World made in 6 days?
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years ago?
Here is some support for that:
http://www.drdino.com/downloads.php
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Old Earth Creation ScienceWord Study: Yom By Greg Neyman
Š 2007, Answers In Creation
Published 16 March 2005
(This article can be freely copied and distributed, as long as it is
unaltered and a link back to the original article appears on the page)
The Hebrew word for "day" is the word "Yom." Young earth creationists
have always argued that the word used for the days of creation can only mean
a 24-hour day. In this article, we will examine the uses of Yom in the Old
Testament, and show that it can mean a wide variety of time periods.
First, one must understand that the Hebrew language is not nearly as
diverse as our English language. Whereas our vocabulary is around half a
million, the Hebrew language has only 8,700 words. The French language, one
of the poorest modern languages in vocabulary and the language of choice for
diplomats, has just about 40,000 words or over 4 times the amount of words
that Ancient Hebrew has.
Many of the Hebrew words could be considered duplicates with only
slight differences. Thus, words which contain multiple meanings are common.
Such is the case with the word Yom.
Hebrew Dictionaries
Let's start with the possible meanings of Yom;
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (1980, Moody Press)
"It can denote: 1. the period of light (as contrasted with the period of
darkness), 2. the period of twenty-four hours, 3. a general vague "time," 4.
a point of time, 5. a year (in the plural; I Sam 27:7; Ex 13:10, etc.)."
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (symbols omitted)
from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether
literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or
figuratively (a space of time defined by an associated term), [often used
adv.]:--age, + always, + chronicles, continually (-ance), daily, ([birth-],
each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, end, evening,
(for)ever(lasting), ever(more), full, life, as long as (...live), even now,
old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, required, season, since,
space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather (as)
when, (a, the, within a) while (that), whole (age), (full) year (-ly),
younger
As you can see, Hebrew dictionaries attest to the fact that the word Yom is
used for anywhere from 12 hours up to a year, and even a vague "time period"
of unspecified length.
Other Uses of Yom
Day is not the only translation for the word Yom. Here are some other
uses.
Time
It is interesting to note that in 67 verses in the Old Testament, the
word Yom is translated into the English word "time." For instance, in
Genesis 4:3, it says "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain
brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord." In this
instance, Yom refers to a growing season, probably several months. Again,
in Deuteronomy 10:10, it refers to a "time" equal to forty days. In I Kings
11:42, it says "And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all
Israel was forty years." In this case, Yom translated as the word "time" is
equivalent to a 40 year period.
In Isaiah 30:8, it says "Now go, write it before them in a table, and
note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever."
In this case, Yom is equal to "forever." How long is forever? An infinite
number of years...billions upon billions upon billons of years. If Yom can
equal trillions of years here, then why not billions of years in Genesis?
Year
Four times in the Old Testament Yom is translated "year." In I Kings
1:1, "David was old and stricken in years..." In 2 Chronicles 21:19, "after
the end of two years" and in the very next verse "Thirty and two years old."
Finally, in Amos 4:4, "...and your tithes after three years." In each case,
Yom represents years, not days.
Age
Eight times in the Old Testament Yom is translated "age." These range
from sentences like "stricken in age," meaning old age (Genesis 18:11 and
24:1; Joshua 23:1 and 23:2), and other times it says "old age" (Genesis
21:2, Genesis 21:7). Genesis 47:28 refers to "the whole age of Jacob,"
therefore yom here refers to an entire lifetime. In Zechariah 8:4, it says
old men and women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, "each with cane in
hand because of his age."
Ago
One time Yom is translated "ago." 1 Samuel 9:20 says "As for the
donkeys you lost three days ago, ..."
Always
Four times yom is translated as "always," in Deuteronomy 5:29, 6:24,
14:23, and in 2 Chronicles 18:7. Always here can be interpreted as a
lifetime...for instance, we are to keep the commandments of the Lord always
(Deut. 5:29).
Season
Three times yom is translated "season." In Genesis 40:4, "...and they
continued a season in ward." Again, in Joshua 24:7, "dwelt in the
wilderness a long season," and in 2 Chronicles 15:3, "...a long season
Israel hath been...". In each case yom represents a multi-month period.
Chronicles
When used in conjunction with the word dâbâr, yom is translated
"chronicles" (27 times).
Continually
When used in conjunction with kôwl, yom is translated as "continually"
(11 times). Once, in Psalm 139:16, it is translated continuance (without
the kôwl).
Ever
Ever is used to represent a long period of time, such as in Deuteronomy
19:9, "to walk ever in his ways." Nineteen times Yom is translated "ever."
The old testament uses "for ever" instead of the word forever. In sixteen
cases of use of the word ever, for is placed before it, indicating a
infinite period of time. I will not list them all (consult Strong's
Concordance for a full listing) but here is an example. In Psalm 23:6, it
says "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Here Yom is translated as
the final word of this verse, ever. Thus, Yom in this verse, and 16 others,
represents eternity.
Evermore
In one instance, when yom is used in conjunction with kôwl, Yom is
translated "evermore." Deuteronomy 28:29, "...and thou shalt be only
oppressed and spoiled evermore;" thus representing either a lifetime or
eternity.
Word Usage in the Old Testament
As you can see, Yom is used in a wide variety of situations related to
the concept of time. Yom is not just for days...it is for time in general.
How it is translated depends on the context of its use with other words.
Yom in the Creation Account
Even within the creation account, Yom is used to represent four
different time periods.
1.. Genesis 1:5 "And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called
Night." Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate a 12-hour period
2.. Genesis 1:14 "And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of
the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and
for seasons, and for days, and years." Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate
24-hour days
3.. Genesis 2:4 "...in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the
heavens." Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate the entire creative week.
The fourth usage of Yom in the creation account is in the summary for
each of the six creation days, "and there was morning and evening the first
day". Yom is used to represent a finite, long period of time, usually either
millions or billions of years. To show support for this, consider the uses
of Yom by Moses.
Moses Other Uses of Yom
Moses, the author of the first five books of the Bible, and of Psalm
90, used Yom in many different ways.
1.. Genesis 4:3 "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain
brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord." In this
instance, Yom refers to a growing season, probably several months.
2.. Genesis 43:9 "...then let me bear the blame for ever." Here, Moses
uses Yom to represent eternity
3.. Genesis 44:32 "...then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever."
Again, Moses uses Yom to represent eternity
4.. Deuteronomy 4:40 "...that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the
earth, which the Lord thy God giveth the, for ever." Here Yom represents a
physical lifetime
5.. Deuteronomy 10:10, "Now I stayed on the mountain forty days and
nights, as I did the first time,..." Here, Yom is a "time" equal to forty
days.
6.. Deuteronomy 18:5 "...to stand to minister in the name of the Lord,
him and his sons for ever." Again, Yom is translated as eternity
7.. Deuteronomy 19:9 "...to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in
His ways..." Here, Yom represents a lifetime. As long as we live we are to
walk in his ways
As you can see, Moses used the word Yom to represent 12-hours, 24
hours, the creative week, forty days, several months, a lifetime, and
eternity.
Common Young Earth Arguments
To get around the obvious conclusion that Yom in Genesis 1 can mean
millions of years, young earth theorists have come up with several
arguments, none of which is supported by common Hebrew grammatical rules
according to Hebrew experts (such as Dr. Walter Kaiser). These rules were
created by Hebrew language experts who are young earth creationists to begin
with, thus their viewpoint is obviously biased. They have a specific agenda
they are trying to prove, and thus cannot be objective.
Ordinals/Cardinals
Young earth creationists say that whenever Yom is used with an ordinal
or cardinal number (1st, 2nd, 1,2, etc) that it always represents a 24 hour
day. However, this is not true. In Zechariah 14:7-9, the "one day" refers
to a period of time when the Lord shall be king over the earth. In other
places, some say that Isaiah and Hosea have numbers with the word day which
are figurative (External Link).
Some young earth theorists, including Jonathan Sarfati in his book
Refuting Compromise, have addressed this verse in Zechariah an Hosea.
Although his argument sounds impressive, you have to recognize it for what
it is...he is arguing for his young earth agenda, thus any rules that he
espouses must be examined by true Hebrew scholars who are impartial.
Hebrew scholars do not recognize this fabricated rule.1
What Sarfati thinks is not important...what is important, as Dr. Walter
Kaiser points out, is the intentions of the author. We should not create
rules that support our own agendas, but should strive to understand the
author's intended meaning outside of rules.
Evening/Morning Construction
In Genesis 1 Moses says "and there was evening and morning the xx day".
Does the use of evening and morning indicate a sunrise and sunset for each
creative day? First, let's look at what evening and morning are not. They
are not actual evening and mornings, as this requires a sunrise and sunset.
According to young earth theory, the Sun was not created until Day Four,
thus there could be no sunrise or sunset for the first three days of
creation. However, God uses the terms evening and morning for those first
three days. Therefore, they cannot be actual evenings and mornings.
We are left with only one option. The words for Evening and Morning can
only represent the beginning and ending of the creative period, and not
actual sunrise and sunsets. Scripture itself sets this pattern for us.
