ἡμέρα G2250
Day — a calendar day or period of time; also the daylight hours as opposed to night.
The Greek hemera is the standard New Testament word for 'day,' appearing in nearly 400 occurrences across a remarkable range of temporal expressions — from specific calendar dates and periods of days to theologically loaded phrases like 'the day of judgment' (Matt 10:15) and 'that day' pointing to eschatological fulfillment. Translations across all languages use their basic day-word: Spanish día, French jour, German Tag. In a handful of passages, hemera narrows to mean specifically the daylight portion of the twenty-four-hour cycle, contrasted explicitly with night — as when Jesus asks, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day?' (John 11:9).
1. day — A day as a unit of time (388x) — whether a specific calendar day, a counted period, or a significant appointed day. This encompasses ordinary temporal references ('on the third day'), extended periods ('in the days of Herod'), and eschatological usage ('the day of the Lord'). All translations converge on a single term: English 'day,' Spanish día, French jour, German Tag. The breadth is enormous, from Matt 6:34 ('sufficient for the day is its own trouble') to apocalyptic judgment scenes. 388×
AR["-","اليَومَ","اليَومِ","اليَوْمِ","الْيَوْمَ","يَومٍ","يَومَ","يَومِ"]·ben["দিন","দিনে","দিনের","দিনের-জন্য"]·DE["Tag"]·EN["day"]·FR["jour"]·heb["בָּאוּ","הַ-הוּא","הַיּוֹם","הַשְּׁלִישִׁי","יוֹם"]·HI["दिन","दिन-के-लिए","दिन-में","दिन-मेइन"]·ID["hari"]·IT["giorno"]·jav["dinten"]·KO["날","날-을","날-의","날에","날에-대하여","하루"]·PT["dia","dia,"]·RU["день","день,","дне","дню","дня"]·ES["día"]·SW["-","Ndipo","aliingia","ambayo","bwana","ile","kumwuliza","siku","siku,","walimkaribia","wavivu"]·TR["günde","günden","güne","günü","günün","gününde"]·urd["دن","دن-میں","دن-کے","دن-کے-لیے"]
Matt 6:34, Matt 7:22, Matt 10:15, Matt 11:22, Matt 11:24, Matt 12:36, Matt 13:1, Matt 16:21, Matt 17:23, Matt 20:2, Matt 20:6, Matt 20:12 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. daylight, daytime — Daylight or daytime as opposed to night (3x). Distinguished from the calendar-day sense by explicit contrast with darkness. In John 11:9 Jesus asks, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day?' — hemera here means the sunlit hours for walking safely. Paul echoes this in 1 Thess 5:5, 8, where believers are 'children of the day' (not of night or darkness). The translation signatures are identical to sense 1, but the context of light-versus-darkness contrast makes the semantic distinction clear. 3×
AR["النَّهارِ","لِلنَّهارِ","نَهَارِ"]·ben["দিনের"]·DE["Tag"]·EN["day","of-day"]·FR["jour"]·heb["יּוֹם","יוֹם","שֶׁל-יוֹם"]·HI["दिन-के","दिन?"]·ID["siang"]·IT["giorno"]·jav["dinten?","siyang","siyang;"]·KO["낮의"]·PT["do-dia"]·RU["дня"]·ES["de-día","día"]·SW["mchana","wa-mchana"]·TR["gündüzün"]·urd["دن-کے"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H6258 1. and now (421×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H3915 1. night, period of darkness (234×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H5750 2. still, yet (continuative) (166×)G5119 1. then (160×)G3568 1. now (147×)G2193 1. until (143×)G3825 1. (141×)G3752 1. (123×)H6153 1. evening, time of day (123×)H0227a 1. then (122×)G5610 1. hour / time / moment (106×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἡμέρα, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect ἡμέρη Refs, Doric dialect ἀμέρα Refs 8th c.BC+, Locrian dialect ἀμάρα Refs (aspirated perhaps only in Attic dialect and West Ionic dialect, compare ἐπάμερος Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.; usually unaspirated in early Attic dialect Inscrr., Refs; aspirated in codices even in dialects: original ἀμέρα probably took aspirate from ἑσπέρα): ἡ:—day, less frequently than ἦμαρ…