Hello John Reece, and Help.

[rwatts]

I’m not really concerned with what ancient people think.

Well I am, for the reason that if "Yom" means "24 hours" because that's what the ancients meant, then it raises the same questions in the context of "said" and "made" with respect to God.

This is why my question is primarily aimed at young earth creationists who insist on a literal understanding of some parts of the Bible, on the grounds that this is what the word actually meant.

Thanks for your input anyway. Parts of it have been valuable.

[Kbertsche]

Well I am, for the reason that if "Yom" means "24 hours" because that's what the ancients meant, then it raises the same questions in the context of "said" and "made" with respect to God.

This is why my question is primarily aimed at young earth creationists who insist on a literal understanding of some parts of the Bible, on the grounds that this is what the word actually meant.

Thanks for your input anyway. Parts of it have been valuable.

You are listening to YECs who don't know any Biblical Hebrew. Below is the abridged BDB entry for "yom". Do you see a definition that says "24 hours"?

Source: BDB abridged

יוֹם n.m. day —

1. day, opp. night.
2. Day as division of time:

a. working-day.
b. דֶּרֶךְ יוֹם a day’s journey; without דֶּרֶךְ etc., שְׁלשֶׁת יָמִים three days, etc.
c. to denote duration of various acts or states: seven days; forty days; 150 days.
d. day as defined by evening and morning.
e. day of month (c. num. ordin.).
f. יוֹם defined by subst., inf., or other cl.: cstr. יוֹם הְֶַלֶג = the snowy day; so, = time יוֹם שָׂרָתִי d. of my distress; of day emphat. characterized by proph. and others; on the other hand ’יוֹם רָשׂוֹן לי a day of acceptableness to ’י; pl. sq. subst.
g. particular days defined by n.pr.loc.: יוֹם יְרְעֶאל i.e. of judgment, with implied restoration; יְמֵי הַגִּבְעָה i.e. of the outrage at Gibeah.
h. c. sf., thy, his, or their day, in sense of (1) day of disaster or death.
i. specif. a holy day: יוֹם הְַַבָּת the sabbath day (v. also שַׁבָּת); also of false gods, יְמֵי הַבְּעָלִים.

3. ’יוֹם י day of Yahweh, chiefly as time of his coming in judgment, involving often blessedness for righteous.
4. Pl. days of any one

a. = his life, his age; יָמִים רַבִּים long life; בָּא בַּיָּמִים advanced in days = of advanced age; rarely sg. e.g. קְשֵׁה-יוֹם one hard of day, i.e. whose day (= life) was hard; of life as approaching its end.
b. (in) the days of (i.e. life-time, reign, or activity of).

5. Days:

a. indef.: יָמִים אֲצָדִים some days, a few days.
b. of a long time, זֶה יָמִים אוֹ זֶה שָׁנִים these days or these years; אוֹ חֹדֶשׁ אוֹ יָמִים אוֹ יֹמַיִםwhether two days or a month or days (an indefinitely long period); יָמִים רַבִּים many days.
c. days of old, former or ancient times (esp. of early period of Isr. hist.): יְמוֹת עוֹלָם (poem); coming days הַיָּמִים הַבָּאִים; coming time יוֹם אַצֲרוֹן.

6. יוֹם = time;

a. vividly in gen. sense (v. also 5 supr.): time of harvest; usu. יְמֵי; proper time for paying wages; time of parturition.
b. appos. to other expr. of time: חֹדֶשׁ יָמִים a month of time (lit. a month, time).
c. pl. in specific sense, appar. = year, lit. יָמִים; מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה = from year to year, yearly; distrib.; וַיְהִי לְיָמִים מִיָּמִים and it came to pass at days from days (= after some days).

7. Phrases, without prep. and with, are:
...

© Copyright Original Source

If you really want to engage (argue with) "young earth creationists who insist on a literal understanding of some parts of the Bible", you'll need to go back to the science forums. The biblical language forum tends to be a more irenic, scholarly discussion of what the original languages really say and mean.

[rwatts]

The biblical language forum tends to be a more irenic, scholarly discussion of what the original languages really say and mean.

Oh I know KB.

However, I don't think I'll get much sense there. And I think you can undestand why.*


(This kind of question I've asked numerous times on YEC facebook sites and silence always follows, or we just go round in circles. I want them to tell me what the original meaning of "God said" or "God made" is in both contexts, and all they do is give me their own interpretation, or they tell me what "yom" must mean, or they go silent. It's mostly the latter.)

It was worth a shot here. It's just a pity about John's illness.

Thanks for your input as well.


* This is a question of what did those authors really mean. What were they (probably) thinking and what did they (probably) mean when they used those phrases. I did note your challenge to Jorge in the Nat Sci forum.