Answer: In our opinion, examination of the Hebrew word for “day” and the context in which it appears in Genesis will lead to the conclusion that “day” means a literal, 24-hour period of time.
The Hebrew word yom translated into the English “day” can mean more than one thing. It can refer to the 24-hour period of time that it takes for the earth to rotate on its axis (e.g., “there are 24 hours in a day”). It can refer to the period of daylight between dawn and dusk (e.g., “it gets pretty hot during the day but it cools down a bit at night”). And it can refer to an unspecified period of time (e.g., “back in my grandfather’s day . . .”). It is used to refer to a 24-hour period in Genesis 7:11. It is used to refer to the period of daylight between dawn and dusk in Genesis 1:16. And it is used to refer to an unspecified period of time in Genesis 2:4. So, what does
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yom mean in Genesis 1:5–2:2 when used in conjunction with ordinal numbers (i.e., the first day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day, and the seventh day)? Are these 24-hour periods or something else? Could yom as it is used here mean an unspecified period of time?We can determine how yom should be interpreted in Genesis 1:5–2:2 by comparing that context to the word’s usage elsewhere in Scripture. The Hebrew word yom is used 2,301 times in the Old Testament. Outside of Genesis 1, yom plus a number (used 410 times) almost always indicates an ordinary day, i.e., a 24-hour period. There are a few instances where yom and a number do not imply a literal, 24-hour day. The words evening and morning together (38 times) most often indicate an ordinary day. The exact construction of evening, then morning, along with yom is only seen outside of Genesis 1 in one verse. This is Daniel 8:26, which clearly implies a long period of time.
All in all, the context in which the word yom is used in Genesis 1:5–2:2, describing each day as “the evening and the morning,” seems to suggest that the author of Genesis meant 24-hour periods. This was the standard interpretation of the days of Genesis 1:5–2:2 for most of Christian history. At the same time, there were early church fathers, such as Augustine, who noted that the vague nature of the “days” of Genesis could well suggest a non-literal interpretation.
Then, in the 1800s, a paradigm shift occurred within the scientific community. This was mostly driven by hostility to religion and an effort to re-interpret observations in ways contrary to the Bible. This caused a rift in the scientific community. One side claimed that only atheism, as well as specific ideas such as an old earth and naturalistic evolution, was compatible with science. The other side, in response, attempted to denounce atheism and any possible old-earth interpretations.
The truth is that both young-earth and old-earth interpretations rely upon certain assumptions. Sincere believers debate the meaning of yom in the creation account because a case can be made on both sides. This does not diminish the importance of what Genesis teaches, regardless of whether or not a person accepts young-earth creationism.For instance, according to Exodus 20:9–11, God used the six creation days of Genesis as a model for man’s workweek: work six days, rest one. Apparently, He had us in mind even before He made us (on the sixth day) and wanted to provide an example for us to follow. Certainly God could have used six discrete 24-hour days. And He could have created everything using a process of long time periods. Our view, based on our interpretation of the Bible, is that six literal days is the most likely interpretation of the Genesis account.
(16) This difficult verse, rendered word for word, gives--
'My f?tus (literally, rolled) saw thine eyes,
And on thy book all of them were written;
Days were formed, and not (or, as the Hebrew margin, to him) one in them.'
The reading 'substance yet being imperfect' of the Authorised Version follows the LXX. and Vulg., and (Symmachus, 'shapeless thing') periphrastically denotes the embryo, which the Hebrew word--literally, rolled, or wrapped, used in 2Kings 2:8, 'of a mantle,' in Ezekiel 27:24, 'bales' (Authorised Version, 'clothes;' margin, 'foldings')--almost scientifically describes. (Comp. Job 10:8-12; 2 Maccabees 7:22.)
Others take it of the ball of the threads of destiny; but this is not a Hebrew conception. By inserting the word members, the Authorised Version suggests a possible, but not a probable, interpretation. The Hebrew language likes to use a pronoun before the word to which it refers has occurred (see Note, Psalm 68:14); and, in spite of the accents, we must refer all of them to 'days' (Authorised Version, 'in continuance').
'Thine eyes beheld my embryo,
And in thy book were written
All the days, the days
Which were being formed,
When as yet there were none of them.'
But a much more satisfactory sense is obtained by adopting one slight change and following Symmachus in the last line--
'The days which are all reckoned, and not one of them is wanting.'
All the ancient versions make that which is written in God's book either the days of life, or men born in the course of these days, each coming into being according to the Divine will.
Verse 16. - Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; or, 'my embryo.' The Hebrew text has but the single word גלמי, which probably means, 'the still unformed embryonic mass' (Hengstenberg). And in thy book all my members were written; literally, all of them; but the pronoun has no antecedent. Professor Cheyne and others suspect the passage to have suffered corruption. But the general meaning can scarcely have been very different from that assigned to the passage in the Authorized Version. Which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. Modern critics mostly translate 'the days,' or 'my days,' 'were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them;' i.e. 'my life was planned out by God, and settled, before I began to be.'Parallel Commentaries ...
Your eyes
עֵינֶ֗יךָ(‘ê·ne·ḵā)
Noun - cdc | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain
saw
רָ֘א֤וּ(rā·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7200: To see
my unformed body;
גָּלְמִ֤י ׀(gā·lə·mî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1564: A wrapped
all
כֻּלָּ֪ם(kul·lām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every
my days
יָמִ֥ים(yā·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117: A day
were written
יִכָּ֫תֵ֥בוּ(yik·kā·ṯê·ḇū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3789: To grave, to write
in
וְעַֽל־(wə·‘al-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against
Your book
סִפְרְךָ֮(sip̄·rə·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5612: A missive, document, writing, book
and ordained for me
יֻצָּ֑רוּ(yuṣ·ṣā·rū)
Verb - Pual - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3335: To mould into a, form, as a, potter, to determine
before one of them came to be.
אֶחָ֣ד(’e·ḥāḏ)
One Day's Wages
Number - masculine singularStrong's 259: United, one, first
Psalm 139:16 NLT
Psalm 139:16 ESV
Psalm 139:16 NASB
Psalm 139:16 KJV
Psalm 139:16 BibleApps.com
One Days Burden Is Enough For One Day Meme
Psalm 139:16 Biblia Paralela
Psalm 139:16 Chinese Bible
Psalm 139:16 French Bible
One Day's Worth
Psalm 139:16 Clyx Quotations
One Day Video
OT Poetry: Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my body (Psalm Ps Psa.)