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In Esther 4:16, Esther sends a message to Mordecai, instructing him to fast on her behald: Fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king. So they fasted for 72 hours, right? No: in Esther 5:1, Esther went to the king on the third day.
The passages in Matthew and Esther are not analogous. Matthew is explicitly stating that Jesus would be buried for "three days and three nights." Esther is requesting that Mordecai fast for the three days until she presents herself before Xerxes, and that he is to fast during the daytime and the nightime.
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And in Matthew 27:63, the chief priests and Pharisees say that Jesus said, After three days I will rise again, and in response Pilate commands that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Pilate seems to have thus regarded the preceding day -- Friday -- as a whole day, even though Jesus had only been entombed from some point in the evening.
This actually affirms the unhistorical nature of the passage. If the Jews were so concerned about the disciples stealing Jesus' body, why would they request that the tomb be guarded until only the third day? Why not secure the tomb for a much longer period to remove any doubt that Christ was indeed dead?
As for a "day and night" being the same as a "dayspan," if Matthew intended to use such terminology, he would have said, "three days and nights," rather than "three days and three nights."
Respectfully,
Franciscan Monkey
