros )

denotes "daybreak, dawn,"  Luke 24:1;  John 8:2;  Acts 5:21; see Dawn , B.

D — 1: Ὀρθρίζω (Strong'S #3719 — Verb — orthrizo — or-thrid'-zo )

"to do anything early in the morning," is translated "came early in the morning," in  Luke 21:38 .

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

A. Noun.

Bôqer ( בֹּקֶר , Strong'S #1242), “morning.” This word occurs about 214 times and in every period of biblical Hebrew.

This word means “morning,” though not the period of time before noon. Rather it indicates the point of time at which night is changing to day or that time at the end of night: “And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts” (Exod. 10:13).

Bôqer can represent the time just before the rising of the sun. In Judg. 19:25 we read that the men of Gibeah raped and abused the Levite’s concubine “all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go” (cf. Ruth 3:13). In the ancient Near East the night was divided into three watches. The last period of the night was called the morning watch (Exod. 14:24). It lasted from 2:00 A.M. until sunrise, and in such a context the word indicates this period of time.

Bôqer can mean “daybreak” or “dawn.” In Exod. 14:27 it is reported that the water of the Red Sea “returned to his [normal state] when the morning appeared [literally, “at the turning of the morning”].” Bôqer is used as a synonym of “dawn” in Job 38:12: “Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place …?”

Sometimes bôqer appears to mean “early morning,” or shortly after daybreak: “And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them and, behold, they were sad” (Gen. 40:6). Thus, Moses “rose up early in the morning” and went up to Mount Sinai; he arose before daybreak so he could appear before God in the “morning” as God had commanded (Exod. 34:2, 4). In the “morning” Jacob saw that his bride was Leah rather than Rachel (Gen. 29:25; cf. 1 Sam. 29:10).

As the opposite of night the word represents the entire period of daylight. The psalmist prays that it is good “to show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night” (Ps. 92:2), in other words, to always be praising God (cf. Amos 5:8).

In Ps. 65:8 bôqer represents a place, specifically, the place where the sun rises: “They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.”

At least once the word appears to represent the resurrection: “Like sheep they [the ungodly] are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning …” (Ps. 49:14).

Bôqer can mean “morrow” or “next day.” This meaning first appears in Exod. 12:10, where God tells Israel not to leave any of the Passover “until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire” (cf. Lev. 22:30).

B. Verb.

Bâqar ( בָּקַר , Strong'S #1239), “to attend, bestow care on, seek with pleasure.” Although this verb is found only 7 times in biblical Hebrew, it occurs in early, middle, and late periods and in both prose and poetry. The word has cognates in Arabic and Nabataean. Some scholars relate to this verb the noun bâqar , “herd, cattle, ox.”

