https://executableoutlines.com/topical_series/case-for-creation/cc_06.html
"THE CASE FOR CREATION"
The Case For Six Literal 24 Hour Days
INTRODUCTION
- I believe it fair to say that any casual, first-time reader of Genesis...
- Will conclude it teaches all things were created in six days
- That those days were six literal 24 hour days
- The popularity of the theory of evolution has led many to...
- Discount any literal interpretation of Genesis 1
- Seek biblical support for a less literal understanding of the days of creation
[On the other hand, there are good reasons to take the Genesis account at face value, for both biblical and scientific reasons. From a biblical perspective, let's consider some...]
- ARGUMENTS FOR SIX LITERAL 24 HOUR DAYS
- HEBREW LEXICONS AND DICTIONARIES...
- Lexicographers consistently cite the enumerated days of Genesis 1:1-31 as examples of a solar day - Robert V. McCabe, A Defense Of Literal Days In The Creation Week
- The following examples were offered by McCabe (plus one that I found):
- The Dictionary Of Classical Hebrew - Clines
- A Hebrew And English Lexicon Of The Old Testament - Brown, Driver, Briggs
- The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament - Baumgartner, Stamm
- Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament - Saeboe
- New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis - Verhoef
- Dictionary Of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) - Swanson
- SEMANTIC CONSTRAINTS FOR SINGULAR USE OF "DAY"...
- "When yôm is used in the singular and is not part of a compound grammatical construction, it is consistently used in reference to a literal day of 24 hours or to the daytime portion of a literal day." - McCabe, ibid.
- "The extended, non-literal meanings of the term yôm are always found in connection with prepositions, prepositional phrases with a verb, compound constructions, formulas, technical expressions, genitive combinations, construct phrases, and the like. In other words, extended, non-literal meanings of this Hebrew term have special linguistic and contextual connections which indicate clearly that a non-literal meaning is intended. If such special linguistic connections are absent, the term yôm does not have an extended, non-literal meaning; it has its normal meaning of a literal day of 24-hours." - Gerhard F. Hasel, as quoted by McCabe
- NUMERIC QUALIFIERS AND "DAY"...
- "When each day of the creation week is summarized, the singular 'day' is modified by a numerical qualifier, 'first day' (v.5), 'second day (v.8), and sequentially continuing to the 'sixth day' (vv. 13, 19, 24, 31)." - McCabe, ibid.
- "When yôm is qualified by a number, it is almost invariably used in a literal sense." - ibid.
- SEQUENTIAL NUMBERING AND "DAY"...
- "The sequential use of the ordinal numbers "first" through "sixth" for each day of the creation week, followed by the "seventh day" indicates a chronological progression of days." - E. J. Young, as referenced by McCabe
- "What seems of significance is the sequential emphasis of the numerals 1-7 without any break or temporal interruption. This seven-day schema, the schema of the week of six workdays followed by 'the seventh day' as rest day, interlinks the creation "days" as normal days in a consecutive and non- interrupted sequence." - Hasel, ibid.
- EVENING AND MORNING AS QUALIFIERS OF "DAY"...
- "So the evening and the morning were the ____ day." - Gen 1:5,8,13,19,23,31
- "Whether 'evening' and 'morning' are used together in a context with yôm (19 times beyond the 6 uses in Genesis 1) or they are used without yôm (38 times), they are used consistently in reference to literal days." - McCabe, ibid.
- SEQUENCE OF EVENTS AND "DAY"...
- Problem one
- Fruit trees and seed-bearing plants were created on the third day - Gen 1:11-12
- Much vegetation requires insects for pollination
- Insects were not created until the sixth day - Gen 1:24-25
- It would be impossible for many plants to survive long periods without insects
- "A symbiotic relationship between plants and animals is coordinate with literal and successive days in Genesis 1, but this would not be the case if the days refer to extended periods." - McCabe, ibid.
- Problem two
- "If days are figurative and if there is any consistency in interpretation, then there must extended periods of light corresponding to 'morning' and of darkness corresponding to evening.'" - ibid.
- "This would guarantee that both plant and animal life would be unable to survive." - ibid.
- SCRIPTURAL CONSIDERATIONS...
- In the Old Testament
- "There are two passages, dealing with regulations for the observance of the Sabbath that cogently reinforce a literal interpretation of the days in the creation week." - McCabe, ibid.
- "These passages are Exo 20:8-11 and Exo 31:14-17." - ibid.
- "According to these two texts, the references to the creation week are not analogous - man's rest is not simply like God's rest on the seventh day - instead, man is to imitate the divine Exemplar. Since God worked for six days and rested on the seventh, the nation of Israel must follow his example." - ibid.
- In the New Testament
- The origin of man and marriage was "from the beginning of the creation"
- Man was created male and female "from the beginning" - Mk 10:6; cf. Gen 1:27
- The institution of marriage soon followed - Mk 10:7-8; cf. Gen 2:20-24
- If it was ages after "the beginning of creation", this would not be true
- Death and corruption was a consequence of Adam's sin
- By man came death, in Adam all die - Gen 2:17; cf. 1Co 15:21-22
- By man's sin, the earth was cursed - Gen 3:17; cf. Ro 8:20-22
- If the "days" of Genesis 1 are long periods of time, death and corruption occurred long before Adam
- RESOURCES FOR SIX LITERAL 24 HOUR DAYS
- FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE...
- A Defense Of Literal Days In The Creation Week - Robert V. McCabe, Professor of Old Testament at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary
- Creation Days And Orthodox Jewish Tradition - Paul-James Griffiths
- A Summary Of Evidence For Literal 24-Hr Creation Days In Genesis 1 - Andrew S. Kulikovsky
- The Days Of Creation: A Semantic Approach - James Stambaugh
- Studies About The Days Of Genesis 1 - David E. Pratte
- FROM A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE...
- Institute For Creation Research - Henry M. Morris, Duane Gish
- Answers In Genesis - Ken Ham
- The Creation Research Society
- Creation Ministries International
- Bible.ca's Scientific Evidence For Creation - Don Patton, Steve Rudd
- A List Of Over 175 Scientists - who accept the biblical account of Creation
[Such are some of the Biblical or scriptural reasons for taking Genesis 1-2 at face value. It is certainly not an exhaustive treatment of the subject. For more information, including resources that subscribe to a literal view of the days of Creation from a scientific perspective, here are some...]
CONCLUSION
- Before rejecting that God created all things in six literal 24 hours days, one should ask...
- Is it consistent in regards to Hebrew syntax as found in the Bible?
- Is it in harmony with the rest of the biblical record?
- One should also ask...
- Must we force our view of Genesis 1 to fit popular evolutionary thinking?
- Is it scientifically necessary to do so?
To help answer the latter questions, our next two lessons will focus on problems with the theory of evolution...
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