Cornelius and Acts 10:30

[rstrats]

Let's say it had been a Thursday when Cornelius said - "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour...". To what day of the week would he have been referring if he had said "One day ago I was fasting until this hour"?

[JonathanL]

Let's say it had been a Thursday when Cornelius said - "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour...". To what day of the week would he have been referring if he had said "One day ago I was fasting until this hour"?

Is this a math exercise? I hate math exercises.

[Adrift]

Let's say it had been a Thursday when Cornelius said - "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour...". To what day of the week would he have been referring if he had said "One day ago I was fasting until this hour"?

Depends, are we counting today as day one?

Source: The Book of Acts by F. F. Bruce

Cornelius then described the vision, which he had seen three days before (four days by inclusive reckoning)

© Copyright Original Source

Source: Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) by Darrell L. Bock

Cornelius reviews the sequence of events beginning four days ago, counting inclusively; it was three days ago by our counting of elapsed time. The chronology is this (our way of counting is in parentheses): day 1 (start), he sees the angel; day 2 (day 1), the emissaries arrive in Joppa; day 3 (day 2), they set out for Caesarea; day 4 (day 3), they arrive. God is directing the events all along the way, beginning with the angel who appears to Cornelius during prayer at the ninth hour (v. 3). Cornelius basically repeats the account for the third time in the passage with some slight variation, a repetition that underscores the divine direction behind what is taking place. The threefold telling says that this definitely took place. . . . The syntax of verse 30 is not entirely clear, as the phrase "until this hour" does not go well with "at the ninth hour." The sense seems to be that it was about the same time four days ago that everything began. It is possible, however, that the "until this hour" phrase is an ancient addition to the text (Marshall 1980: 188). A few textual variants also raise the question about the text's exact wording.

© Copyright Original Source

Source: Commentary on Acts (Commentary on the New Testament Book #5) by Robert H. Gundry

10: 30-33: And Cornelius said, "Four days ago, up to and including this hour I was in my house praying the ninth hour [in the sense of continuing to pray through the ninth hour (about 3:00-4:00 P.M.)]." "Four days ago" includes the day he was praying and the present day of his speaking, with two days intervening according to 10:9, 23. "Up to and including this hour" draws a happy parallel between the ninth hour of his praying and the present hour that has come as a result of his praying. But 10:3 didn't say that Cornelius was praying through the ninth hour, only that he received a vision "at about the ninth hour." So the addition here of praying makes the vision a divine response to the prayer. Nor did 10:3 indicate that Cornelius was in his house at the time. So the addition here of "in my house" draws another happy parallel, not this time a temporal one--rather, a topographical one in which the location of the prayer and the location of God's response to it match each other.

© Copyright Original Source

(bracketing and bolding in the original)

[Cow Poke]

Is this a math exercise? I hate math exercises.

I would rather take a whippin than do date math.

[JonathanL]

I would rather take a whippin than do date math.

Is that where you try and calculate how much money you'll have to spend on your date before she's pleased?

[One Bad Pig]

Is this a math exercise? I hate math exercises.

This is where rstrats attempts to find support for his alternate theories for when the crucifixion/resurrection of Christ took place.

[rstrats]

Adrift,
re: "Depends, are we counting today as day one?"

No.

[Adrift]

Adrift,
re: "Depends, are we counting today as day one?"

No.

Are you not interested in interacting with any of the works I've cited?

[Jedidiah]

This is where rstrats attempts to find support for his alternate theories for when the crucifixion/resurrection of Christ took place.

That is okay. I am interested in alternate theories on that topic.

[rstrats]

Adrift,
re: "Are you not interested in interacting with any of the works I've cited?"

I interacted with your question.


As for your 3 quotes, I don't see where they say to what day of the week Cornelius would have been referring if he had said "One day ago I was fasting until this hour"?

[Adrift]

I interacted with your question.

You do understand that my question was meant to highlight that the passage you're interested in does count the days inclusively, don't you? That was rhetorical, of course you do.

As for your 3 quotes, I don't see where they say to what day of the week Cornelius would have been referring if he had said "One day ago I was fasting until this hour"?

That's probably because "One day ago I was fasting until this hour" is not in the text. The commentaries are only concerned with what's actually there. The commentaries I cited do address your threads overall concern though. I know you see that. I suppose you just weren't actually expecting an answer, and so are pretending that the commentaries don't address it. Unfortunately, this seems like your typical modus operandi. Kind of dishonest if you ask me.

[rstrats]

Adrift,
re: " I know you see that. I suppose you just weren't actually expecting an answer..."


That is incorrect. I would still like to see an answer to the question in the OP. If the name Cornelius causes a problem, you can change it to William. If it had been a Thursday when my friend William said - "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour...". To what day of the week would he have been referring if he had said "One day ago I was fasting until this hour"?