Genesis 1:5 - Does “day” mean a 24-hour period or ages?

Genesis 1:5 Does “day” mean a 24-hour period or ages?



The age of the earth is an issue of contention between secular scientists and Christians. Even within the evangelical church, the battle over the word "day" rages on. By examining the word "day", a clearer understanding of the age of the earth is understood, as well as its biblical use when dealing with creation.


There are two words for day that are used in the book of Genesis: (yom), which means day1, and mochorath which means "the morrow", usually referring to the day after today2. The word yom also can be used to describe a period of time longer than a typical 24 hour day. It is used four different ways in the first two chapters of Genesis: 1) The twelve-hour period of daylight as opposed to night. 2) A solar day of twenty four hours. 3) The period of light that began with the creation of light on the first creative day. 4) The entire, six-day creative period.3


Already it is visible that the word "yom" was not intended to be used for an expansive period of time in the creation account. Even when "yom does designate something other than a literal, twenty-four-hour day, it nonetheless refers to a period of specified duration."4 It is also doubtful that yom "ever signified a period of time extending into millions of years," which is required for those who believe the earth is much older than thousands of years.


When studying Scripture it is very important to keep an eye not only on how a word is used in the context you are currently reading, but how the word is used elsewhere as well. The word "yom" is no different. Everywhere else in the "Old Testament, when the Hebrew word for “day” (‫םיו‬ֹ, yom) appears with “evening” or “morning” or is modified by a number (e.g., “sixth day” or “five days”), it always means a 24-hour day."5 There are "no exceptions to this rule. In the Genesis account, yom is used with a numeral, indicating that it intends the reader to understand that these are literal days of twenty-four hours."6 Also, since Scripture never contradicts itself, we should expect this time period to be referenced accordingly in the rest of the text as well. Jumping ahead to Exodus 20:8-11 God commanded the Israelites to work six literal “days” and rest on the seventh because He created in six “days” (using the same Hebrew word)."7


Another piece of evidence is the order of creation itself. The order in which everything was created does not give credence to anything other than a literal six-day creation period. The Bible says "that the sun was created on the fourth day, making the very survival of vegetation, created on the third day, very difficult if 'days' are ages."8


The problem also with the "day-age" theory is that death is not introduced until after the fall of man. The results were that "spiritual death and suffering came immediately as a result of their sin and eventually led to physical death."9 If animals had existed for innumerable generations before the fall, than obviously there would have been countless deaths before man was even created.


Looking at the creation account and understanding the language, style, and concepts that are described in Genesis 1, one fundamental idea stands out above the rest: "If God had meant to convey the idea of long ages, He could easily have used a number of other Hebrew words and phrases to convey that idea."10


BIBLIOGRAPHY


Bibleinfo.com, “Did Creation Take Place in 6 Literal Days.” http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/did- creation-take-place-6-literal-days.


Davis, John J., Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis, Salem, Wisc.: Sheffield Publishing Co., 1998.


Hindson, Edward E., and Gary E. Yates, The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey. Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Academic, 2012.


Morris, Henry Ph.D., The Literal Week of Creation. Acts & Facts. 27 1998.


Mortenson, Terry “Six Literal Days” https://answersingenesis.org. February 24, 2010. https://answersingenesis.org/six-literal-days.


The Strongest NASB Exhaustive Concordance. (NASB updated ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan), 2004.










1The Strongest NASB Exhaustive Concordance. (NASB updated ed. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan 2004) 3117.


2Ibid., 4283.


3 John James Davis, Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis (Salem, Wisc.: Sheffield Publishing Co., 1998) 51.


4 Ibid., 53.


5 Terry Mortenson, “Six Literal Days,” https://answersingenesis.org, February 24, 2010, https://answersingenesis.org/six-literal-days.


6 “Did Creation Take Place in 6 Literal Days,” http://www.bibleinfo.com, http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/did-creation-take-place-6-literal-days.


7 Terry Mortenson, “Six Literal Days,” https://answersingenesis.org, February 24, 2010, https://answersingenesis.org/six-literal-days.


8 John James Davis, Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis (Salem, Wisc.: Sheffield Publishing Co., 1998) 55.


9 Edward E. Hindson and Gary E. Yates, The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey(Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Academic, 2012), 56.





10 Henry Morris Ph.D., The Literal Week of Creation. Acts & Facts. 27 (1998) 5.