Information Related to "Genesis 1 and the Days of Creation"
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The creation narrative in Genesis 1 hangs first on the 24-hour day, then on the seven-day week. (Genesis 1 describes the first six days of creation week; the first few verses of chapter 2 recount the seventh day.)
"And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light from darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day" (Genesis 1:4-5). We see from the account that God established the day-and-night cycle from the beginning. Day and night are functions of the rotation of the earth as it orbits the sun. Clearly the wording of Genesis describes the 24-hour period we are all familiar with. Notice further that God appointed the sun to separate light from darkness and to divide day from night (verse 14).
How long were the days of creation?
Ever since the realization by scientists that the earth's age may be measured in billions of years, well-meaning people have tried to reconcile the biblical account with such scientific findings. Some have theorized that the seven 24-hour creation days were really much longer—possibly epochs lasting thousands or millions of years. To support this idea, some have argued that the Hebrew word for "day," yom, means an unspecified measure of time in Genesis 1.
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Table of Contents that includes "Genesis 1 and the Days of Creation"
Seventh day:
