Thank you, Douglas. I'll be glad to post my thoughts on this subject. I'm sure it will stir up the hornet's nest.
[Matthew 28:1] In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (verse 6) He is risen. King James Version
And in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. Douay/Rheims
And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. Young's Literal Translation
In all three examples this event is taking place on a Sabbath....and verse six in all three examples say, "He is risen"....past tense!
Here is the actual Greek: oye de sabbatwn th epifwskoush eiV mian sabbatwn hlqen maria h magdalhnh kai h allh maria qewrhsai ton tafon
If I were to translate this word for word it would be thus: The later of, and on the Sabbaths, at the dawn to the first of the Sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary to see the tomb.
Matthew is stating a simple fact. There were two Sabbaths crucifixion week and this one was the latter. It was known as the SABBATWN" (Sabbaths), plural.
Let's look at [John 19:31] oi oun ioudaioi ina mh meinh epi tou staurou ta swmata en tw sabbatw epei paraskeuh hn hn gar megalh h hmera ekeinou tou sabbatou hrwthsan ton pilaton ina kateagwsin autwn ta skelh kai arqwsin
And the English: The Jews, therefore, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, since it was the preparation, (for that sabbath day was a great one,) asked of Pilate that their legs may be broken, and they taken away.
John writes the first Sabbath as a noun describing the type of Sabbath it was.... a SABBATW (singular). The second mention of Sabbath is an adjective describing the day itself A SABBATOU (Sabbath day).
The Greeks had no word in their language for Sabbath so the translation from Hebrew writers (Matthew and John) follow the pronunciation of the Hebrew fairly well. The Hebrew for a special Sabbath (one of God's seven throughout the year) is "Sabatwon" and a normal weekly Sabbath was usually called "ha Sabat". During crucifixion week the first Sabbath (Wednesday evening/Thursday daylight) was the First Day of Unleavened Bread [Leviticus 23:6] and the Apostle John confirms in [19:31] that it was a special Sabbath (SABBATW).
When the Israelites were told about Passover and Pentecost they were instructed to count fifty days from the day after the Sabbath [Leviticus 23:15-16] and thus arrive at Shavuot (Pentecost). This method of counting is in dispute among many Sabbatarians. I believe the first Sabbath was the First Day of Unleavened.....some still believe the Sabbath in question was the weekly Sabbath. Nevertheless, during the 50 day count seven weekly Sabbaths were encountered and the Israelites held these seven Sabbaths as special also....SABBATWN. This count is known as The Count of the Omer.
Consequently, when you see the word SABBATW (singular) or SABBATWN (plural) in scripture you will know that it is not your normal weekly Sabbath being discussed .....nor is it the "First Day of the Week" being referred to. If you look at the link you will see that all the resurrection passages refer to either SABBATW or SABBTWN as the day of resurrection. [Matthew 28:1][Mark 16:2][Luke 24:1][John 20:1].
During the year 30 A.D. now commonly accepted as the Crucifixion/Resurrection Year you will notice that Passover, the 14th [Leviticus 23:5] fell on a Wednesday and this was the date of Our Lord's sacrifice. The next day, the 15th [Leviticus 23:6] was The First Sabbath of Unleavened. The next day, the 16th was the day that began the count of the Omer. The following day.....the 17th, was the day of resurrection....The First SABBATW in the seven SABBATW count to Shavuot (Pentecost).
You AD 30 scenario you outlined doesn’t hold up as the one most likely. The most likely date is AD 33, which places Passover and the weekly sabbath on the same day, requiring no linguistist torture or historical speculation to the literal reading of the gospel accounts. You failed in your attempt with both myself and Diamond in defending this scenario.
[Daniel 9:25] And thou dost know, and dost consider wisely, from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem till Messiah the Leader is seven weeks, and sixty and two weeks: the broad place hath been built again, and the rampart, even in the distress of the times.
A day of prophetic time is a year in actual time [Ezekiel 4:4-6][Numbers 14:34]. The total number of years from the decree to restore Jerusalem until Our Lord began his ministry is figured like this: 69 weeks x 7 (days in a week) is 483 prophetic days....or 483 years.That decree was issued by King Artaxerxes during the seventh year of his reign: [Ezra 7:8-11] And he cometh in to Jerusalem in the fifth month, that is in the seventh year of the king, for on the first of the month he hath founded the ascent from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he hath come in unto Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him, for Ezra hath prepared his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to do, and to teach in Israel statute and judgment. And this is a copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a scribe of the words of the commands of Jehovah, and of His statutes on Israel:
This decree established Jerusalem as capital city (Provincial) in the realm of the king. Xerxes....the father died in December of 465 B.C. and that would have been the ascension year for Artaxerxes. The ascension year did not necessarily have to be a complete year....only that it is counted as the first year. Therefore the seventh year for the king would have been 458 B.C. to sometime during 457 B.C. This can all be verified in "An Encyclopedia of World History" W.L. Langer; Babylonian Chronology, Brown University Press, page 17. The 483 years of Daniel's prophecy thereby would end at 26 A.D. and this was the year Our Lord began his ministry 26/27 A.D.
The prophecy includes another prophetic week making it a total of 70 weeks. It was prophesied that Our Lord would be cut off in the middle of the week....so seven years divided in two would be 3 1/2. Our Lord was born during Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) in the fall so by adding 3 1/2 years to 26 A.D. you come up with the spring of 30 A.D. at Passover.
Excellent as always. Thank you so much Diego.
Excellent post!
Translations of convenience is what we have in many cases. Changing “the first of the weeks” into “the first day of the week” was certainly convenient for the pagans.