Related to each day stand the day preceding and the day following or the day after. The day preced- ing (' ye-sterday,' exB^s, Jn 4^\ Ac T'", He 13') is not 80 frequently mentioned as the day following ('morrow,' ij aipioy, Ac 4^-'' 23'-" 25-^; r; iwavpiov, Ac 10» 14™ 20' ; 7, iinodaa, Ac 16" 20'° 21i8 23" ; il ixof^v-n, Ac 20'= 21"'^; ^ f?^; W^pa. Ac 21' 25" 27'*). Tlie ' day after to-morrow ' is spoken of as ' the third day ' (rph-n, Ac 27'").
10. The hour. — The primary object of the division of the day into hours is two-fold. It gives a small and convenient unit as a measure of time (the fraction of a day), and at the same time it furnishes a basis for fixing on the exact portion of the day for any important or critical events to be recorded. The system of beginning the day with sunset and counting twelve hours to sunrise, with another set of twelve hours from sunrise to sunset, would result in a variable hour with a maximum of 79 minutes and a minimum of 49, according to the season of the year. Whether this was over- come by the adoption of the Roman method of
reckoning from midnight to midnight is not certain. I5ut the ([ucstion loses its importance from the NT standpoint when it is considered that all mention of hours is general and practical rather than precise and chronological.
Of the hour as a measure of time a clear case occur.s in Ac 19^* (' for the space of two hours,' iirl upas dvo ; cf. also Mt 20'-, Mk 14", Lk '22=», Ac 5'). Of the hour as giving the time of the day the usage is more abundant (Mt ^U"-'-" 2^"- ^n, Mk 15==- ^••'•^, Lk 23*-', Jn F^ 4''- »- 19'''- -', Ac 2"> 10» 23^^). Besides the designation of the relative (dace of the hours to each other by numerals, hours are sometimes associated with customary action such as a meal (Lk 14", Sipa toC Selirvov), the offering up of incense (Lk 1'°, wpa rod Bv/ud/iaros), prayer (Ac 3', iipa TTJs Tpoffevxvs).
The hour, however, though the smallest definite unit in measuring, was not the smallest con- ceived division of time. An infinitesimal point of time is in the thought of St. Paul when he speaks of the resurrection change (1 Co 15=^) as in a moment (dri5/tHfi, lit. ' indivisible ' [fraction of time], explained by the ' twinkling of an eye ' which immediately follows). Jesus too is reported as having been shown the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time {aTiy/i-j xP^"""' ^^ 4').
LrrEBATURE. — A. Schwarz, Der jiidische Ealeiider, Breslau, 1872 : G. Bilfinger. Die Zeitmesser der antiken Volker, Stutt- gart, 1S86, Der biirgerliche Tag, do., 1888, Die antiken Stundenangaben, do., 1888 ; T. Lewin, Fasti Sacri, London, 1865 ; W. M. Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics o/ Phrygia, Oxford, 1896-97; T. H. Key, art. ' Calendarium," in Smith's DGKA ; E. Schiirer, HJ P I. [Edinburgh, 1890] i. 37, ii. App. iii.; KUB iv. 762-768, v. 473-484. ANDREW C. ZeNOS.
TIMON. — We know nothing of this disciple except that his name appears as one of the Seven in Ac 6^ The list, like that of the first apostles (Ac 1'^), may have been kept among the archives of the church at Jerusalem, to which St. Luke had access, or St. Luke may himself have procured it at Antioch. W. A. Spooner.
TIMOTHEUS See Timothy.
TIMOTHY. — The sources from which to estimate the work and character of Timothy are the Epistles of St. Paul (which for our purpose are to be separ- ated into the earlier Epistles and the Pastorals) and the Acts of the Apostles.
1. The course of his life.— Assuming that 2 Timothy contains reliable historical data, it seems probable that Timothy was born at Derbe or Lystra, his father being a Greek, his mother Eunice a Christian Jewess. His grandmother's name was Lois, and from her he inherited the finest traditions of Hebrew piety (Ac 16', 2 Ti P 3'''- ">). His name (Ti/idffeos) is no indication as to whether he was regarded as a Jew or as a Greek, but Ac 16' favours the latter view. Under whom he was con- verted to Christianity it is impossible to say, for there is no contradiction between 1 Co 4" and Ac 16'-'. It would appear that Paul on his second missionary journey found in Lystra, somewhat to his surprise, this highly esteemed believer, and, discerning in him an apt pupU and a promising helper, he had him set apart by the presbytery for the work of an evangelist (Ac 16', 2 Ti 1"- '). The opening years of Timothy were full of promise through his possession of a rich spiritual endow- ment. In preparation for his missionary work Paul had him circumcised, because the presence in his company of an uncircumcised son of a Greek father would prejudice his influence among the Jews. Much doubt is cast by some upon the motive assigned in Acts for this procedure, which is held to be very ditierent in principle from Paul's action in the case of Titus and towards Peter
TIMOTHY
TIMOTHY AND TITUS, EPISTLKS 5ti3
(Gal 2»- *• "■"). We know, liowever, from I Co 9""'- that the Apostle varied his practice to suit ciroim- stances, and we cannot ari,'ue uncomlitionallv as to Timothy from Paul's action with regarcl to Titus, who was a full Gentile and was under challenge as a test case.