TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Biblical Hours

Okay, this one isn't a question that came up in practice, but one that I think might come up in the next practice.  In this week's chapter, we read...

About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing....He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around...
Matthew 20:3-6 (NIV 1984)

...but that kind of timekeeping doesn't sound anything like what we have today.  So how did Jesus (and Jews of his era) keep time?

The Jewish day was divided by sunset and sunrise (notice sunset comes first).  There were 12 hours in the day and 12 hours in the night.  For the daytime, they were roughly:

1st hour - 7:00 AM
2nd hour - 8:00 AM
3rd hour - 9:00 AM
4th hour - 10:00 AM
5th hour - 11:00 AM
6th hour - 12:00 PM
7th hour - 1:00 PM
8th hour - 2:00 PM
9th hour - 3:00 PM
10th hour - 4:00 PM
11th hour - 5:00 PM
12th hour - 6:00 PM

So, the verses could be translated...

About 9 AM he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing....He went out again about noon and 3 PM and did the same thing. About 5 PM he went out and found still others standing around...Matthew 20:3-6 (NIV 1984)

Source:  Here