Cornelius and Acts 10:30

Let's say it had been a Thursday when Cornelius said - "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour...". To what day of the week would he have been referring if he had said "One day ago I was fasting until this hour"?

Would you care to enlighten us as to why you are asking this question and what sort of response you wish to elicit? It might have some bearing on how people respond. For example, do you genuinely wish to be enlightened about this issue? Is it a trick question? Are you using it as an introduction to an obscure theory of your own as to how time was measured in that culture at that time? Or...?

John5718,
re: "Would you care to enlighten us as to why you are asking this question and what sort of response you wish to elicit? It might have some bearing on how people respond."

I don't see how it could have any bearing on it. Either someone has an opinion, or they don't. I wonder if you might explain why you think that it might.

>3 rstrats: 10 years later we see that nobody is really interested, including you.

Sorry, this particular site fell though the "proverbial crack" years ago. I just found it again.

My small store of knowledge tells me that if he said, “one day ago” instead of “four days ago” it would have occurred three days closer to the time when Cornelius spoke it. It is akin to regular “deixis” in linguistics where the reference is relative to the time or place of the speaker. Since Cornelius spoke it, the time he is refering to is relative to him. To the verse it simply means that it took four days for Peter to get the message and to make the journey to Cornelius’ house.

Or, you may be wondering why it was four days instead of three that Cornelius talks about. But the Jews started and ended their days at sunset. So, even though the text refers to only three days by our reckoning, it was four days by the Jews’ convention.

Day 1 - 3:00 pm (the hour of prayer) to sunset on the day Cornelius saw the vision. (Acts 10:3).
Day 2 - “the next day” is mentioned as the messengers approached Joppa; and Peter sees the vision. Interestingly, the messengers probably walked all night to reach Joppa in one day - a distance of 40 miles. (Acts 10:9).
Day 3 - Peter, “the next day” after that, “arose and went away with” the messengers - and “some of the brethren”. (Acts 10:23)
Day 4 - “And on the following day” Peter and the others reach Caesarea and meet with Cornelius and his family and friends. (Acts 10:30)

That’s 4 days as Cornelius says. Not a problem if you know that the Jews reckoned their days from sunset to sunset.

Is that what you were looking for? Why are we playing these games?

Okay, so I get it. If Cornelius said “one day ago” before sunset on Thursday, one day before would have been Wednesday, of course. As we would reckon it, any time after sunset on Tuesday until sunset on Wednesday. Maybe why it’s good for us he mentioned the time, as well. Though you didn’t.

Someone hasn’t been to seminary, I guess.

Have you been changing the question?