This section will explore answers to the following questions ...
• What is the Hebrew word for “day” in Genesis?
• How can context help us understand the meaning of the word “Yom”?
• Are the “Creation Days” in Genesis 1, 24 hours long?
• Was Jonah in the fish 3,000 years?
• Where can I learn more about the Hebrew word “Yom” (day)?
• What is the Hebrew word for “day” in Genesis?
Strong's H3117 - Yom. Authorized Version (KJV) Translation Count - Total: 2287
Yom has more than one meaning - context (use of the word in the verse, section - determines meaning. Outline of Biblical Usage - day, time, year, day (as opposed to night), day (24 hour period), as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1, as a division of time, a working day, a day's journey, days, lifetime (pl.), time, period (general), year, temporal references, today, yesterday, tomorrow
Source: http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3117&t=NKJV
• How can context (use of the word) help us understand the meaning of the word “Yom”? Looking at how a word is used in a sentence is help if there is more than one meaning for a word - example “day.” Consider the use of the word “day” in the following sentences. “I saw her during the day.” Here the word “day” is referring to the daylight portion of 24-hr day instead of the night. “Those who lived in my Grandmother’s day lived in homes with no running water, and illuminated their homes by kerosene lanterns.” Here the word “day” means a period of time, perhaps a hundred years ago. “Maybe we should make that trip another day.” Here the word day is referring to a 24-hr period of the week, perhaps later in the week. Conclusion. When we carefully look at how the word “day” is used in Genesis chapter we can see that it means a 24-hr day.
• Are the “Creation Days” in Genesis 1, 24 hours long? Are the days of Genesis 1 actual 24-hour days? Or do they represent figurative periods of time, which could be interpreted as millions of years? It is popular among many conservative evangelical scholars today to suggest the latter position. However, the former position - that the days are literal 24-hour days - is the historic position that the church has adopted since New Testament times. The key to understanding what the “days” of Genesis 1 really mean is to look at the use of the Hebrew word for “day.” The Hebrew word is “yom” and it is used throughout the Old Testament, having a variety of meanings, including the possibility of referring to an undefined, indeterminate period of time, rather like our English word “day” can. However, the meaning of any word is determined by its context, so we will look at the context of this word throughout the Old Testament. To avoid bias, we will take Genesis 1 out of the picture, so our new expurgated Old Testament runs from Genesis 2 through Malachi 4. 2 Let’s now examine these occurrences one day at a time! The Hebrew “yom” occurs 2,282 times outside Genesis 1. It occurs 359 times with a number outside Genesis 1. Some of these occurrences use cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.) and some use ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.). However, in all 359 cases, the context clearly shows that a 24-hour day is being referenced. Yom occurs 19 times outside Genesis 1, together with either the word “morning” or “evening.” In all 19 cases, a 24-hour day is clearly intended. The words “morning” and “evening” occur together, without “day” 38 times outside Genesis 1. Each of these occurrences refers to a literal 24-hour day. Finally, the Hebrew “yom” occurs with the word “night” 53 times outside Genesis 1. Each of these occurrences refers to a 24-hour day. Given this immense contextual evidence, one is tempted to ask, “What could God have done to emphasize that the days of Genesis 1 are literal 24-hour days? Might I suggest that He could have used the Hebrew “yom” together with numbers, morning, evening or night? And that is exactly what He did.
Source: The Hebrew Yom - Taking One Day at a Time, Creation Today, Paul Taylor
http://creationtoday.org/the-hebrew-yom-taking-one-day-at-a-time
• Was Jonah in the fish 3,000 years? God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:5) The straightforward reading of this verse is that Day One of the Creation Week was an ordinary-length day.1 Each day of creation consisted of an evening and a morning - a period of darkness and a period of light. This is no different from what we experience today, except the source of light for the first three days was not the sun, which was made on Day Four. This understanding of the days in Genesis 1 is perfectly consistent with every other passage in Scripture that addresses the timing of creation. Exodus 20:9–11 reveals that God instructed the Israelites to work for six days and then rest for one because that is precisely what He did in Creation Week. This truth is repeated in Exodus 31:17. In Mark 10:6, Jesus stated that male and female humans had been around “"from the beginning of creation."” Paul wrote that man has seen and understood God’s invisible attributes “"since the creation of the world"” (Romans 1:20). These verses would be false if billions of years had passed before the creation of man. If that were the case, then Jesus and Paul misled their respective audiences. Christians who believe God created everything over the course of billions of years often attempt to impose an unnatural interpretation on the days of creation in Genesis 1. This approach ultimately forces contradictions and theological dilemmas into the text. It introduces millions of years of death, disease, violence, and extinction in the animal world, plus other natural evils like hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, and earthquakes, before God called everything “"very good"” (Genesis 1:31) and before man’s sin brought these things into the world. The word translated as “day” in Genesis 1 is the Hebrew word yom. In this chapter, yom is modified by a number and used in connection with the word night and the phrase “evening and morning.” Each time yom is used outside of Genesis 1 in just one of these ways, it means a normal-length day. There should be absolutely no question that day means a literal, 24-hour day in Genesis 1 because that chapter uses yom with the combination of all three - a number, the word night, and with “evening and morning.” Some Christians object by quoting a particular verse out of context. We often hear statements like, “Yes, but 2 Peter 3:8 says that ‘a day is as a thousand years,’ so the days of creation could have been long ages.” But why doesn’t anyone ever question what the word day means when Joshua and the Israelites marched around Jericho for seven days or when Jonah was in the great fish for three days? No Christian believes that the Israelites marched around Jericho for thousands of years or that Jonah was in the great fish for 3,000 years. Why? Because Scripture is clear. Yet, why do some Christians continue to question the clear meaning of Genesis 1? The answer is that they have been influenced by modern scientists who believe in millions of years. Thus, they have allowed man’s ever-changing opinions to have authority over the unchanging Word of God. So this is really an issue of authority. Do we hold God’s Word as the authority, or do we look to the ever-changing views of fallible men who weren’t there and don’t know everything? Since God knows everything, cannot lie, and has inspired the writing of His Word, we must stick with His description of the past rather than following the views of fallible men. Praise the Lord that we can have absolute confidence in His Word!
