ay,” can mean different lengths of time. Among the meanings possible, William Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies includes the following: “A day; it is frequently put for time in general, or for a long time; a whole period under consideration . . . Day is also put for a particular season or time when any extraordinary event happens.” This last sentence appears to fit the creative days, for certainly they were periods when extraordinary events were described as happening. It also allows for periods much longer than 24 hours.Genesis chapter 1 uses the expressions “evening” and “morning” relative to the creative periods. Doesn’t this indicate that they were 24 hours long? Not necessarily. In some places people often refer to a man’s lifetime as his “day.” They speak of “my father’s day” or “in Shakespeare’s day.” They may divide up that lifetime “day”, saying “in the morning [or dawn] of his life” or “in the evening or twilight of his life.” So evening and morning in Genesis chapter 1 does not limit the meaning to a literal 24 hours.Day as used in the Bible can include summer and winter, the passing of seasons as stated at Zechariah 14:8. “The day of harvest” involves many days as stated at Proverbs 25:13 and Genesis 30:14. A thousand years are likened to a day in Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8, 10. It would seem reasonable that the “days” of Genesis could likewise have embraced long periods of time millenniums. What then, took place during those creative eras? Is the Bible’s account of them scientific? Following is a review of these “days” as expressed in Genesis.Day No. Creative Works Texts1 Light; division between day and night Genesis 1:3-52 Expanse, a division between waters beneath the expanse and wat...
