VMS Help RECOVER, Qualifiers, /BEFORE  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

       /BEFORE[=time]

    Selects only those files dated prior to the specified time.
    You can specify time as an absolute time, as a combination of
    absolute and delta times, or as one of the following keywords:
    TODAY (default), TOMORROW, or YESTERDAY. To indicate the time
    attribute to be used as the basis for selection, specify one
    of the following qualifiers with /BEFORE: /BACKUP, /CREATED
    (default), /EXPIRED, or /MODIFIED.

    For complete information on specifying time values, see the
    OpenVMS User's Manual.