By Martin Morrison
When it comes to Genesis 1, there are always questions on our lips. Were the seven days of creation seven, 24-hour days? Is there a conflict between science and Christianity? Is this creation account a space-time event or is it mythical language intended to convey spiritual truths?
There has been fierce controversy over Genesis 1. “The atheists hurl stones at the “head-in the- sand” Creationists. The Creationists retaliate by exploiting the gaps in the evolutionary theory. Other Christians distance themselves from the creationists, arguing that the integrity of Genesis can be maintained without a 24-hour-day. And on it goes. Sometimes, we can trade arguments about carbon dating and the latest archaeological finds, and both God and Jesus are lost in a sea of quasi-scientific confusion” Beyond Eden. Philip Jensen and Tony Payne.
Though these questions and issues are certainly legitimate, we must take care that they do not obscure the real message of Genesis. Over the last few devotions, we have started looking at the real message of Genesis which starts with who is God? It continues to answer, who is man? Why are we here? Does life have meaning? Why is there man and woman? What is our relationship to the world? When we get too obsessed with modern controversy over Genesis 1, we may overlook the searching questions that God is asking us in Genesis! These are questions of far greater importance than the details of some primeval chemical reaction!
However, we cannot proceed further, without addressing the perennial question about whether the seven days of creation were in fact seven 24-hour days? Put very simply, some have argued, that the days of Genesis 1 are 24-hour days of one week, and usually then argue that the universe is young or that we have a young earth. Others have argued that the word “day” refers to a period of time, and that the universe could in fact be old and ancient.
I have no scientific background or knowledge whatsoever. After the chemical equation H2O, I have no further knowledge of chemistry or physics. My mathematical knowledge ends with the 12×12 table. Even 12×11 is a stretch for me! My very dear, long-suffering wife will tell you that I need help when changing an electric plug! She is the DIY expert in our home!
However, I do have very limited knowledge of the Hebrew language, the language in which the Old Testament was written. So, I will confine myself to examine the usage of the word “day” in Genesis. In Hebrew, the word “day” is the word “yom”. And the word “yom” occurs repeatedly in the text.
It is important to notice that the word “day” or “yom” in Hebrew is actually used in at least 5 different ways in this passage. Let me show you.
In Genesis 1:5, “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day”. So it would seem in the same verse, that the word “day” is used for the period of light, and the word “day” is used for the period of light and darkness, the day and night. So ostensibly, the same word,“yom”, is being used for a period of 12 hours, but also used for a period of 24 hours. Much as we use the word “day” for both these meanings in the English language. So immediately we have two separate meanings for the same Hebrew word in the same chapter.
Then notice in Genesis 1:14 – 19 that God creates the sun and the moon, “And God made the two great lights – the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night – and the stars”, Genesis 1:16. That means, quite obviously that days one to three in Genesis 1:3 – 13 are non-solar days, as the sun was only created on day four. If a solar day is 24 hours, then the first three days of Genesis 1 are days of unknown length. Which could mean that they were seconds or years in length. Their length is unknown. That means that the word “day’ is used for both solar and non-solar days. A third possible meaning to the word “day” in Genesis 1.
Also notice in Genesis 2:1 – 3, that at the end of the seventh “day”, there is no mention “…and there was evening and there was morning”, as in all the previous six days. So the seventh day must be different from the other six days. It must mean that God is still resting from his initial creative work and is now sustaining his universe. God has obviously not returned to his initial creative work, because it is completed. Thus ostensibly, the seventh day is an indefinite period of time. From then to now. A fourth possible meaning to the word “day”.
Lastly, notice Genesis 2:4, “…in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens”. Here again, we have the word, “yom”, but here it seems that the word is being used to refer back to the whole of Genesis 1, all seven days. This suggests that Genesis 1, was a period of at least seven days or a period of undetermined time. Just like an old man may say, “In my day, we went by train and not aeroplanes”. Or here in South Africa, we may speak of the “day” of Nelson Mandela, referring to the 1990’s, not to a particular day in particular. (Others argue that Genesis 2:4, is referring to the period between Genesis 2:4 – 4:26. In this case the same principal applies, as Genesis 2:4 – 4:26 covers a significant period of time and certainly not merely one day).
So, what to conclude? If we are Biblical Christians, then we must hold to what the Bible says. There are cogent reasons for arguing that Genesis 1 refers to seven, 24-hour days. I respect those views. However, from my limited knowledge of the Hebrew language, it would seem that Genesis 1 is not clear, as to the specific meaning of the word “day”, but uses the word interchangeably and with at least four or five different meanings in the same passage. If the Bible is not categorical about something, then I think that it would be wise for us not to be categorical either.
What we have in Genesis 1 is possibly not normal history. Normal history is man’s experience of something, and then man’s record of what he has experienced. Genesis 1 is God’s inspired word. Genesis 1 is absolutely true. Genesis 1 is history, but it is not normal history. We could possibly call it proto-history.
You cannot be a Christian and believe in the philosophy of evolution. A Christian believes that God and only God created the world. Period. We categorically believe in a personal, sovereign, creator God. “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible”, Hebrews 11:3.
He could have created in seven seconds, or he could have created over an indeterminate period of time. I have no problem whatsoever with either concept, because I have no problem with both concepts of natural and supernatural. They are not mutually exclusive. Because the Bible isn’t categorical about the timing, perhaps we should be hesitant in being categorical.
“Therefore, we must leave open the exact length of time indicated by day in Genesis”, Francis Schaeffer.