If the six days of creation were not literal, what about Exodus 20:11?

Question

"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day."

This verse is clearly talking about literal 24-hour days. So how could the creation story be allegorical or metaphorical?

Answer 1

It is literal. If God can raise a man from the dead, why should it surprise anyone that He can create everything in 6 days?

Answer 2

The creation account is neither allegorical nor metaphorical, it is literal.



Do the following verses refer to a 24 hour day?



Exo 10:13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.



Exo 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.



Exo 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.



Lev 6:20 This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.



Each of these verses, written in the SAME language, using the very SAME HEBREW WORDS AS USED IN GENESIS, by the SAME author, in the SAME part of the Bible as Genesis, leave NO DOUBT as to a 24 hour day...There are far too many more examples to post; Why would the creation week be the ONLY place that these words represent something DIFFERENT?



The strongest structural parallel of Genesis 1 is Numbers 7:10–84. Likewise, that is, Genesis 1 is straightforward history. Hebrew scholars concur that Genesis was written as history.



To interpret differently is to use linguistic gymnastics, ignore the rest of the text, and quite preposterous. Why would we pick a few sentences to make exception to common sense?



It is very unfortunate in 2010, there are people and entire websites built around attempts to destroy the credibility of the Bible...Most of them attempt it without the slightest idea of what they are really talking about.



Now, let's keep talking about this Hebrew language of the OT; there is NO PUNCTUATION in Ancient Hebrew!!??&$#@%* Whenever the writer wished to EMPHASIZE something, using ALL CAPS wasn't an option, neither was underlining or exclamation points....How was it done??



Repetition, repetition, repetition...And 3 times repetition is maximum. This is probably why the Bible says God is Holy, Holy, Holy (Isaiah 6:3). It states in Genesis:



Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Gen 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Gen 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Gen 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.



Remember, 3 times repetition is maximum in Hebrew, yet in Genesis, "yome" is used with morning AND evening, for ALL 6 days...This is DOUBLE emphasis to the max by using both morning and evening, and repetition SIX TIMES. Such emphasis, clarity, and repetition is used nowhere else in the Old Testament, I'd say God REALLY wants us to get this.



Similarly, some folks wish to relate the days in Genesis to the NEW TESTAMENT reference of 2 Peter 3:8, stating that one day to God is as a thousand years, etc…This is comparing Greek to Hebrew. What bearing does the GREEK language have on Genesis, which is written in Hebrew?



I know there is disagreement among mature Christians regarding this; and I gladly concede it is NOT necessary for salvation to agree upon the age of the earth....But it is exciting to me as a Christian to see the Truth of God's Word revealed; and I think it helps us mature as Christians to realize the Bible STARTS OUT with hermeneutic truth.



Hermeneutical’s first definition is PLAIN or LITERAL, and Genesis' truth is very simple and plain... I would remind skeptic Christians that the word "parable" is used consistently PRIOR TO a parable in the New Testament; and Genesis as a book is NOT classified by scholars as Poetry, it is part of the Torah, or Law.



Therefore the poetic use of language such as metaphor, hyperbole, allegory and simile are not used and DO NOT APPLY, as they do in the Poetic books of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.



Voice in the Wilderness

Answer 3

Let's say for the sake of argument that God did create the earth. Why would it possibly matter whether it was done in 6 days, 6 years, 6000 years, or 6,000,000 years? That he did it is what should be important to you. How long it took should be inconsequential.



Questions such as yours only serve to breed discord, even amongst religious folk. It doesn't unite people in any way but rather pushes them apart. Do you think your God is pleased by that?

Answer 4

1) This verse is clearly talking about literal 24-hour days.



????



The days in Exo 20:11 are very clearly of exactly the same sort as the days in Genesis chapter 1, as Exodus 20:11 is very clearly based solely on the account found in Genesis chapter 1.



So: **if** the days of Genesis chapter 1 are not literal, then the days of Exo 20:11 are still exactly like the days of Genesis chapter 1 - that is, not literal.



Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com/

Answer 5

Note that the seventh day shows having no end in that it does not follow the formula, "and the evening and the morning were the xth day."



That "day" has not ended. God is still in that rest, as attested to in Psalms and Hebrews chapter 4.



.

Answer 6

Psalm 90:4



Also, within Jewish tradition, it has almost never been interpreted as a literal 24 hrs. This would require a very lengthy deep explanation, which you could research if you are serious about the issue.

Answer 7

I believe it to be 6 literal days

Answer 8

it also states in the bible a thousand years is like one day and one day a thousand years, not that this verse should be applied in the creation.I personally believe its a 24 hour time frame for each day.

Answer 9

The Hebrew word we translated to "days" is actually closer to "periods of time."



Both Genesis and Exodus were written in Hebrew.

Answer 10

For all those who dispute that the verse is talking about 24 hour days, what other 'day' is there and where in scripture is this defined?



You can't just make stuff up to suit your needs....



...hang on, that's religion in a nutshell. My bad.

Answer 11

"This verse is clearly talking about literal 24-hour days."



No, it isn't.

Answer 12

Yes, both of them are wrong. It wasn't made in 6 days.

Answer 13

No evidence exists that Egypt ever suffered such a demographic and economic catastrophe, nor is there evidence that the Sinai desert ever hosted (or could have hosted) these millions of people and their herds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exodus