Skip to content
  • Explore
    • Explore All
    • Multimedia
    • Read
    • Watch
    • Listen
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to get Involved
    • Events
    • Online Learning
    • Our Chapters
  • About
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
  • Store
  • Library
  • Login
  • DONATE
  • Explore
    • Explore All
    • Multimedia
    • Read
    • Watch
    • Listen
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to get Involved
    • Events
    • Online Learning
    • Our Chapters
  • About
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
  • Store
  • Library
  • Login
donate
  • Explore
  • Publication
  • Why Evening-Morning for the Genesis Creation Days?
Amazing,Summer,Sunrise,In,Carpathian,Mountains.,Colorful,Morning,Scene,With
Publication

Why Evening-Morning for the Genesis Creation Days?

by Hugh Ross
June 11, 2021

Question of the week: Why is there an evening-morning phrase for the Genesis creation days if those days are longer than 24 hours?

My answer: The Hebrew noun for day, yôm, has four distinct literal definitions,1 one of which is a long, finite period of time. That definition clearly is implied in Genesis 2:4 where yôm is used to refer to the entirety of creation history.

Like virtually all biblical Hebrew nouns, the Hebrew words, ereb and boqer, translated as evening and morning, respectively, have multiple literal definitions. The base definitions are ending and beginning.

In Genesis 1, the descriptions of each of the first six creation days are followed by the phrase, “and there was evening, and there was morning.” However, there is no such phrase for the 7th day. The “and there was evening and there was morning” phrases for the first six creation days mean that each of those days had a definite start point and a definite endpoint. The lack of an “and there was evening and there was morning“ phrase for the seventh day implies that the seventh day is not yet finished.

Psalm 95:11 and Hebrews 4:1–11 both state that we are still in the seventh day. During the seventh day, God ceases from his work of creation. Indeed, after the creation of Eve, we see no scientific evidence for creation miracles. On the other hand, previous to the creation of Eve, the first six Genesis 1 days, we see abundant scientific evidence for creation miracles. For much more on this subject, see the books Improbable Planet, Navigating Genesis, The Creator and the Cosmos, 4th edition, A Matter of Days, Origins of Life.

Endnote

Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (1906; reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997), 398–401; William Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures, trans. Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (1847; reprint, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1979), 341–342; R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody, 1980), 1:370–371.

Creation Views
Facing Up to Big Bang Challenges
Facing Up to Big Bang Challenges
What danger lurks in associating big bang cosmology with biblical cosmology? Most Christian physicists, astronomers, and other scientists would say, “None.” Many Christian philosophers,...
Design
Default publications post thumbnail
What Wiped Out the Dinosaurs? Part 2: The Effects
In last Monday’s article, I discussed the conclusions drawn by a panel of 41 scientists from their careful review of over twenty years’ worth...
Creation Views
Has the Light Travel Time Problem Been Resolved?
Has the Light Travel Time Problem Been Resolved?
The Light Travel Time Problem One problem for young-universe creationists is that astronomers observe galaxies that are millions and billions of light-years away. Given the...
Bible
  • Explore
  • Get Involved
  • About
  • Store
  • Library
  • Translations
  • Search
  • Login

Support Our Mission

Your support helps more people find Christ through sharing how the latest scientific discoveries affirm our faith in the God of the Bible.

Donate Now

facebook twitter instagram youtube tiktok
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy