I have been discussing “day start” concept with some friends recently.
This post is an email response I sent, addressing why we observe a morning day start, instead of an evening day start.
Lots of info to consider here:
I appreciate you taking a look at this day start idea.
Just to say it again, we do not have an agenda to change your minds.
This is an idea that we were very opposed to when it was presented to us. We ended up looking at it closely, and chose to observe it as we found it to make sense and to be supported by scripture.
Observing morning day start puts us in a very small minority within Torah community.
Our goal is to shed religious ideas and do what we see in scripture, so we observe morning day start with a clear conscience. We do not say others are wrong, and we do not even try to tell people that we are right. We simply observe what we see in scripture.
We appreciate any feedback you have to offer, as it may cause us to evaluate something we’ve not looked at so far…
Before I start looking at the information you provided, let’s consider the topic of developing doctrine with out of context bits and pieces of scripture strung together…
The mainstream Christian church teaches that the law is done away with.
Why do they believe this, and teach it to others?
Is it because they simply made it up?
We could go into practically any church and ask them to show proof that the law is done away with.
They will pop open their bible and start pointing out bits and pieces of Paul’s writings taken out of context. They will weave a story and a concept that seems to make sense.
Will we believe their story and their concept, supported by fragments of scriptures?
No, because we have put in the effort to study the foundation of scripture, that being the Torah.
We have made the decision to believe that what Yah said is forever, is literally forever.
We have decided that if Yah says something is for all generations, everlasting, and a perpetual covenant, that it truly is.
With that basis of truth established with a strong foundation, we can now read Paul’s letters in the context of established truth. We are not swayed by out of context half-verses and made up doctrine that does not match the very words of Yah.
I have approached the study of day start, and Sabbath, using this same approach.
In hermeneutics, the study of scripture, there is a concept of first-mention or first use of a word or concept.
The First Mention Principle: “Yah indicates in the first mention of a subject the truth with which that subject stands connected in the mind of Yah.”
Basically, this says that first mention of an idea, concept, or word is given more weight than other uses of the same idea, concept, or word in scripture.
Tracy and I spent a great deal of time looking at bits and pieces of scripture that seem to relate to day start, or defining the Sabbath. At first, we rejected many of the arguments for morning day start. We had a bias that the Hebrew day started in the evening. That is what we had been observing for about three years. It is what most people hear of and do in Torah community, and we adopted that idea without truly studying it. And when we did go to study it, we did so with an “evening-start-bias”.
There were certain verses that made us say, “See, that proves evening day start.”
But did those verses truly prove such a thing, or did our bias cause us to think so?
After much study and debate, I realized the only way I could truly study the idea was to wipe the slate clean, and evaluate scripture for what it actually says, without adding any bias (either intentionally or unintentionally).
The way I accomplished this was to look at any given idea from both a morning start perspective and from an evening start perspective. This helped a great deal. For example, Deuteronomy 24:14-15 says this:
14“Do not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers or of your strangers who are in your land within your gates.
15“Give him his wages on the same day, and do not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and lifts up his being to it, so that he does not cry out against you to יהוה, and it shall be sin in you.
People will say this proves evening day start.
But how do we look at this without bias?
#1 Is this narrative speaking about defining a day, or defining a Sabbath? No, the context is about paying a man his wages quickly, especially if he is poor and needs his daily wages in order to eat, or feed his family, etc. Do not withhold his wages and cause him to go hungry, or to go without lodging, etc.
Many people, though, use this verse to adamantly proclaim it proves evening day start.
So how did I study this idea without bias?
I graphed out a work day and paying a man his wages at the end of the day, both with morning start and evening start.
What do we find?
In these two examples, we find that Deuteronomy 24 works for both morning day start and evening day start.
The context of the command, which is to pay a man quickly so he can eat and have lodging, is accomplished in both examples.
When approached with critical thinking and without bias, we find these two things:
#1 This passage is about paying a man, not about defining a day.
#2 We should not use this verse to define a day, since that is not its purpose nor its context.
#3 Even if we do try to use this verse to define a day, it works in both scenarios, therefore it is inconclusive.
#4 Since it is inconclusive, it cannot be used to support either side of the argument, and must be thrown out of the discussion.
There are many passages in scripture that people use to “Prove” either evening day start or morning day start.
If those verses are not about defining a day, then using them to do so is taking them out of context.
Often times, such examples only support one or the other argument if one already has a personal bias.
