There were two ways of observing the nighttime (watches) described in the Bible. In the New Testament under the Roman rule, the dark time was divided into four periods, as in Mark 13:35:

"Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning."

First watch: in the evening (sunset until 9 p.m.).

Second watch: at midnight (9 until midnight).

Third watch: at the crowing of the rooster (midnight until 3 a.m.).

Fourth watch: in the morning (3 until 6 a.m.).

So when Matthew 14:25 and Mark 6:48 describe Jesus as walking on the sea in "the fourth watch of the night," we know it was early morning.

And when we are admonished to be watching for the master's return in Luke 12:38, "if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch," we see it could be anywhere from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. And when Christ told Peter he would deny Him "before the rooster crows" in Matthew 26:34, it seems it was sometime after midnight and before 3 a.m. (It must have been a long night for Peter.)

But in the Old Testament there were only three divisions of the night of four hours each:

Lamentations 2:19: "At the beginning of the watches" (sunset to 10 p.m.).

Judges 7:19 mentions "the beginning of the middle watch" (10 p.m. to 2 a.m.).

Exodus 14:24 and 1 Samuel 11:11 mention " the morning watch" (2 a.m. to sunrise).

In Psalm 90:4 David wrote: "For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night." And if for some reason we lie awake during the night, our thoughts need to be focused on God and not our problems. David's example in Psalm 63:6 is "I meditate on You in the night watches."