The "Days" of Genesis 1
What does the Bible tell us about the meaning of "day" in Genesis 1? A word can have more than one meaning, depending on the context. For instance, the English word "day" can have perhaps 14 different meanings. For example, consider the following sentence: "Back in my father's day, it took ten days to drive across the Australian outback during the day." Here, the first occurrence of "day" means "time" in a general sense. The second "day," where a number is used, refers to an ordinary day, and the third refers to the daylight portion of the 24-hour period. The point is that words can have more than one meaning, depending on the context.
Christians should base their thinking on the Bible
To understand the meaning of "day" in Genesis 1, we need to determine how the Hebrew word for "day," yom, is used in the context of Scripture. Consider the following:
- A typical concordance will illustrate that yom can have a range of meanings: a period of light as contrasted to night, a 24-hour period, time, a specific point of time, or a year.
- A classical, well-respected Hebrew-English lexicon [footnote: Brown, Driver, and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951), p. 398) (a one-way dictionary) has seven headings and many subheadings of the meaning of yom -- but defines the creation days of Genesis 1 as ordinary days under the heading "day is defined by evening and morning."
- A number and the phrase "evening and morning" are used for each of the six days of creation (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31).
- Outside Genesis 1, yom is used with a number 410 times, and each time it means an ordinary day. (footnote: Some say that Hosea 6:2 is an exception to this, because of the figurative language. However, the Hebrew idiomatic expression used, "After two days... in the third day..." meaning "in a short time," only makes sense if "day" is understood in its normal sense. See Van Bebber and Taylor [footnote in footnote: M. Van Bebber and P.S. Taylor, Creation and Time: A Report on the Progressive Creationist Book by Hugh Ross, Films for Christ, Mesa, Arizona, 1994.] p. 74-75, for more details) Why would Genesis 1 be the exception? (footnote: James Stambaugh, "The Days of Creation: A Semantic Approach," Proc. Evangelical Society's Far West Region Meeting, The Master's Seminary, Sun Valley, California, April 26, 1996, p. 12.)
- Outside Genesis 1, yom is used with the word "evening" or "morning" (footnote: The Jews start their day in the evening [sundown followed by night] -- obviously based on the fact that Genesis begins with the day with the "evening.") 23 times. "Evening" and "morning" appear in association, but without yom, 38 times. All 61 times the text refers to an ordinary day. Why would Genesis 1 be the exception? (footnote: Stambaugh, [see footnote {...} above], p. 15)
- In Genesis 1:5, yom occurs in context with the word "night." Outside of Genesis 1, "night" is used with yom 53 times -- and each time it means an ordinary day. Why would Genesis 1 be the exception? Even the usage of the word "light" with yom in this passage determines the meaning as ordinary day. (footnote: Ibid., p. 72.)
The Hebrew word for "day," yom is used in several ways in Genesis 1 that show that the days were ordinary days.
- The plural of yom, which does not appear in Genesis 1, can be used to communicate a longer time period, e.g. "in those days." (footnote: Ibid., p. 72-23.) Adding a number here would be nonsensical. Clearly, in Exodus 20:11 where a number is used with days, it unambiguously refers to six earth-rotation days.
- There are words in biblical Hebrew (such as olam or qedem) that are very suitable for communicating long piriods of time, or indefinite time, but none of these words are used in Genesis 1. (footnote: Ibid., p. 73-74; Russel Grigg, "How Long Were the Days of Genesis 1?" Creation, 19(1):23-25, 1996.) Alternatively, the days or years could have been compaired with grains of sand if long periods were meant.
- Dr. James Barr (Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University), who himself does not believe Genesis is true history, nonetheless admitted as far as the language of Genesis 1 is concerned that: "... so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Gen. 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24-hours we now experience, (b) the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story, (c) Noah's flood was understood to be worldwide and extinguis all human and animal life except for those in the ark." (footnote: James Barr, letter to David C.C. Watson, April 23, 1984.)
In like manner, 19th century liberal professor Marcus Dods, New College, Edinburgh, said: "... if, for example, the word "day" in these chapters does not mean a period of twenty-four hours, the interpretation of Scripture is hopeless." (footnote: M. Dods, Expositor's Bible [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1888], p. 4., as cited by D.F. Kelly, Creation and Change [Fearn, Scotland, UK: Christian Focus Publications, 1997], p. 112.)
Conclusion About "Day" in Genesis 1
If we are prepared to let the words of the language speak to us in accord with the context and normal definitions, without being influenced by outside ideas, then the word for "day" in Genesis 1 -- which is qualified by a number, the phrase "evening and morning," and for day one the words "light and darkness -- obviously means an ordinary day (about 24 hours).
In Martin Luther's day, some of the church fathers were saying that God created everything in only one day, or in an instant.
Martin Luther wrote: When Moses writes that God created Heaven and earth and whatever is in them in six days, then let this period continue to have been six days, and do not venture to devise any comment according to which six days were one day. But, if you cannot understand how this could have been done in six days, then grant the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are. For you are to deal with Scripture in such a way that you bear in mind that God himself says what is written. But since God is speaking, it is not fitting for you wantonly to turn His Word in the direction you wish to go. (footnote: E. M. Plass, What Martin Luther Says, a Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian [St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1991], p. 1523.)
Similarly, John Calvin stated: "... albiet the duration of the world, now declining to its ultimate end, has not yet attained six thousand years. ... God's work was completed in a moment but in six days." (footnote: J.T. McNeil, editor, Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion 1 [Louisville, KY: The Westminister Press, 1960], p. 160-161, 182.)
Luther and Calvin were the backbone of the Protestant Reformation that called the Church back to Scripture -- Sola Scriptura, "Scripture alone." Both of these men were adamant that Genesis 1 taught six ordinary days of creation -- only thousands of years ago.
This snippet was taken from the book "The Revised and Expanded Answers Book" by Ken Ham, Jonathan Sarfati, Carl Wieland, and edited by Don Batten, Ph.D.. It is an AWESOME book answering all sorts of questions about Genesis and Creation! you can find and buy it at http://www.answersingenesis.org/
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