Sometimes these types of passages are used as proof for both concepts!!
Now, returning to the concept of first mention…
If we wish to define a day cycle or when Shabbat begins and ends, where should we go?
Shall we glean a bunch of verses scattered throughout scripture, taking them out of context, to prove our biased perspective?
Or should we go to first mention, and use it as a foundation and build from there?
After months of in depth study, and considering a number of scripture narratives, I decided to go to first mention which is Genesis 1.
We know that a day consists of a time period that is just shy of 24 hours.
Each day cycle consists of some primary components, in no particular order:
Sun at peak (high noon in Roman terms)
Night
Twilight (erev) before dawn
Evening
Sunset
Dawn
Morning
Twilight (erev) after sunset
No matter where we begin and end our day, it will contain these ingredients.
Our discussion is based on these two ideas:
If we go back to the first mention, Genesis 1, what do we find?
What are we told about “Day One”?
1In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.
2And the earth came to be formless and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim was moving on the face of the waters.
3And Elohim said, “Let light come to be,” and light came to be.
4And Elohim saw the light, that it was good. And Elohim separated the light from the darkness.
5And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, one day.
What does this look like on a timeline?
This narrative does not show us all of the “ingredients” of a day, but it does give us some information.
#1 Creation work is completed
#2 And then there came to be evening
#3 And then there came to be morning
#4 This is called Day One
In this narrative, we find that Day One ends with morning.
What happens next?
We see this cycle continue to be established on Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, etc.
6And Elohim said, “Let an expanse come to be in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
7And Elohim made the expanse, and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it came to be so.
8And Elohim called the expanse ‘heavens.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the second day.
Day Two on a timeline:
After the end of Day One at morning, Yah begins His Day Two creation work:
#1 After Day One ends at morning, Day Two begins.
#2 Yah completes His creation works on Day Two
#3 And then there came to be evening
#4 And then there came to be morning
#5 This is called Day Two
Next we see Day Three occur:
9And Elohim said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it came to be so.
10And Elohim called the dry land ‘earth,’ and the collection of the waters He called ‘seas.’ And Elohim saw that it was good.
11And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the plant that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.” And it came to be so.
12And the earth brought forth grass, the plant that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
13And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the third day.
#1 After Day Two ends at morning, Day Three begins.
#2 Yah completes His creation works on Day Three
#3 And then there came to be evening
#4 And then there came to be morning
#5 This is called Day Three
Next we see Day Four occur:
14And Elohim said, “Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years,
15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it came to be so.
16And Elohim made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars.
17And Elohim set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good.
19And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the fourth day.
#1 After Day Three ends at morning, Day Four begins.
#2 Yah completes His creation works on Day Four
#3 And then there came to be evening
#4 And then there came to be morning
#5 This is called Day Four
Next we see Day Five occur:
20And Elohim said, “Let the waters teem with shoals of living beings, and let birds fly above the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.”
21And Elohim created great sea creatures and every living being that moves, with which the waters teemed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
22And Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and increase, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
23And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the fifth day.
#1 After Day Four ends at morning, Day Five begins.
#2 Yah completes His creation works on Day Five
#3 And then there came to be evening
#4 And then there came to be morning
#5 This is called Day Five
Next we see Day Six occur:
24And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth the living being according to its kind: livestock and creeping creatures and beasts of the earth, according to its kind.” And it came to be so.
25And Elohim made the beast of the earth according to its kind, livestock according to its kind, and all that creep on the earth according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
26And Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth and over all the creeping creatures that creep on the ground.”
27And Elohim created the man in His image, in the image of Elohim He created him – male and female He created them.
28And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and increase, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over all creeping creatures on the earth.”
29And Elohim said, “See, I have given you every plant that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it is for food.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to every creeping creature on the earth, in which there is a living being, every green plant is for food.” And it came to be so.
31And Elohim saw all that He had made, and see, it was very good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the sixth day.
#1 After Day Five ends at morning, Day Six begins.
#2 Yah completes His creation works on Day Six
#3 And then there came to be evening
#4 And then there came to be morning
#5 This is called Day Six
In Genesis chapter 2, we see that He set apart day seven:
1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array.
2And in the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
3And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all His work which Elohim in creating had made.
4These are the births of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that יהוה Elohim made earth and heavens.
In the study of day start, I decided to begin in the beginning, where the days are described for us.
This should in fact be our foundation for what a day is, and then the remainder of scripture should be understood according to the first mention, the foundation given in Torah.
