Lexical Summary ennatos: Ninth Original Word: ἔνατος Strong's Exhaustive Concordance ninth. Ordinal from ennea; ninth -- ninth. see GREEK ennea NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originvariant reading for enatos, q.v. Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 1766: ἔνατοςἔνατος, see ἔννατος. STRONGS NT 1766: ἔννατοςἔννατος or ἔνατος (which latter form, supported by the authority alike of manuscripts and of insert., has been everywhere restored by L T Tr WH; cf. (under Nu; Tdf. Proleg., p. 80); Krüger, § 24, 2,12; Winer's Grammar, 43; (found once (Revelation 21:20) in Rec.st)), ἐννάτῃ, ἐννατον (from Homer down), ninth: Revelation 21:20; the ἐνάτῃ ὥρα, spoken of in Matthew 20:5; Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44; Acts 3:1; Acts 10:3, 30, corresponds to our 3 o'clock in the afternoon; for the sixth hour of the Jews coincides with the twelfth of the day as divided by our method, and the first hour of the day with them is the same as the sixth with us. (Cf. BB. DD., under the word, Hour.) Strong’s Greek 1766 marks the ordinal “ninth.” It occurs ten times in the New Testament, usually as a time-marker (the ninth hour, roughly 3 p.m.) and once as a position in a list (the ninth foundation stone of the New Jerusalem). Though numerically simple, the term frames some of the most solemn, gracious and prophetic moments in Scripture. The ninth hour in Jewish timekeeping Jewish daytime hours were counted from sunrise; the ninth hour therefore fell midway between the daily morning and evening sacrifices (Exodus 29:38–41). Old-Testament references to “the time of the evening sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:36; Ezra 9:5; Daniel 9:21) coincide with this hour, making it a natural moment for worship and petition. A fixed hour of prayer for the early Church Acts 3:1 records, “One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.” The apostles did not abandon the God-given rhythm of temple prayer but filled it with renewed Christ-centered meaning. Acts 10:3 and 10:30 show Cornelius, a Gentile seeker, also praying at this hour; at 3 p.m. he receives an angelic vision that leads to the gospel’s formal entrance into the Gentile world. Thus the ninth hour becomes a meeting point where covenant promise and global mission converge. The ninth hour at Golgotha The Gospels focus intense theological light on this same hour. “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land” (Matthew 27:45). Then, “At the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ ” (Mark 15:34). The temporal reference anchors the atoning cry in real history while echoing the timing of the evening sacrifice; the true Lamb is offered precisely when the temple service foreshadows Him. Luke 23:44 confirms the shared chronology. By recording the darkness “until the ninth hour,” the evangelists underline both cosmic judgment and fulfilled prophecy (Amos 8:9). Grace illustrated in parabolic teaching In the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard the master goes out “about the sixth hour and the ninth hour” (Matthew 20:5) to hire additional laborers. Those brought in late receive equal wages purely by the landowner’s generosity. The ninth-hour hiring therefore embodies the doctrine that salvation is granted by unmerited favor, not human merit or length of service. Eschatological placement of the ninth stone Revelation 21:20 lists the ninth foundation of the New Jerusalem as topaz. John’s detailed ordering emphasizes both the literal beauty of the consummated city and the ordered perfection of God’s redemptive plan; every stone, including the ninth, has its appointed place. Number-nine motifs in biblical theology Scripture never assigns an overt symbolic meaning to the number nine, yet patterns emerge: nine fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), nine beatitudes before the transition in Matthew 5, and the climactic ninth hour of Christ’s passion. While caution guards against speculative numerology, these repeated appearances invite reflection on completeness leading to consummation. Ministry reflections 1. Establishing fixed moments for prayer—especially mid-afternoon—follows apostolic precedent and creates space to remember Christ’s sacrifice. In every context the “ninth” testifies that God orders time, worship, salvation, and future glory according to His sovereign purpose, inviting His people to align their lives with the rhythm of His revealed will. Englishman's Concordance Matthew 20:5 Adj-AFSGRK: ἕκτην καὶ ἐνάτην ὥραν ἐποίησεν KJV: the sixth and ninth hour, and did INT: sixth and ninth hour he did Matthew 27:45 Adj-GFS Matthew 27:46 Adj-AFS Mark 15:33 Adj-GFS Mark 15:34 Adj-DFS Luke 23:44 Adj-GFS Acts 3:1 Adj-AFS Acts 10:3 Adj-AFS Acts 10:30 Adj-AFS Revelation 21:20 Adj-NMS Strong's Greek 1766 |
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