(Source: https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/jonah-was-in-fish-3000-years)
Footnotes
1. Some say that Hosea 6:2 is an exception to this because of the figurative language.
However, the Hebrew idiomatic expression used, “"After two days . . . in the third day,"” meaning “in a short time,” makes sense only if “day” is understood in its normal sense.
• Where can I learn more about the Hebrew word “Yom” (day)? Read some articles, books. Buy an Interlinear Hebrew/English Bible. Take a class in Hebrew. Check out this link: http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3117&t=NKJV
In Six Days (4:23)
https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/foundations-six-days/?sku=30-9-432
The Days of Creation in Genesis (30:37)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOZhmEfaj7w
Creation Training Initiative - CTI - Mike Riddle
Were the Creation Days 24 Hours Long?
http://www.icr.org/article/were-creation-days-24-hours-long
ICR, Brian Thomas
The Meaning of Day in Genesis
http://www.icr.org/article/meaning-day-genesis
ICR, James Stambaugh
When Is a Day Not a Day?
http://www.icr.org/article/2721/305
ICR, John D. Morris, Ph.D.
Creation Today - The Hebrew Yom - Study Guide
http://www.creationtoday.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/The_Hebrew_Yom_Study_Guide.pdf
In Six Days (DVD)
https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/foundations-six-days/?sku=30-9-432
Length: 60 minutes, SKU: 30-9-432, Answers in Genesis
PO Box 510, Hebron, KY 41048, 800-778-3390
• What is the Hebrew word for “day” in Genesis?
• How can context help us understand the meaning of the word “Yom”?
• Are the “Creation Days” in Genesis 1, 24 hours long?
• Was Jonah in the fish 3,000 years?
• Where can I learn more about the Hebrew word “Yom” (day)?
• What is the Hebrew word for “day” in Genesis?
Strong's H3117 - Yom. Authorized Version (KJV) Translation Count - Total: 2287
Yom has more than one meaning - context (use of the word in the verse, section - determines meaning. Outline of Biblical Usage - day, time, year, day (as opposed to night), day (24 hour period), as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1, as a division of time, a working day, a day's journey, days, lifetime (pl.), time, period (general), year, temporal references, today, yesterday, tomorrow
Source: http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3117&t=NKJV
• How can context (use of the word) help us understand the meaning of the word “Yom”? Looking at how a word is used in a sentence is help if there is more than one meaning for a word - example “day.” Consider the use of the word “day” in the following sentences. “I saw her during the day.” Here the word “day” is referring to the daylight portion of 24-hr day instead of the night. “Those who lived in my Grandmother’s day lived in homes with no running water, and illuminated their homes by kerosene lanterns.” Here the word “day” means a period of time, perhaps a hundred years ago. “Maybe we should make that trip another day.” Here the word day is referring to a 24-hr period of the week, perhaps later in the week. Conclusion. When we carefully look at how the word “day” is used in Genesis chapter we can see that it means a 24-hr day.
• Are the “Creation Days” in Genesis 1, 24 hours long? Are the days of Genesis 1 actual 24-hour days? Or do they represent figurative periods of time, which could be interpreted as millions of years? It is popular among many conservative evangelical scholars today to suggest the latter position. However, the former position - that the days are literal 24-hour days - is the historic position that the church has adopted since New Testament times. The key to understanding what the “days” of Genesis 1 really mean is to look at the use of the Hebrew word for “day.” The Hebrew word is “yom” and it is used throughout the Old Testament, having a variety of meanings, including the possibility of referring to an undefined, indeterminate period of time, rather like our English word “day” can. However, the meaning of any word is determined by its context, so we will look at the context of this word throughout the Old Testament. To avoid bias, we will take Genesis 1 out of the picture, so our new expurgated Old Testament runs from Genesis 2 through Malachi 4. 2 Let’s now examine these occurrences one day at a time! The Hebrew “yom” occurs 2,282 times outside Genesis 1. It occurs 359 times with a number outside Genesis 1. Some of these occurrences use cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.) and some use ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.). However, in all 359 cases, the context clearly shows that a 24-hour day is being referenced. Yom occurs 19 times outside Genesis 1, together with either the word “morning” or “evening.” In all 19 cases, a 24-hour day is clearly intended. The words “morning” and “evening” occur together, without “day” 38 times outside Genesis 1. Each of these occurrences refers to a literal 24-hour day. Finally, the Hebrew “yom” occurs with the word “night” 53 times outside Genesis 1. Each of these occurrences refers to a 24-hour day. Given this immense contextual evidence, one is tempted to ask, “What could God have done to emphasize that the days of Genesis 1 are literal 24-hour days? Might I suggest that He could have used the Hebrew “yom” together with numbers, morning, evening or night? And that is exactly what He did.