Morning and evening are used figuratively in Psalm 30:5, Psalm 49:14,15,
Psalm 90:6. Thus, the evening and morning of creation can mean the start
and end of the creative process that is attributed to that creation period.
Young earth advocates counter that traditionally, church fathers have
always held that sunrise and sunsets do not constitute a day, and they
accepted the sun creation on Day Four with no hint of the first three days
being anything other than 24-hour days. For instance, Sarfati in Refuting
Compromise mentions Luther and Calvin (page 84-86). However, Luther and
Calvin did not have the means of modern science at their disposal. At the
time, geocentricity was still accepted! Don't fall into the trap of
following the teachings of our church fathers. For more, read Church
Fathers.
Literal/Figurative Argument
This argument says that you cannot use a word figuratively until after
you have used it literally (see this Answers in Genesis article). The
author gives two examples, which appear to be correct and follow this rule.
However, is this rule valid? I see no reason to suppose that it is. You
have to be careful with young earth claims about biblical interpretation
methods. Again, they will invent rules that support their cause, when there
is no basis for their rule in Hebrew.
In this case, it makes no difference which order the word Yom appears
in, i.e. literal before figurative or vice versa. Yes, these are the first
words of the Bible, but they are not the first words of mankind. All the
time from Adam to Moses, men were speaking in their own languages, thus the
literal interpretation via spoken language would already have been
established. There was no need to suppose a literal/figurative structure.
If God's Creation Was Billions of Years Old...
If God's creation was billions of years old, how would He have written
the creation account in Genesis? One thing is certain...God is good at
telling us exactly what we need to know.
When God refers to a large number, He uses picture stories, such as
Abraham's descendants being as numerous as the sand. Why does He do this?
If God had said, "You will have millions of descendants," Abraham would have
asked, "What is a million?"
When considering the creation, if we broke it down into days, that
would be 5,000,500,000,000 days, or roughly 13.7 billion years. Do we need
an account for each day of creation...of course not. God in His infinite
wisdom, saw fit to tell us the creation story by breaking it down into
creative segments, each of which was attributed to a specific creative act
or acts. We need to give the early Hebrews of Genesis a break...they didn't
have calculators like we do!
One must also consider that time with God has no meaning. To Him, 10
billion years is like a day. Thus, it is no problem for God to put billions
of years into one of His days. Dr. Hugh Ross puts it best in his
determination that the frame of reference for creation is the surface of the
earth. Genesis 1:2 puts the witness of creation on the surface. But who is
witnessing these events? It is God himself. During the first 5.99 days of
creation, God is the only one present. Thus, human time does not
matter...no humans were there to witness the passage of time. What matters
is how God sees time! Thus, a billion year day is only a passing moment in
God's eyes.
The creation account is written in such a manner for all people to
understand it. The issue is not how long creation took...the issue is that
God did it, and that's all that matters in the end.
Conclusion
With such a wide usage of the word Yom for many different time periods,
it cannot be claimed that Yom in the Old Testament only represents a 24-hour
period. During the creation account alone, Yom represents four different
time periods. Rules of Hebrew, created by young earth Hebrew scholars, are
invalid. Because of their biased position, they are trying to prove their
own agenda.
Since humans did not witness creation, our own concept of a 24-hour day
does not apply. The only thing that matters is God's concept of time.
Thus, the only evidence we have to accurately assess the age of creation is
the creation itself. Since the rocks and stars say we are billions of years
old, that must be the truth. This fits perfectly with a literal
interpretation of Genesis, and an inerrant Bible, and does not impact any
other Biblical doctrines.
Kori Houghton
> Was the entire world really made in 6 days and less than 8 thousand
> years ago?
>
> Here is some support for that:http://www.drdino.com/downloads.php
And here! They have to be carefully taught.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3022873
Luv,
Kori
dh
>Old Earth Creation ScienceWord Study: Yom By Greg Neyman
>
>© 2007, Answers In Creation
>
>Published 16 March 2005
>
>(This article can be freely copied and distributed, as long as it is
>unaltered and a link back to the original article appears on the page)
rht...@gmail.com
the old testament could have meant a long period of time, how are
these verses explained:
~
Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the
LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Hebrews 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh [day] on
this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
~
Still, check out the scientific evidence posted on www.drdino.com if
you have any care about the truth. If all you hope for is an excuse
to cling to ignorance, then, please don't waste your time.
rht...@gmail.com
Here is some support for a 6 day creation less than 8 thousand years
ago: http://www.drdino.com/downloads.php