In Lev. 13:36 bâqar means “to attend to”: “… If the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair.…” The word implies “to seek with pleasure or delight” in Ps. 27:4: “… to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Morning — Matthew 16:3;  Matthew 20:1;  Matthew 27:1,  Mark 11:20;  Mark 13:35;  Mark 16:2; cf.  Matthew 28:1,  Luke 24:1,  John 20:1. There was no exact division of the day into parts among the Jews until after the Exile. The broad divisions current were ‘evening,’ ‘morning,’ and ‘mid-day,’ which followed this order usually, after the Jewish method of reckoning the day prevailed ‘with the triumph of the Law.’ The Roman division of the night into four ‘watches,’ extending from six o’clock to six o’clock, is brought into striking view in  Mark 13:35, where ὀψέ (in the evening), μεσονύκτιον, (at midnight), and ἀλεκτοροφωνίας (at cock-crowing), are given in connexion and contrast with πρωῑ̔ (in the morning). The passages in the Gospels in which πρωῑ̔ (morning) plays the most interesting and puzzling part are those connected with the visit of the women to the sepulchre after the resurrection of Jesus ( Matthew 28:1,  Mark 16:2,  Luke 24:1, and  John 20:1). Here Mt. has ‘late on the sabbath’ (Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885), while Mk. says ‘very early on the first day of the week,’ and Jn. while it was yet dark.’ No explanation will prove satisfactory to all. But Mt.’s ‘late on the sabbath’ may be taken as reckoning the following night as a part of the Sabbath—a departure from Jewish usage (Meyer). In short, we may suppose that the Babylonian method of adding diurnally the night to the day, rather than the day to the night (Israelitish), had come at this time, more or less, into common use among the Jews, so that there were two ways of reckoning complete astronomical days; namely, first, by ‘night-days,’ and, secondly, by ‘day-nights.’ Then we need only to suppose Mt. to be thinking of the ‘day-night,’ and the difficulty vanishes; for ‘late’ in that ‘day-night’ would mean about the end of the night which followed the end of the Sabbath. This would accord perfectly with Mk.’s note of time, ‘very early on the first day of the week.’ Another solution of the difficulty is suggested by J. H. Moulton ( Prolegomena , p. 72), that, according to the usage represented in the papyri, Mt.’s words rendered in Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ‘late on the sabbath,’ should be rendered ‘late from the sabbath,’ which is equivalent to saying ‘after the sabbath.’ This, too, would bring the words into harmony with those of Mark and John.

Geo. B. Eager.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

There would have required no notice of this word in a work of this kind, had the mere sense of the meaning of the word morning been all that was intended; but the Scriptures of God have so often made use of the term in a figurative way, and yet more than that, have made so many beautiful allusions to Jesus under the metaphor of the morning, that I could not allow myself to pass it by without offering upon it a short observations It would be too extensive to notice all the places in both the sacred volumes where Christ is spoken of as the light of the morning, and the day-spring from on high, and the morning star, and the like; I shall only beg to select one passage, among the many, in proof of the similitude, and that from among the last words of David, ( 2 Samuel 23:4.) where, speaking of Christ, he saith, "And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun ariseth, even a morning without clouds." There never surely was a more beautiful, a more just, more enlivening representation or figure of the Lord Jesus than what those words have given. In himself Jesus is all this, and infinitely more. One with the Father and the Holy Ghost, he is the first cause of life, light, and glory; incomprehensibly so, the fountain, source, and origin of all that constitutes these infinite and eternal perfections. And in his mediatorial character and office, he is essentially so, the light and life of his people. So that when, in the eternal council of peace, he arose, to enlighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of his people Israel, he arose, as this Scripture represents him, as "the tight of the morning, when the sun ariseth, even a morning without clouds." For in himself he is a sun without a spot, a light in which there is no shade, a perfection of glory and beauty without alloy. A morning without clouds is a strong figure to denote Christ's person, and not more strong than just; for the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ are complete glories; nothing enters into them of an opposite quality. In the excellencies of creatures there are certain properties which enter, into their composition, and which prove their imperfection; indeed their very nature implies as much. The portrait, however beautiful, must have a shade. But not so with the Lord Jesus. He is a morning without a cloud. One of the old Puritan writers of the sixteenth century, calls him, a sea of sweetness, without one drop of gall."

And as Jesus is all this and infinitely more in himself, so is he in all that he is to his people. His love, his grace, his salvation, all are as "a morning without a cloud." There is nothing of mixture or imperfection in what he is to them, in what he hath done for them, and what he will be to them, and with them in glory to all eternity, His covenant is ordered in all things and sure; his salvation is an everlasting salvation. So that from the first dawn of grace in their hearts until that grace is consummated in glory, the Lord Jesus is a sun that no more goeth down, a morning without a cloud; for he not only giveth light, but is himself their light, and their God, their glory. Surely no figure comes up to our Lord Jesus with an exactness more full and complete than the beautiful one the Holy Ghost hath given by his servant David, "he shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, eveen a morning without clouds!"

