The Greek word hoʹra (hour) is used in the Christian Greek Scriptures to denote a short period of time; a fixed, definite time; or a division of the day.

Other Uses. The word hoʹra is often used in the Christian Greek Scriptures to denote “immediately” or within a very short period. A woman who touched the fringe of Jesus’ outer garment became well “from that hour.” (Mt 9:22) “Hour” could refer to a special or momentous point of time not exactly specified or to the starting point of that time. For example, Jesus said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows” (Mt 24:36), “The hour is coming when everyone that kills you will imagine he has rendered a sacred service to God” (Joh 16:2), and, “The hour is coming when I will speak to you no more in comparisons” (Joh 16:25).

Again, “hour” might designate a general time of day, as when the disciples said to Jesus about the multitude of people that had followed him to a lonely place: “The place is lonely and the hour is already far advanced; send the crowds away.”​—Mt 14:15; Mr 6:35.

Figurative or Symbolic Use. Symbolically or figuratively used, “hour” means a relatively short period of time. Jesus said to the crowd who came out against him: “This is your hour and the authority of darkness.” (Lu 22:53) The ten horns on the scarlet-colored wild beast are said to represent ten kings who are to receive authority as kings “one hour” with the wild beast. (Re 17:12) Of Babylon the Great, it is said: “In one hour your judgment has arrived!” (Re 18:10) In harmony with Jesus’ words at Matthew 13:25, 38 concerning the wheat and the weeds, Paul’s warnings at Acts 20:29 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7 regarding the coming apostasy, and Peter’s statement at 2 Peter 2:1-3, John, the last surviving apostle, could well say: “Young children, it is the last hour, and, just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now there have come to be many antichrists; from which fact we gain the knowledge that it is the last hour.” It was a very short time, indeed, “the last hour,” the final part of the apostolic period, after which the apostasy would spring forth in full bloom.​—1Jo 2:18.

As recorded at Revelation 8:1-4, the apostle John saw, during a silence in heaven for “about a half hour,” an angel with incense that he offered with the prayers of all the holy ones. This reminds one of the practice in the temple in Jerusalem “at the hour of offering incense.” (Lu 1:10) Alfred Edersheim, in The Temple (1874, p. 138), presents the traditional Jewish account of this “hour”: “Slowly the incensing priest and his assistants ascended the steps to the Holy Place . . . Next, one of the assistants reverently spread the coals on the golden altar; the other arranged the incense; and then the chief officiating priest was left alone within the Holy Place, to await the signal of the president before burning the incense. . . . As the president gave the word of command, which marked that ‘the time of incense had come,’ ‘the whole multitude of the people without’ withdrew from the inner court, and fell down before the Lord, spreading their hands in silent prayer. It is this most solemn period, when throughout the vast Temple buildings deep silence rested on the worshipping multitude, while within the sanctuary itself the priest laid the incense on the golden altar, and the cloud of ‘odours’ rose up before the Lord.”

In the First Century. In the first century C.E., the Jews used the count of 12 hours to the day, starting with sunrise. “There are twelve hours of daylight, are there not?” said Jesus. (Joh 11:9) Of course, this made the hours vary in length from one day to the next, according to the seasons; the only times that they were of the same length as our hours was at the time of the equinoxes. Evidently this slight variation, which would not be so great in Palestine, did not create any major inconvenience. The start of the day would correspond to about 6:00 a.m., our time. In the illustration of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus made mention of the 3rd hour, the 6th, 9th, 11th, and, one hour later, “evening” (which would be the 12th). These times would correspond to our 8:00 to 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. to noon, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., and 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., respectively. (Mt 20:3, 5, 6, 8, 12; Ac 3:1; 10:9)