προσάββᾰτον G4315
day before the Sabbath, Friday, the preparation day for the Sabbath
A Jewish time designation for Friday, the day before the weekly Sabbath. Since work was forbidden on Sabbath, Friday was the preparation day for completing tasks and readying food. Mark 15:42 uses this term to specify when Jesus was buried: it was the day before Sabbath, so there was urgency to complete burial before sundown when Sabbath began. The technical precision matters for understanding the crucifixion timeline—Jesus died and was buried on Friday afternoon, explaining the haste and the tomb being sealed before Sabbath rest.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Every translation recognizes this as the Sabbath-eve ('the day before the Sabbath,' 'ante sábado,' 'avant sabbat,' 'Vorsabbat'). The term's Jewish cultural specificity assumes readers understand the rhythm of the seven-day week culminating in Sabbath rest. Mark's use signals the time pressure: with Sabbath approaching at sundown, there were only hours to complete burial. This temporal marker also explains why the women had to wait until Sunday morning to complete burial preparations. 1×
AR["مَا-قَبْلَ-السَّبْتِ"]·ben["বিশ্রামের-আগের-দিন"]·DE["Vorsabbat"]·EN["the-day-before-the-Sabbath"]·FR["avant-sabbat"]·heb["עֶרֶב-שַׁבָּת"]·HI["सब्त-से-पहले-का-दिन"]·ID["hari-sebelum-Sabat"]·IT["prosabbaton"]·jav["dinten-saderengipun-Sabat"]·KO["안식일-전날이라고"]·PT["pré-sábado"]·RU["предсубботье"]·ES["ante-sábado"]·SW["siku-kabla-ya-Sabato"]·TR["Şabat-öncesi"]·urd["سبت-سے-پہلے"]
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×)G2250 1. day (388×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
προσάββᾰτον, τό, eve of the sabbath, LXX+NT, Bull.Inst.franc. d'Arch.orientale Refs