As such, we have chosen to observe morning day start for the last couple of years.
I have spent time mapping out a timeline of other events in the bible, and so far, they all work better with a morning day start.
For example, Yom Kippur will violate scripture if it is observed evening to evening using an evening day start.
However, it can be fulfilled according to scripture observing it evening to evening using a day start.
Here are the timelines to compare:
In this example of evening day start, we need to adhere to the following details in scripture:
#1 Verse 27 — tenth day of seventh chodesh
#2 Verse 28 — on the same day
#3 Verse 30 — on the same day
#4 Verse 32 — Begins 9th day at evening, ends then next evening on the tenth day
As we see from the timeline map, this cannot be achieved.
If we observe one Shabbat, the moed ends before the tenth day, so verse 27 is violated.
If we observe it for two days to include the tenth day, then verses 28 & 30 are violated.
In this example of morning day start, we need to adhere to the following details in scripture:
#1 Verse 27 — tenth day of seventh chodesh
#2 Verse 28 — on the same day
#3 Verse 30 — on the same day
#4 Verse 32 — Begins 9th day at evening, ends then next evening on the tenth day
As we see from the timeline map, all details regarding Yom Kippur can be observed without violating any of the facts given.
Now let’s take a look at Luke.
50And see, a man named Yosĕph, a council member, a good and righteous man –
51he was not agreeing with their counsel and deed – from Ramathayim, a city of the Yehuḏim, who himself was also waiting for the reign of Elohim,
52he, going to Pilate, asked for the body of יהושע.
53And taking it down, he wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb hewn out of the rock, where no one was yet laid.
54And it was Preparation day, and the Sabbath was approaching.
55And the women who had come with Him from Galil followed after, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.
56And having returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the command.
Before we dig into the account of Yoseph taking care of Yeshua’s body, let’s look at Yeshua’s death. Luke 23:44-46 tells us this:
44And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land, until the ninth hour.
45And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the Dwelling Place was torn in two.
46And crying out with a loud voice, יהושע said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” And having said this, He breathed His last.
This is very telling.
We learn that Yeshua died and the sun was darkened from the 6th hour of the day until the 9th hour of the day.
If day begins at evening, then this would have occurred in the middle of the night, when the sun is not out.
Sunset occurs just before 7pm in Jerusalem in Spring time. The 6th hour would then be 1:00am, and the 9th hour would be 4:00am.
The sun would not be out during this timeframe, and invalidates the details given in the gospel of Luke.
If we go with a morning day start, sunrise occurs at 6:30am in Jerusalem in the Spring.
This would make the 6th hour at about 12:30pm, and the 9th hour at 3:30pm.
This confirms the account of Luke.
As for Yoseph asking for Yeshua’s body…
#1 This narrative has a context of taking Yeshua’s body to His tomb.
#2 This narrative does not have a context of defining a day, or defining Shabbat.
#3 In my humble opinion, the day cycle and Shabbat have already been established in the foundation of Torah, in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. If this is the case, we cannot violate Torah by creating a different doctrine using the gospel of Luke.
Let’s take a look at Luke 23 without pre-assumed bias.
What do we know?
#1 Yoseph asks Pilate for the body of Yeshua
#2 He wrapped His body and placed it in the tomb
#3 It was preparation day (this is true, as Yeshua was killed on Pesach, which would be a preparation day for the First Day of Unleavened Bread, which is a Sabbath.
#4 The Sabbath was approaching
#5 Women saw Yeshua in the tomb
#6 They prepared spices and perfumes.
#7 They then rested on the Sabbath.
Let’s look at this from an evening day start perspective:
Yoseph went to Pilate just after approximately 4:00am to retrieve Yeshua’s body, wanting to place Him in the tomb before Shabbat, which was still 15 hours away. This does not require urgency to complete before dark.
Let’s look at this from a morning day start perspective:
Yoseph went to Pilate at approximately 4:00pm to retrieve Yeshua’s body, wanting to place Him in the tomb before Shabbat. Beginning of Shabbat is still 15 hours away, with a morning day start. However, at 4:00pm, Yoseph only has about three hours of daylight to retrieve Yeshua’s body, prepare it, transport it, and place Him in the tomb before dark.
It makes sense that Yoseph would need to complete this task with daylight, and he only has three hours. If he did not complete it before dark, then he would have had to work in the dark, which is not preferred, or wait all night, all the next day, all the next night, and then proceed after the Sabbath.
