The Genesis account’s description of the creation of light (Heb., ʼohr) and the appearance of the sun, moon, and stars provides profound insights into the creative works of Jehovah. Genesis 1:1 succinctly states that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” implying that the celestial bodies, including the sun, were part of the initial creation, existing prior to the detailed creative days outlined in Genesis 1.

Clarification on the Fourth Creative “Day”

On the fourth creative “day,” Scripture does not suggest the origination of light itself, as light was mentioned earlier in Genesis 1:3, indicating its presence before the establishment of day and night cycles as we understand them. Instead, Genesis 1:14-19 describes God’s action of making the sun, moon, and stars to “come to be in the expanse of the heavens,” a statement that refers not to their creation ex nihilo (out of nothing) at this moment but to their appointed roles and functions in relation to the Earth.

The Hebrew verb used in Genesis 1:16 and 17 is a form of ʽa·sahʹ, often rendered “make,” which can encompass meanings such as to appoint, form, or prepare. This indicates that the fourth day’s activity involved assigning the sun, moon, and stars—which were already in existence—a specific purpose: to serve as markers for time and seasons and to illuminate the Earth.

Light Before Luminaries

The gradual appearance of light on the first “day,” as described in Genesis 1:3, can be understood as light penetrating the atmospheric layers surrounding the early Earth, becoming visible from the planet’s surface. This predates the clarification of the sources of this light—the sun, moon, and stars—on the fourth “day.” The phrase “God put them in the expanse of the heavens” signifies the moment when these celestial bodies became discernible and functional from an earthly perspective, marking the cycles of day and night and the seasons, thus enabling accurate measurement of time.

The Purpose of Celestial Luminaries

The luminaries’ purpose extended beyond merely lighting the Earth; they were to “make a division between the day and the night” and to “serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14-18). This function highlights their role in manifesting God’s existence and majesty, as well as their utility in marking the passage of time through their movements.

The term ma·ʼohrʹ, used to describe these light sources, is similarly employed in other biblical contexts to refer to light-producing mechanisms, such as the lampstand in the tabernacle, and even figuratively to represent the “brightness of the eyes” (Proverbs 15:30). The prophetic literature, as seen in Ezekiel 32:7-8, further employs this term to depict the darkening of celestial lights as a judgment from Jehovah, emphasizing their significance in the divine order.

The narrative of the creation of light and the luminaries in Genesis offers a nuanced understanding of the relationship between light, the celestial bodies, and their ordained functions. It underscores the distinction between the existence of light and the specific roles assigned to the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth creative “day,” enriching our appreciation of Jehovah’s wisdom and purpose in creation.

In interpretation, you may find one verse that appears to be in direct conflict with another (such as, fire will destroy the earth, or, the earth will last forever). We do not automatically assume that God’s original Word is wrong. We must do some investigative work: (1) Is there a scribal error? (2) Is there an error in translation? (3) Is this a case of one verse using “earth” in a literal sense, while another is using figurative language, speaking of mankind as the “earth?” This can be the case with science as well. One does not let the scientific world dictate our understanding of Scripture, but we should not be so dogmatic in the face of scientific facts that we will, like Professor Kirk Wise, set aside “all the evidence in the universe [that] turns against creationism,” while still holding onto erroneous, unreasonable, and unscriptural interpretations.

We have many of conservative scholarship who still argues that the earth and all life on it were created in six literal 24-hour days. As you may know, this flatly contradicts modern-day science. Do we have another Galileo moment in time? Who is correct here, the scholars or science? One thing is for certain; there is no fault to be found in God’s Word. The Bible does not explicitly say these creative days were literal 24-hour days. What many are failing to realize and quite a few refuse to accept is that in both the Hebrew and the Greek Scriptures, the word for “day” (Heb., yohm; Gr., hemera) is used both in a literal and in a figurative sense. Moreover, this is not a case of inerrancy. In other words, if one does not accept six literal 24 hour days, he has abandoned inerrancy. True inerrancy does not consider whether they are literal or figurative creative days, but rather is your interpretation in harmony with what the author meant by the words that he used.

These six creative days are representative of being like six successive days of a week. If we look at most modern translations, they read, “the first day,” “the second day,” “the third day,” and so on. This is an error in translation and should read. “And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.” (Gen. 1:5) There is no definite article in the Hebrew of these six creative days. It is the translators who choose to add it to their translations. (ESV, LEB, HCSB, NIV, etc.) However, the American Standard Version, the Updated American Standard Version, and the New American Standard Bible read, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” (1:5) If we were talking about a definite period of time, generally there should be a definite article in the Hebrew because it is written in the prose genre. It is only in Hebrew poetry that the definite article could be omitted. What we are looking at with these six creative days is simply a sequential pattern, as opposed to six literal units of definite time.

Unpacking the Length of a Genesis “Day”

In exploring the Genesis account of creation, a question arises: How long is a “day” as described in Genesis chapter 1? This inquiry invites us to delve into the biblical text, seeking understanding beyond a simplistic 24-hour interpretation.

