The real meaning of "noon", How the ancient Jews (and medieval Christian monks) continue to influence modern society

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Matthew 20:1-16a

Going out about nine o’clock […] And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock […] Going out about five o’clock […]

The parable of the landowner who hired laborers for his vineyard throughout the day, even hiring some at the last hour of the working day, and yet paid them all equally (giving each the usual daily wage). The Lectionary, following the New American Bible, renders the hours of the day in a way that is understandable to modern Westerners: Nine o’clock, noon, three o’clock, and five o’clock.

The original Greek text, however, speaks of the times of the day according to the old Jewish manner of counting time. As we consider this ancient method of measuring the day, we will see what the true meaning of “noon” is, and how both the ancient Jews and the medieval monks continue to influence even the most secular people of the modern day.

The hours of the day

The literal translation of the Greek text of this Sunday’s Gospel speaks not of “three o’clock” etc., but of the third hour … the sixth and the ninth hour … the eleventh hour.

Modern man counts time from midnight to midnight, hence at 12am the hours of the day begin anew and continue through to 12pm (which is roughly mid-day) and until 11:45pm (or 23:59). The ancient Jews, however, counted not from mid-night but from sunrise. Thus, the hours of the day began at dawn (which was the first hour, called “Prime”) and continued through to the sixth hour (which was about mid-day) and until the twelfth hour (about sunset). The hours of the night were generally calculated according to four “watches”, though there were often only three watches in the summer months (when the night was shorter).

To recognize the relation of the modern method to the ancient we offer the following table:

Modern method	Ancient Jewish method
6am	First hour
9am	Third hour
12pm	Sixth hour
3pm	Ninth hour
6pm	Twelfth hour
9pm	First watch of the night
12am	Second watch of the night
3am	Third watch
Till about 6am	Forth watch

The hours of the Divine Office

The hours of the Breviary (also known as the “Divine Office” and, more recently, the “Liturgy of the Hours”) are named after the ancient Jewish method of counting time. Hence, the daytime hours of the Breviary (which is the prayer-book of the priests and monks, and of the whole Church) are called: Prime, Terce, Sext, and None. These are the prayers which are said between Lauds (i.e. Morning Prayer) and Vespers (i.e. Evening Prayer).

Prime is said at 6am, which is the first hour. Terce is offered at 9am, the third hour. Sext is prayed at 12pm, which is the sixth hour. And, finally, none is prayed at 3pm, which is the ninth hour. These names – prime, terce, sext, and none – are nothing more than the Latinized way of naming the various hours of the day according to the ancient Jewish custom: “Prime” means “first”, “terce” means “third”, “sext” “sixth”, and “none” means “ninth”.

The anticipation of the “ninth hour”

Notice that the ninth hour begins at 3pm and that this prayer in the Divine Office was called “none” (which is simply from the Latin word meaning “ninth”). This word “none” is not pronounced as the English word “none” (i.e. “no one” or “nothing”) but the “o” is pronounced as “ow” in the word “own”.

Little by little, the prayer hour called “none” came to be called “noon” (the “own” sound being elongated into the “o” in “moon”). In fact, the modern word “noon” (which means “mid-day” or 12pm) comes from the ancient prayers of the Breviary – “noon” originally meant the “ninth hour” which was at 3pm. How then did “noon” come to mean “mid-day”?

In the middle-ages, the custom of anticipating the prayer times in the monastery became more and more popular. Over many years, the monks and the priests began to pray the Breviary earlier in the day – this was motivated, in part, by the fact that the monks would often fast from all food until after the “none” prayer time (especially during Lent); hence, the monks could eat earlier if they prayed the “none” hour not at 3 pm, but at 12 pm.

How “noon” came to mean “mid-day”

As the Christian monks and priests, in their prayer books, had adopted the ancient Jewish mode of counting time, the Jewish “hours of the day” came to be identified with the “hours” (or prayers) of the Divine Office. Ultimately, the prayers of the Breviary came to be more dominant in the European mind even than the original meaning of the Jewish “hours”.

When the prayer of “none” (now pronounced and called “noon”) came to be prayed not at the “ninth hour” (i.e. 3pm) but at mid-day, 12 pm began to be called “none” after the prayer time of the monks and priests. Thus, the English word “noon” originally refers not to 12 pm (or mid-day) but to the “ninth hour” which is 3 pm. However, because the monks and priests began to pray the Breviary earlier in the day, the word “noon” has come to mean “mid-day” or 12 pm.

Modern society is rooted in Christianity and Judaism

Many modern secularists refuse to speak of “Christmas” and instead insist upon the “winter holiday season”. They do this in order to keep Judeo-Christian biblical ideas out of modern language.

However, if such secularists really wanted to “purify” modern language from its Christian and Jewish roots, they would have to stop using even the most common words – like “noon”. Here, as bad as modern society may sometimes seem, it is encouraging for Christians to remember that the biblical influence on modern western society is so deep that the only way to remove the Judeo-Christian roots would be to utterly destroy Western Civilization. We can only hope that the secularists will recognize this truth.