Yes, Yoseph acted with urgency, and yes, Sabbath was approaching.
But nothing in this story defines evening as the Sabbath start.
That is simply an element added to the story by someone having a bias of evening day start prior to reading this story.
I can understand why someone would make the assumption that Yoseph is trying to finish this task prior the Sabbath beginning at sundown, but it requires rejecting what Genesis 1 tells us, and it requires us to violate Yom Kippur.
If we find something in scripture that “makes sense” but causes problems with what Torah says, then we need to study it more.
Some people say there is no way that Judah has been doing day start wrong for thousands of years.
While this sounds like an acceptable assumption, it is still an assumption. If we look at it in more detail, I find this:
Judah rejected and killed Messiah, and Judaism has continued to reject Messiah for 2000 years.
If we cannot agree with or trust Judah regarding Messiah (which is really important) then why should we agree with and trust Judah regarding day start? If they are not current in major things, why trust them in smaller things?
In addition, Jeremiah tells us that one day we will realize we have inherited nothing but lies.
Could day start be one of those lies?
I don’t see why not.
Jeremiah did not say we’d inherit “some lies, and other things are accurate”.
He literally said everything is a lie.
Do we want to take it literally, or figuratively?
Jeremiah 1:9 impacts my decision on this:
9Then יהוה put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and יהוה said to me, “See, I have put My words in your mouth.
Yah says He put His own words in Jeremiah’s mouth.
With that said, I fully trust everything that Jeremiah said.
If he said we have inherited lies, it is Yah saying so, not Jeremiah.
That makes anything and everything suspect.
How do we deal with it?
I go to the scriptures, having cleared my mind, like a blank slate.
I go to the scriptures without a predetermined bias for any given subject.
I then do my best to evaluate what the scriptures say, without making any assumptions or speculating.
If it says it, I believe it.
If it does not say it, then I do not fill in the cracks with assumptions.
Looking at Yeshua’s tomb following the Sabbath:
Mark 16:1-2
1And when the Sabbath was past, Miryam from Maḡdala, and Miryam the mother of Ya‛aqoḇ, and Shelomah bought spices, to go and anoint Him.
2And very early on day one of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
This passage states
#1 It was after the Sabbath
#2 It was early in the day, when the sun had risen
—– This bit of scripture does not have a context of defining a day, nor defining Sabbath. This narrative works out for both morning day start and evening day start, so it is inconclusive in the evaluation of day start.
Matthew 28:1
1But late in the sabbath, as it was dawning into day one of the week, Miryam from Maḡdala and the other Miryam came to see the tomb.
This passage tells us:
#1 it was late in the Sabbath, as opposed to being after the Sabbath
#2 as the dawn was beginning
——- This bit of scripture validates morning day start, as it does not indicate that Sabbath had ended the evening before, but that Sabbath was ending as the dawn was beginning.
Luke 24:1-2
1But on day one of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared,
2and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
This passage tells us:
#1 At dawn of day one of the week
—— This bit of scripture does not reference Sabbath, and simply tells us it was early morning at dawn. This verse is inconclusive regarding day start.
John 20:1
1And on day one of the week Miryam from Maḡdala came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
This passage tells us:
#1 early on day one of the week
#2 still dark
——- Taken by itself, it would say that day one began while still dark, which would oppose the idea of morning day start.
However, if we look at the four accounts, there are conflicts.
In Mark, the Sabbath had passed, it was day one, and the sun had risen. The stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
In Matthew, it was still Sabbath, but late in the Sabbath, as it was dawning into day one of the week.
The stone was not rolled back, but there was a great earthquake, for a messenger of יהוה came down out of heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
In Luke, it was already day one of the week, at early dawn, and the stone was rolled away.
In John, it was day one of the week, still dark, and the stone had been removed.
Is this simply an issue with four different witnesses writing about these things, from their own perspective, based on what they had heard from those who were there (second hand knowledge)?
Is this an issue of translation errors over time?
Here is my take on it:
I wasn’t there, so I cannot sort out the differences.
I can however, establish day start and Sabbath from first mention in Genesis, and not try to alter it with what appears to be sketchy information provided across four different accounts by four different authors who were not all eye witnesses themselves, in books written years apart, some decades after these events occurred.
In stating this, I am not calling into question that scripture is divinely inspired or that it cannot be trusted.
I’m just saying we have four different accounts, none of them having a context related to defining day start or Sabbath, plus I wasn’t there — so I don’t know and any thoughts I develop from these four accounts is irrelevant since I was not there and do not know.
