Tough Questions Answered

The Hebrew word yom is used eleven times in Genesis, chapter 1.  When you read Genesis 1 (and you should before proceeding to read this post), it is clear that the author is describing the creation of the heavens and earth by God.  As the author describes this process, he uses the word yom to denote periods of time that pass between each major creation event.  Here are a few verses (Gen 1:3-8) to show what I mean:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ^ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ^ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” ^ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.  And it was so. ^ God called the expanse “sky.”  And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 

 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 It is contended that the usual meaning of the Hebrew word yom (“day”) is twenty-four hours unless the context indicates otherwise. The context does not indicate anything but a twenty-four-hour-day in Genesis 1; hence, the days should be taken as solar days.

 It is true that most often the Hebrew word yom (“day”) means “twenty-four hours.” However, this is not definitive for its meaning in Genesis 1 for several reasons.

First, the meaning of a term is not determined by majority vote, but by the context in which it is used. It is not important how many times it is used elsewhere, but how it is used here.

Second, even in the creation story in Genesis 1–2, “day” (yom) is used of more than a twenty-four-hour period. Speaking of the whole six “days” of creation, Genesis 2:4 refers to it as “the day” (yom) when all things were created.

Third, and finally, yom is elsewhere used of long periods of time, as in Psalm 90:4, which is cited in 2 Peter 3:8: “A day is like a thousand years.”

 (Norman L. Geisler, 639)

 These are the just the basic introductory arguments for these views, and much more could be said.  But we have to start somewhere and we will continue batting these views back and forth in future posts.

Related posts:

1. What is the Meaning of the Word “Day” in Genesis? Part 3
2. What is the Meaning of the Word “Day” in Genesis? Part 5
3. What is the Meaning of the Word “Day” in Genesis? Part 2
4. What is the Meaning of the Word “Day” in Genesis? Part 4
5. Does Genesis 2 Contradict Genesis 1?

Tags: age of earth, Christianity, days of Genesis, Genesis, Norman Geisler, old earth creation, young earth creation

This entry was posted by Bill Pratt on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 9:17 pm and is filed under Creation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.