Exodus 20:11 uses the creation week to establish a work week. and if there was any confusion about what “day” means in genesis, exodus 20:11 clears it away when it says, “for in six days the lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. therefore the lord blessed the sabbath day and made it. Hebrew scholars: 24 hour days in creation. the top hebrew scholars all agree that the writer of genesis 1 intended the word day to mean 24 hours. if they all agree . . . then why can’t we? in 1983, as a junior, i walked into the university of georgia’s religion building terrified.
If the seventh day was an ordinary 24 hour day, then by implication the previous six days were also ordinary 24 hour days. we cannot suppose that the sabbath was a period of thousands or millions of years, and it would be highly arbitrary to hold that only this one day was a 24 hour day while the previous six were geological periods. What follows are brief sketches of biblical reasons to doubt young earth exegesis. 1. genesis 1:1 describes the actual act of creation out of nothing and is not a title or a summary. genesis 1:1 tells us that “in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth.”. this is not a title or a summary of the narrative that follows. Genesis 1 is an inspired account of the creation week. yes, the days of creation were 24 hour days, for several reasons: 1. the terminology of the text itself: v. 5 "god called the light day, and the darkness he called night. so the evening and the morning were the first day." (caps are for emphasis not shouting!). Therefore, the genesis 1 days may refer to 1000 year time periods, rather than 24 hour time periods. day age theory. this view, a subset of old earth creationism, is the view that the word "day" in genesis 1 is metaphorical, and represents an arbitrary amount of time. consistency with scientific evidence is frequently cited, but also often.
Genesis 1 is an inspired account of the creation week. yes, the days of creation were 24 hour days, for several reasons: 1. the terminology of the text itself: v. 5 "god called the light day, and the darkness he called night. so the evening and the morning were the first day." (caps are for emphasis not shouting!). Therefore, the genesis 1 days may refer to 1000 year time periods, rather than 24 hour time periods. day age theory. this view, a subset of old earth creationism, is the view that the word "day" in genesis 1 is metaphorical, and represents an arbitrary amount of time. consistency with scientific evidence is frequently cited, but also often. The seventh day is not 24 hours long; sure it is. miles van pelt’s comments aside, it would appear that the argument from exodus 20:11 is unassailable. the israelites were to work six ordinary days and rest for one ordinary day, just as god created in six ordinary days and rested for one ordinary day—one that started at evening friday and ended the same time on the following day. If the meaning of the word "day" with a number always means a 24 hour period of time outside of genesis 1, then it should also mean a 24 hour period of time inside genesis 1. the words that moses used to communicate what god did during creation are very significant. if moses had meant to signify that the "days" were more than 24 hours in length.
The seventh day is not 24 hours long; sure it is. miles van pelt’s comments aside, it would appear that the argument from exodus 20:11 is unassailable. the israelites were to work six ordinary days and rest for one ordinary day, just as god created in six ordinary days and rested for one ordinary day—one that started at evening friday and ended the same time on the following day. If the meaning of the word "day" with a number always means a 24 hour period of time outside of genesis 1, then it should also mean a 24 hour period of time inside genesis 1. the words that moses used to communicate what god did during creation are very significant. if moses had meant to signify that the "days" were more than 24 hours in length.
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