hold of Jesus. On the officers’ return empty-handed, the Pharisees belittled them for making a report favorable to Jesus, whereupon Nicodemus spoke up, saying: “Our law does not judge a man unless first it has heard from him and come to know what he is doing, does it?” For this the others ridiculed him. (John 7:45-52) After Jesus’ death, Nicodemus came along with Joseph of Arimathea, that fearful disciple, bringing a hundred-pound roll of myrrh and aloes, an expensive offering, with which to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. (19:38-40) There is no Scriptural evidence for or against the traditions that say Nicodemus later became a disciple, was cast out of the Sanhedrin and Jerusalem, died a martyr’s death, and so forth.

NICOLAUS

(Nic·o·laʹus) [conqueror of the people].

1. One of the seven qualified men whom the congregation recommended to the apostles for appointment as food distributors to ensure just and fair treatment among the early Jerusalem congregation following Pentecost, 33 C.E. Nicolaus is the only one of the seven called “a proselyte of Antioch,” which suggests that he may have been the only non-Jew of the group, the Greek names of the others being common even among natural Jews.—Acts 6:1-6.

2. The “sect of Nicolaus” (or Nicolaitans) is condemned in two of the seven letters to the congregations in chapters two and three of Revelation. For hating “the deeds of the sect of Nicolaus,” which Christ Jesus himself also hates, the “angel” of the Ephesus congregation was commended. (Rev. 2:1, 6) In the congregation at Pergamum, however, there were some “holding fast the teaching of the sect of Nicolaus,” from which they were urged to turn away and repent.—Rev. 2:12, 15, 16.

Aside from what is here written in Revelation about the sect of Nicolaus, nothing else is known of it, either of its practices and teachings, which are condemned, or of its origin and development. The connective “so” immediately following the reference to the immoral and idolatrous course the Israelites pursued due to the “teaching of Balaam” (Rev. 2:14, 15) might indicate some similarity, but the meaning of the two names is not enough alike to say they are the same sect, as has been suggested; Revelation at the same time makes a distinction between the two. There is no reason to connect the sect with Nicolaus the Antiochian Christian (No. 1 above) just because he is the only person of that name in the Bible, as has also been done by some of the early church writers. Nor is it warranted to say that some apostatized sect took his name to give weight to their wrongdoing. Nicolaus was more probably a Biblically unidentified individual after whom the ungodly movement was named.

NICOPOLIS

(Ni·copʹo·lis) [city of victory].

A city where the apostle Paul decided to spend the winter during one of his trips and to which he urged Titus to come. (Titus 3:12) The note at the end of Paul’s letter to Titus in the Authorized Version indicating it to have been written “from Nicopolis of Macedonia” is not found in the oldest manuscripts. Evidently Paul did not write his letter from Nicopolis, since Titus 3:12 implies that he was not yet there but had merely decided to winter there.

Of the various ancient cities named Nicopolis, the Nicopolis of Epirus located on a peninsula in northwestern Greece seems to fit the Biblical reference best. Being a prominent city, it would have been a good place for Paul to declare the good news, and it was conveniently situated for both Paul (apparently then in Macedonia) and Titus (in Crete). It may be that Paul was arrested in Nicopolis and then taken to Rome for his final imprisonment and execution.

Octavian (Augustus) founded Nicopolis to memorialize his naval victory (of 31 B.C.E.) over Antony and Cleopatra at nearby Actium. The Actian games instituted by him in honor of the god Apollo also served to commemorate this event. The city itself occupied the site of the Roman encampment and, where his tent had been, Octavian built a temple to the god Neptune. Most of the city’s public edifices, according to the historian Josephus, were erected through the interest and financial aid of Herod the Great.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVI, chap. V, par. 3.

NIGER

(Niʹger) [black].

The Latin surname given to Symeon, one of the “prophets and teachers” of the congregation of Antioch, Syria.—Acts 13:1.

NIGHT

[Heb., laʹyil or layʹlah; Gr., nyx].

The period of darkness from sunset to sunrise was designated by Jehovah God as “Night.” (Gen. 1:5, 14) Between sunset and the actual darkness there is a short period of evening twilight when the stars begin to be seen. This time was called neʹsheph by the Hebrews and evidently is the time meant by the expression “between the two evenings” found at Exodus 12:6. (Prov. 7:9) Similarly, at the end of the night’s darkness there is a morning twilight leading to the dawn and this was expressed by the same Hebrew word. Thus, the writer at Psalm 119:147 says: “I have been up early in the morning twilight.”

HEBREW DIVISION

The Hebrews divided the night into watches. “When I have remembered you upon my lounge, during the night watches I meditate on you.” (Ps. 63:6) Since Judges 7:19 speaks of a “middle night watch,” it seems evident there were three of them in early times. It appears that each watch covered one-third of the time between sundown and sunrise, or about four hours each, depending on the time of the year. The first watch would thus run from about 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The “middle night watch” would begin about 10 p.m. and run until about 2 a.m. This was a strategic time for Gideon to make his surprise attack on the Midianite camp. The third watch was called the “morning watch,” lasting from about 2 a.m. till sunrise. It was during this morning watch that Jehovah caused the pursuing Egyptian armies to begin to experience grave difficulties in their attempted passage through the Red Sea.—Ex. 14:24-28; see also 1 Samuel 11:11.

ROMAN DIVISION

At least by the time of the Roman domination, the Jews adopted the Greek and Roman practice of four nocturnal watches. Jesus evidently referred to these four divisions when he said: “Therefore keep on the watch, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether late in the day or at midnight or at cock-crowing or early in the morning.” (Mark 13:35) The “late in the day” watch ran from sunset till the third hour, or about 9 p.m. The second watch, called “the midnight,” began with the third hour and ended at midnight. (Luke 12:38) The “cock-crowing” covered from midnight till the ninth hour, or about 3 a.m. It was probably during this time that the first or even both of the cockcrowings mentioned at Mark 14:30 occurred. (See COCKCROW.) Finally, from the ninth hour until sunrise was the fourth or “early in the morning” watch.—Matt. 14:25; Mark 6:48.

On one occasion mention is made of a specific hour of the twelve hours that make up the nighttime. Acts 23:23 tells us that it was at the “third hour,” or about 9 p.m., that the military commander ordered the troops to take Paul from Jerusalem on his way to Caesarea.

Whereas the Jews began the new day at sunset, according to Roman custom midnight was the fixed point for ending and beginning the day. This avoided the problem resulting from the lengthening and shortening of the daylight hours due to the seasons (as occurred when starting the day at sunset) and allowed for their dividing the day into two equal twelve-hour periods at all times of the year. This is the practice in most nations today.

Among the Greeks and Romans night was deified and called the daughter of Chaos. She was regarded