Matthew 12:40 Using Common Idiomatic Language?

In saying this, you implicitly assume that the phrase is NOT an idiom, and that it must literally include parts of three nights. You beg the question of whether or not it is an idiom.Again, the question in this thread is whether or not the phrase "three days and three nights" is an idiom. If it IS an idiom, it doesn't necessarily need to include parts of three nights. Yes. According to the standard interpretation of the gospel accounts, the period was less than 48 hours long. My explanation doesn't need to assume inerrancy. It only assumes consistency between the various Gospel writers and Paul. Their use of different wording for the same event and time period shows the phrases to be synonymous.

I don't see any significant evidence provided by you that "three days and three nights is an idiom that is met by three days and only two nights. In particular the references cited all argue strongly that "three days" is an idiom that might cover the period between Friday and Sunday. I don't dispute that point. However the reasoning covering "three days and three nights" is extremely poor, and in fact is not supported by any evidence. I don't see a single example given of any other use of the phrase three days and three nights that is not consistent with the interpretation I use. Yet you have attempted to argue otherwise. Those attempts don't reflect well on the strength of your evidence. No, I have not proven such. But statements that my interpretation is anachronistic are statements that require something approaching proof/strong evidence on your part.Just how strong is the Biblical evidence that Jesus is stated to have been crucified on Friday anyway?The Three Days and the Three Nights - Study Resources

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With all of that said, it must be noted that the day of the week is not something we know from Scripture. If God wanted us to know whether it was Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, it would have been clearly stated.

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Beyond that point, there are plenty of ways to make Friday to Sunday work. Where was Jesus when he was not in the tomb on Sunday morning?Forbidden - Stack Exchange

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Peter indicates that Jesus too was in Hades (Acts 2:27 and Acts 2:31), which is Sheol in the LXX, and Paul indicates that Jesus was "in the lower parts of the earth" (Eph 4:9). In other words, like Jonah, Jesus was in the belly of the earth (Sheol) for three days and three nights.

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In short, IMO, much of the mental gymnastics about a short part of the morning actually meaning a day and a night are both unlikely and unnecessary. Even without getting into that, there is enough ambiguity about days and dates as to make the question fairly trivial unless there is supposed to be some numerology based reason to count three nights.Edited by NoNukes, : Add sheol discussionEdited by NoNukes, : No reason given.

kbertsche,
re: "The question in this thread is whether or not the phrase 'three days and three nights' is an idiom.That is incorrect. The issue is in regard to it being a "common" idiom. Edited by rstrats, : No reason given.

The bible isn't always very clear on day and night. You need not look any further than Genesis to determine that.

If you can show this, that might help your argument. But I don't believe there is enough detail in the Bible to show even what day Jesus died let alone the proper interpretation of "three days and three nights". I went back over your posts and I don't see any such argument. Further, as I explained in another post, three days and three nights may well be consistent with a belief that Jesus was in Sheol after leaving the tomb. Under that interpretation, the correct time for considering Jesus to have left the heart of the earth in Jonah like fashion might well be early evening allowing us to count three nights rather than two. What I am saying is that I don't see any evidence that such an idiom exists. Absent a better argument for you, at best I am going to give that possibility a maybe and continue looking for an explanation. Not even consistency requires your interpretation. Edited by NoNukes, : No reason given.

Someone new looking in may know of examples.

Goodness gracious me. People argue about what a day and a night means. Hey. Light. Dark. 24 hours all in all.These guys are funny.Edited by Pressie, : No reason given.

Pressle,Are you a 6th day of the week crucifixion advocate?

You can't be serious. Trying to deflect reality I see. Trying to change the subject. Hey, it's easy. Day. Light. Night. Dark. All in 24 hours.Edited by Pressie, : No reason given.

Pressle,
re: "You can't be serious."Oh, but I am.re: "Trying to deflect reality I see."What reality do you think I am trying to deflect? Please be specific.re: "Trying to change the subject."The subject of this topic: There are some who have said that Matthew 12:40 is using common Jewish idiomatic language. I should think that one would have to know of other instances where the same pattern was used in order to say that it was common. I am simply looking for some of those instances, scriptural or otherwise, i.e., examples where a daytime or a night time was forecast to be involved with an event when no part of the daytime or no part of the night time could have occurred. Edited by rstrats, : No reason given.Edited by rstrats, : No reason given.

Why?What possible difference could it make? Why should anyone care which meaning or meanings were correct? It's not like the Bible is not filled with contradictions, factual errors and ambiguities. What possible difference could one more such example make?

You're missing the point.In Matthew 12:40 Jesus says that, like Jonah did in the whale, he will spend 3 days and 3 nights in the ground.The issue is that He died on a Friday and was raised on a Sunday. That's 3 days but only 2 nights.

jar,
re: "Why?"Simply curious.re: "What possible difference could it make?"Whether it was common or not probably makes no differnce in the grand scheme of things.re: " Why should anyone care which meaning or meanings were correct?"That's an issue for another topic.re: " It's not like the Bible is not filled with contradictions, factual errors and ambiguities."What contradiction, factual error or ambiguity does Matthew 12:40 show?re: "What possible difference could one more such example make?"One more? I have yet to see even one example. Edited by rstrats, : No reason given.

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re: " It's not like the Bible is not filled with contradictions, factual errors and ambiguities."

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What contradiction, factual error or ambiguity does Matthew 12:40 show?

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re: "What possible difference could one more such example make?"

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One more? I have yet to see even one example.

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If you have never seen an example of a Biblical contradictions, factual error and ambiguity you have simply never honestly read the Bible.In the instance of this thread there was a question of what the actual terms meant. The fact that there is a question with multiple responses is direct evidence of a Biblical ambiguity and that one of the responses if not both are factually wrong.

jar,
re: "If you have never seen an example..."Sorry, I misread you comment. When I said that I'd not seen even one example, I was referring to an example where a daytime or a night time was forecast to be involved with an event when no part of the daytime or no part of the night time could have occurred.