Think of Jesus under this sweet figure, I beseech you, reader; yea, never lose sight of him if possible. Jesus is a morning indeed without a cloud.

King James Dictionary

MORN'ING, n.

1. The first part of the day, beginning at twelve o'clock at night and extending to twelve at noon. Thus we say, a star rises at one o'clock in the morning. In a more limited sense, morning is the time beginning an hour or two before sunrise, or at break of day, and extending to the hour of breakfast and of beginning the labors of the day. Among men of business in large cities, the morning extends to the hour of dining. 2. The first or early part.

In the morning of life, devote yourself to the service of the Most High.

MORN'ING, a. Pertaining to the first part or early part of the day being in the early part of the day as morning dew morning light morning service.

She looks as clear

As morning roses newly washed with dew.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Genesis 1:5 (c) We may consider that every day of the life will be filled with shadows (the evening), and sunshine (the morning). There will be sadness followed by gladness in each day. The morning times seem to represent the happy times of life when there are no griefs, sorrows nor troubles. It is the time when everything is going well. There is plenty of money available. The home is a happy home, and the business is prospering. It may also represent the coming of our Lord, which is described as "a morning without clouds." It is probably the time referred to by Isaiah when he said, "The morning cometh, and also the night." Christ is described as the Morning Star, for He will shine in His glory when He returns with power and great glory.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Mark 1:35 Genesis 44:3 Genesis 19:15 Genesis 29:25 Judges 16:2 Genesis 1:5 1:8 Psalm 30:5 Psalm 49:14

Webster's Dictionary

(a.) Pertaining to the first part or early part of the day; being in the early part of the day; as, morning dew; morning light; morning service.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

MORNING . See Time.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mor´ning  : There are several Hebrew and Greek words which are rendered "morning," the most common in Hebrew being בּקר , bōḳer , which occurs 180 times. It properly means "the breaking forth of the light," "the dawn," as in   Genesis 19:27;  Judges 19:8 ,  Judges 19:25 ,  Judges 19:27 . Another word with the same meaning is שׁחר , shaḥar ( Genesis 19:15;  Nehemiah 4:21;  Isaiah 58:8 ). משחר , mishḥar ("womb of the morning,"  Psalm 110:3 ) is a poetical term derived from. the same root. See Hind Of The Morning . נגהּ , nōghah , נגהא , naghhā' ( Daniel 6:19 (Hebrew 20)), mean "brightness." השכּם , hashkēm , comes from השׁכּים , hishkı̄m , "to load an animal" (for a journey), and as the nomads are accustomed to do this early in the morning it came to mean early morning ( 1 Samuel 17:16 ). See Betimes .

In the New Testament ὄρθρος , órthros , is properly "dawn," and is used for early morning (  John 8:2;  Acts 5:21 ), and πρωΐ́α , prōı́a signifies the same  Matthew 27:1 . πρωΐ́ , prōí , "early," is an adverb and means early in the morning  Mark 1:35 . Morning as an adjective is ὀρθρινός , orthrinós  Revelation 22:16 , or πρωΐνός , prōinós (1 Esd 1:11; 5:50;  Revelation 2:28;  Revelation 22:16 ).

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(properly בֹּקֶר , Boker,  Genesis 1:5; Πρωϊ v Α ,  Matthew 21:18), the early part of the day, after sunrise.

The break of day, שִׁחִר , Shachar, was at one period of the Jewish polity divided into two parts, in imitation of the Persians; the first of which began when the eastern, the second when the western division of the horizon was illuminated. The authors of the Jerusalem Talmud divided it into four parts, the first of which was called in Hebrew אילת השׁחר , Aijeleth Ha-Shachar, or "the dawn of day," which is the title of Psalms 22. The Hebrews, like most simple people, were accustomed to early rising ( הַשְׁכַּים  Genesis 19:27, etc.), as is still the Oriental custom (Hackett, Illustrations of Scripture, page 115 sq.). (See Afternoon); (See Day); (See Hour).