Mark 16:2

Very early in the morning, - This was the time they left their own houses, and by the rising of the sun they got to the tomb. As the preceding day was the Sabbath, they could not, consistently with the observances of that day, approach the tomb. See the concluding notes at the end of John.

The following observations from Lightfoot will serve to illustrate this subject.

"The distinction of the twilight among the rabbins was this: -

"I. השחרא איילחא The hinde of the morning - the first appearance. R. Chaiia Rab, and R. Simeon ben Chalaphta, travelling together on a certain morning in the valley of Arbel, saw the hinde of the morning, that its light spread the sky. R. Chaiia said, Such shall be the redemption of Israel. First, it goes forward by degrees, and by little and little; but by how much the more it shall go forward, by so much the more it shall increase. It was at that time that Christ arose, namely, in the first morning, as may be gathered from the words of St. Matthew. And to this the title of the 22d Psalm seems to have respect - השחר איילת על . See also Revelation 22:16 , I am the bright and morning star. And now you may imagine the women went out of their houses towards the sepulchre.