AFTERNOON

af-ter-noon' (neToth ha-yom, "the declining of the day"; Judges 19:8 the King James Version): The expression kechom ha-yom, "in the heat of the day" (Genesis 18:1) refers to the early afternoon when the sun is a little past its zenith, its rays still being very strong. The phrase le-ruach ha-yom, "in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8) is in contrast to the last phrase and points to the late afternoon; in the Orient a cooling breeze arises at this period of the day, and it is then that much of the day's business is transacted.

See DAY .

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.