Source: The Hebrew Yom - Taking One Day at a Time, Creation Today, Paul Taylor
http://creationtoday.org/the-hebrew-yom-taking-one-day-at-a-time
• Was Jonah in the fish 3,000 years? God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:5) The straightforward reading of this verse is that Day One of the Creation Week was an ordinary-length day.1 Each day of creation consisted of an evening and a morning - a period of darkness and a period of light. This is no different from what we experience today, except the source of light for the first three days was not the sun, which was made on Day Four. This understanding of the days in Genesis 1 is perfectly consistent with every other passage in Scripture that addresses the timing of creation. Exodus 20:9–11 reveals that God instructed the Israelites to work for six days and then rest for one because that is precisely what He did in Creation Week. This truth is repeated in Exodus 31:17. In Mark 10:6, Jesus stated that male and female humans had been around “"from the beginning of creation."” Paul wrote that man has seen and understood God’s invisible attributes “"since the creation of the world"” (Romans 1:20). These verses would be false if billions of years had passed before the creation of man. If that were the case, then Jesus and Paul misled their respective audiences. Christians who believe God created everything over the course of billions of years often attempt to impose an unnatural interpretation on the days of creation in Genesis 1. This approach ultimately forces contradictions and theological dilemmas into the text. It introduces millions of years of death, disease, violence, and extinction in the animal world, plus other natural evils like hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, and earthquakes, before God called everything “"very good"” (Genesis 1:31) and before man’s sin brought these things into the world. The word translated as “day” in Genesis 1 is the Hebrew word yom. In this chapter, yom is modified by a number and used in connection with the word night and the phrase “evening and morning.” Each time yom is used outside of Genesis 1 in just one of these ways, it means a normal-length day. There should be absolutely no question that day means a literal, 24-hour day in Genesis 1 because that chapter uses yom with the combination of all three - a number, the word night, and with “evening and morning.” Some Christians object by quoting a particular verse out of context. We often hear statements like, “Yes, but 2 Peter 3:8 says that ‘a day is as a thousand years,’ so the days of creation could have been long ages.” But why doesn’t anyone ever question what the word day means when Joshua and the Israelites marched around Jericho for seven days or when Jonah was in the great fish for three days? No Christian believes that the Israelites marched around Jericho for thousands of years or that Jonah was in the great fish for 3,000 years. Why? Because Scripture is clear. Yet, why do some Christians continue to question the clear meaning of Genesis 1? The answer is that they have been influenced by modern scientists who believe in millions of years. Thus, they have allowed man’s ever-changing opinions to have authority over the unchanging Word of God. So this is really an issue of authority. Do we hold God’s Word as the authority, or do we look to the ever-changing views of fallible men who weren’t there and don’t know everything? Since God knows everything, cannot lie, and has inspired the writing of His Word, we must stick with His description of the past rather than following the views of fallible men. Praise the Lord that we can have absolute confidence in His Word!
(Source: https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/jonah-was-in-fish-3000-years)
Footnotes
1. Some say that Hosea 6:2 is an exception to this because of the figurative language.
However, the Hebrew idiomatic expression used, “"After two days . . . in the third day,"” meaning “in a short time,” makes sense only if “day” is understood in its normal sense.
• Where can I learn more about the Hebrew word “Yom” (day)? Read some articles, books. Buy an Interlinear Hebrew/English Bible. Take a class in Hebrew. Check out this link: http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3117&t=NKJV
In Six Days (4:23)
https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/foundations-six-days/?sku=30-9-432
The Days of Creation in Genesis (30:37)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOZhmEfaj7w
Creation Training Initiative - CTI - Mike Riddle
Were the Creation Days 24 Hours Long?
http://www.icr.org/article/were-creation-days-24-hours-long
ICR, Brian Thomas
The Meaning of Day in Genesis
http://www.icr.org/article/meaning-day-genesis
ICR, James Stambaugh
When Is a Day Not a Day?
http://www.icr.org/article/2721/305
ICR, John D. Morris, Ph.D.
Creation Today - The Hebrew Yom - Study Guide
http://www.creationtoday.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/The_Hebrew_Yom_Study_Guide.pdf
In Six Days (DVD)
https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/foundations-six-days/?sku=30-9-432
Length: 60 minutes, SKU: 30-9-432, Answers in Genesis
PO Box 510, Hebron, KY 41048, 800-778-3390