The churches of God follow the example of Jesus Christ by keeping the Passover (the Lord’s Supper) at the start of the 14^th of Abib, shortly after sunset. 

We know Jesus kept the Passover at the start of the 14^th, because if He had kept His last Passover at the end of the 14^th then his crucifixion would have been on the 15^th, which is the first day of Unleavened Bread, an annual Sabbath; but this contradicts the gospel accounts which state that Joseph of Arimathea rushed to take Jesus’s body down before the Sabbath began. 

But when did the ancient Israelites keep the Passover?  There is some disagreement over this.  Some think the start of the 14^th, others the end of the 14^th.  Let’s delve into this issue.

God instructed the ancient Israelites to kill the Passover lamb at twilight on the 14^th day of the first month, (which is called Abib).

Exo 12:2  “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Exo 12:3  Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
Exo 12:4  And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.
Exo 12:5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
Exo 12:6  Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight [bêyn ‘ereb].

Between the Evenings

The Hebrew words translated “at twilight” in Exodus 12:6 are bêyn ‘ereb.  The word bêyn means “between” and the word ‘ereb means, “dusk, evening, night, sunset”.  Placed together they mean “between the evenings”.  In Hebrew it is pronounced “ben ha arbayim”.  Some Bible translations have this translation, such as the Literal Translation.

Exo 12:6  And it shall be for you to keep until the fourteenth day of this month. And all the assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the evenings [bêyn ‘ereb]. LITV

This phrase, “between the evenings” is found 11 times in the Bible.  The verses are Exodus 12:6; 16:12; 29:39,41; 30:8, Leviticus 23:5, Numbers 9:3, 5, 11; 28:4, 8.  You can verify this yourself by using a Bible software program to search for the Strong numbers H996 (bêyn) and H6153 (‘ereb).

But what exactly does “between the evenings” mean?  Unfortunately there is disagreement over its exact meaning.  The situation was no different in the time of Christ.  The Pharisees maintained it meant between 3 p.m. and sunset, the Sadducees between sunset and dark.  Here are some quotes from a couple of Bible Dictionaries and an Encyclopaedia.

The time of the Passover sacrifice is defined in the Law as “between the two evenings” …  This was interpreted by the Pharisees and Talmudists to mean from the hour of the sun’s decline until its setting; and this was the later temple practice … The Samaritans, Karaites, and Sadducees, on the other hand, held that the period between sunset and dark was intended.

James Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. III, p. 691

The phrase “between the two evenings” in Exo 12:6 (also Exo 16:12; Lev 23:5; Num 9:3, 5, 11) has been accorded two variant interpretations, according to variant community practice—either between 3 p.m. and sunset, as the Pharisees maintained and practiced (cf Pesahim 61a; Josephus, BJ 6. 423); or, as the Samaritans and others argued, between sunset and dark. 

R. A. Stewart, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. J. D. Douglas (Leicester: Inter Varsity Press, 1994), Part 3, p. 1157

The Pharisees and the Sadducees had a dispute as to the time when the slaughtering should take place; the former held it should be in the last three hours before sunset, the latter, between sunset and nightfall.

Universal Jewish Encyclopaedia, Vol. 8, p. 406

Recalling that ‘ereb means sunset, we can summarise these quotes as follows.  To the Pharisees the two evenings were 3 p.m. and sunset (‘ereb); here sunset is at the end.  To the Sadducees the two evenings were sunset (‘ereb) and dark; here sunset is at the start. 

The resolution to this disagreement is actually quite simple and is found in Exodus 16.

Exo 16:12  I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel. Speak to them, saying, Between the evenings [bêyn ‘ereb] you shall eat flesh; and in the morning you shall be satisfied with bread; and you shall know that I am Jehovah your God.
Exo 16:13  And it happened in the evening [‘ereb]: the quail came up and covered the camp. And in the morning a layer of dew was around the camp.  LITV

The quail came up at evening (‘ereb) and then the children of Israel ate them “between the evenings” (bêyn ‘ereb).  Thus evening (‘ereb) occurs at the start of “between the evenings” (bêyn ‘ereb).  The Sadducees were right.  “Between the evenings” means between sunset and dark.

Start or the end of the 14^th?

Armed with the knowledge of what “between the evenings” means let’s return to Exodus 12:6. God instructed the Israelites to kill the Passover lamb between sunset (‘ereb) and dark.

Exo 12:6  And it shall be for you to keep until the fourteenth day of this month. And all the assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the evenings [bêyn ‘ereb]. LITV

But according to the creation account Genesis 1, the day begins at evening (‘ereb), that is sunset. 

Gen 1:5  God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening [‘ereb] and the morning were the first day.

“The evening [‘ereb] and the morning were the first day”, and so on for each of the six days of creation. Therefore, “between the evenings” means between sunset and dark and this is at the start of the day.

Conclusion

Ancient Israel killed the Passover lambs “between the evenings”, which is between sunset and dark, at the beginning of the 14^th of Abib.