Beyond Twenty-Four Hours

The narrative of Genesis chapter 1 presents a compelling case for interpreting the term “day” as more than a mere 24-hour period. Notably, Genesis 1:5 delineates “day” to specifically refer to the light period, distinct from the encompassing darkness, thereby introducing a division within what might be considered a conventional day. Moreover, Genesis 2:4 intriguingly refers to all the creative periods collectively as a singular “day” in the statement: “This is a history of the heavens and the earth in the time of their being created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.” This singular usage to describe the entirety of creation’s timeframe suggests a broader interpretation.

The Flexibility of “Yohm”

The Hebrew term “yohm,” rendered as “day” in English translations, carries with it a flexibility in duration. William Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies elucidates that “yohm” can signify a day, a time in general, or even a long period. This range of meanings supports the interpretation of the creative “days” as epochs or extended periods, especially given their context of extraordinary events.

Evening and Morning: Metaphorical Markers?

The Genesis account utilizes “evening” and “morning” to mark the progression of the creative periods. However, this phrasing need not confine us to a literal 24-hour framework. Just as we might refer to a person’s lifetime as their “day,” using terms like “the dawn of his life” or “the twilight of his life,” so too can “evening” and “morning” in Genesis signify phases within a prolonged period rather than literal times of day.

Biblical Precedents for Extended “Days”

Scripture provides numerous instances where “day” signifies timeframes beyond 24 hours. For example, “day” encompasses entire seasons (Zechariah 14:8), the duration of a harvest (Proverbs 25:13; Genesis 30:14), and metaphorically, a thousand years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8, 10). “Judgment Day” as depicted in the New Testament spans years, further demonstrating the term’s flexibility (Matthew 10:15; 11:22-24).

The Seventh Day: An Ongoing Rest

The duration of the creation “days” becomes particularly intriguing when considering the seventh day. Unlike the other days, the seventh lacks the formulaic mention of “an evening and a morning,” suggesting it is not confined to a finite period. Genesis 2:3 highlights that God blessed the seventh day and declared it sacred, resting from all His work without indicating an end to this day. This omission hints at the seventh day’s ongoing nature, potentially paralleling the extended duration of the preceding days.

The Genesis creation account, when examined closely, supports the understanding of “day” as encompassing periods far exceeding 24 hours. This interpretation aligns with both the linguistic flexibility of the Hebrew language and the broader thematic elements of the biblical narrative, inviting readers to appreciate the profound depth and richness of the divine creation story.

The phrase “there was evening and there was morning” found in the Genesis creation account can be further examined to argue against a strict 24-hour day interpretation. Here are additional considerations:

Contextual Understanding

1. Comparative Literature: Ancient Near Eastern creation narratives, which share similarities with the Genesis account, often use symbolic language to describe cosmic events. This suggests that the early Genesis audience may have been more attuned to a figurative rather than a strictly literal interpretation of “day.”

2. Literary Structure: The structured repetition of “there was evening and there was morning” across the creation days serves a literary function, emphasizing the completion of distinct creative acts rather than the passage of time. This pattern could be intended more to convey order and completion than to specify duration.

Theological Implications

1. God’s Timelessness: Scripture affirms that God exists outside of time (2 Peter 3:8). The process of creation, initiated by a timeless being, need not be constrained by our temporal measurements. The phrase “there was evening and there was morning” may simply signify phases of God’s creative activity rather than literal time periods.
2. Symbolism of Light and Darkness: Biblically, light and darkness often symbolize knowledge, presence, good, evil, etc., rather than mere physical realities (John 1:5; 1 John 1:5). The mention of “evening” and “morning” could symbolically represent the transition from chaos to order or darkness to enlightenment, which characterizes each day of creation.

Scientific and Logical Reasoning

1. Sun Creation: The vast distances of stars from Earth offer a compelling perspective on the Genesis “days.” Light from the most distant stars takes thousands to billions of years to reach us, indicating that the creative “days” mentioned in Genesis could not be mere 24-hour periods. This vast journey of light through space highlights the concept that “evening” and “morning” in the creation account might symbolize phases of development rather than literal days, aligning with the understanding that a Genesis “day” spans much longer than 24 hours.
2. Vegetation Before Sunlight: Vegetation was created on the third day (Genesis 1:11-13), prior to the sun on the fourth day. This sequence raises questions about the viability of plant life without sunlight if the days were literal 24-hour periods, further supporting a non-literal interpretation.

Holistic Scriptural Interpretation

1. Day of the Lord: The prophetic literature often speaks of the “Day of the Lord” as a time of judgment and salvation (Joel 2:31, 3:14; 2 Peter 3:10). These references, using “day” to denote extended or indeterminate periods of significant divine activity, parallel the flexible use of “day” in Genesis.
2. Biblical Numerology: Numbers in the Bible often carry symbolic rather than literal significance (e.g., the number 7 symbolizing completeness). The structure of the creation week, culminating in a seventh day of rest, may be more about conveying a theological message of completeness and divine order than about chronological accuracy.

These additional arguments underscore the multifaceted nature of the term “day” in the Genesis creation account, inviting readers to consider broader, more nuanced interpretations that transcend a literal 24-hour timeframe.