The term “hour” is often used in the Bible to tell what time of day a certain event took place. It is also used figuratively to mean “time” or “moment.”
* The Jews counted daylight hours starting at sunrise (around 6 a.m.). For example, “the ninth hour” meant “around three in the afternoon.”
* Nighttime hours were counted starting at sunset (around 6 p.m.). For example, “the third hour of the night” meant “around nine in the evening” in our present-day system..
* Since references to time in the Bible will not correspond exactly to the present-day time system, phrases such as “around nine” or “about six o’clock” could be used.
* Some translations might add phrases like “in the evening” or “in the morning” or “in the afternoon” to make it clear what time of day is being talked about.
* The phrase, “in that hour” could be translated as “at that time” or “in that moment.”
* Referring to Jesus, the expression “his hour had come” could be translated as “the time had come for him to” or “the appointed time for him had come.”
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