I can however, take what is detailed in scripture when days and Sabbath are being defined, and believe it.
I do not want to trump Genesis 1 and 2 with other accounts in scripture that are not even speaking about day start or Sabbath definition. We can use the details shown in other accounts to think and consider, but we cannot confirm doctrine based on pre-assumed bias, and by adding assumptions to unrelated scriptures.
This is what happens when Christians “prove” the law is done away with. They take bits and pieces of scripture, say they prove the law is done away with when they are out of context with the original conversation, requires ignoring volumes of other evidence in the scriptures, and even requires ignoring the very words of Yah.
This day start study is very difficult. It is hard to evaluate verses that seem to confirm what we already think, when that isn’t even the topic or context of those verses. No, they should not be ignored. They should be studied, not in isolation, but as a whole of scripture.
For example, you gave some references to Nehemiah:
14Remember me, O my Elohim, concerning this, and do not wipe out my loving-commitments that I have done for the House of my Elohim, and for its charges!
15In those days I saw in Yehuḏah those treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, and figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day they sold food.
16And men of Tsor dwelt there, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Yehuḏah, and in Yerushalayim.
17Then I contended with the nobles of Yehuḏah, and said to them, “What evil matter is this that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?
18“Did not your fathers do the same so that our Elohim brought all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Yisra’ĕl by profaning the Sabbath.”
19And it came to be, when the gates of Yerushalayim were shaded before the Sabbath, that I commanded the doors to be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
20And the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares spent the night outside Yerushalayim once or twice,
21and I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.
22And I commanded the Lĕwites that they should cleanse themselves, and they should come, guarding the gates, to set apart the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my Elohim, concerning this also, and pardon me according to the greatness of Your loving-commitment!
What does he witness?
–Yehudah profaning the Sabbath by doing much work.
–They bring them into Jerusalem on Sabbath.
–Men of Tsor also bring goods to sell on the Sabbath.
–Nehemiah confronts the leaders of Yehudah, regarding profaning the Sabbath.
–Nehemiah closes the city gates prior to Sabbath
–Vendors camp outside the walls a few times, until they are told not to anymore.
Many people say this narrative proves the Sabbath begins at sunset.
I have found a couple issues with this idea.
#1 – This narrative is not about defining day start or defining Sabbath.
#2 – It says he shuts the gates prior to Sabbath, so they cannot set up their wares.
We can make assumptions that Sabbath starts at sundown, but consider this:
What if they came in the evening the day before Sabbath to set up their wares, to sell on the Sabbath day the next day?
If they had to travel, it makes sense they would do so the day before, get set up, and then sell in the market place during the day the next day.
This scenario could be assumed just as easily as making an assumption that they are wanting to set up and sell on a Sabbath beginning at evening.
But in their time and culture, does that even make sense?
They had no electricity, no lights.
Markets were active during day time, not in the dark.
But again, I was not there. And since I was not there, I cannot make any assumptions, either that they were wanting to set up for an evening sell on the Sabbath, or they were wanting to set up in the evening to be ready to sell in the morning on the Sabbath.
This is one of those scenarios where we have to make some assumptions one way or the other to develop doctrine from this passage.
And if we do make assumptions, what if they violate Genesis 1 or the execution of Yom Kippur??
Should we do it still?
And about Deuteronomy…
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 is irrelevant to the discussion. There are no time markers mentioned in this narrative about a rebellious and wayward son that is put to death.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 goes on to speak of this type of scenario in more general terms.
If a man is put to death, hang him on a tree. Take him down before night, and bury him the same day.
Let’s graph this idea out for both morning day start and evening day start:
From this graphical representation, we can see Deuteronomy 21:22-23 can be obeyed in both day start methods. That This scenario can be obeyed for both morning and evening day start.
That makes this passage of scripture inconclusive and not valid in the debate.
There are many instances like this where people think a passage proves their version of day start.
Is it because it is proof, or is it because they have a pre-determined bias and it seems to fit what they already believe?
In this instance (and in paying a man his wages) we find it is simply bias.
There is no proof either way in those examples, and must not be used as “proof”.
Well, I ended up spending about five hours on this today. I had some things to get done, and did not get started yet.
But what is more important than studying the word?
Nothing, right?
I welcome your input after you’ve had a chance to evaluate some of these things I’ve put together today.
May Yah bless you, no matter where you land on this idea!!