Are the Six Days of Creation Literal or Figurative?

Question

The first chapter of the Bible says that God made heaven and earth and every living thing in six days. Are those six "days" to be understood literally, as six 24-hour days, or are they symbolic — figures of speech? Bible-believing Christians disagree on this topic, often with great emotion, sometimes condemning all who do not understand Genesis 1 in the same way as they do.

The literal view is simple: Genesis 1 is telling us that God created everything in six evenings and six mornings — ordinary-length days. The literal view says, Believe it because that is what is written.

But is that really what is written? Let us look at the evidence in Scripture. We can start with day four as an example: On the fourth day, God commanded that there be lights in the sky to separate day and night. He made the sun, moon and stars to separate light from darkness (Gen. 1:14-18). But we are told in verse 4 that God had separated light from darkness on the first day; and the words "evening and morning" show that there was already a separation between night and day. So what really happened on the fourth day of creation?

Answer 1

Let's put it this way ---- It is either figurative/poetic/symbolic/metaphorical or what have you,

Or

It is total b.s.



The "literal" statements in Genesis 1 are totally contradicted by physical, tangible, testable EVIDENCE from astronomy, cosmology, physics, geology, anthropology, archeology, paleontology, oceanography, biology, genetics, chemistry, etc. etc.



The "literal" people have to live in denial of FACTS. Yet their opinions will not alter the evidence one bit.



They also overlook the obvious contradiction in the Bible itself.

IF the literalist claim that "yom" (day) means 24 hours, then why in Genesis 2:4 does it say "these are the GENERATIONS in the 'day'" . Can generations happen in one 24 hour day? and then why is this particular verse changed in the Protestant funD/fringe versions of the bible?



They are doing a very good job of "creating" more atheists.

Answer 2

Yes i chose to believe Jesus' Word 100%. After all the sabbath commandment Given by God in the ten commandments was because He created and rested on the seventh day.



I wouldn't believe the creation account is not literal, because Jesus, the apostles all believed it was literal.



Besides there are some facts that prove it must be literal. See http://remnantofgod.org/creation.htm



If you go to that webpage you'll have a clearer understanding of Genesis day 1. Clearly the Bible did not say that the light He created on day 1 was from the sun. You have to check the webpage because it answers your question. Thank you and God leads you into truth. As for evening and mornings...i still can't believe anyone is thinking that the writer of this account is so fool enough not to recognize his error. It's clear he meant 24 hours. Remember, old civilizations were actually smarter than us. we only have technology because of the accumulated time.

Answer 3

I'm going to real basics here.



My definition of "literal" - any standard English definition of a word or phrase is a literal definition of that word. Any claim that a word or phrase means something other than can be found in an English dictionary is a non-literal or figurative definition.



So: using that definition of "literal", the six days of creation are "literal". However: in that account, the word "day" employs definition 5 here, which is a definition **frequently attached to the word "day" in other passages of the Bible**:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/day





Why do I say this?

a - definition 5 is applicable to both the English word *and the Hebrew word translated "day"*

b - according to the account, the Sun was not created until the 4th "day" - suggesting *very* strongly that the definition of "day" being used in that account is not "24-hour period"

Answer 4

Chapter 1 of Genesis (and the first two verses of Chapter 2 - blame Jerome) are a priestly sermon explaining the relationship between God, the universe and man told in terms of the days of the week. It was written about 400 years later than the rest of Genesis (the language is very different). There is simply no way it could have been intended to be a historical or scientific account of the origins of the universe, life or mankind.



There is a religion that claims to be Christian, but believes that the Bible is some kind of God-given science book. They are far more impressed by stories of quick creation and talking snakes than they are by anything Jesus ever said or did. They account for about 5% of the worldwide followers of Jesus Christ.

Answer 5

The universe requires a cause because it had a beginning, GOD unlike the universe, had no beginning, so he doesn’t need a cause. Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which has much experimental support, shows that time is linked to matter and space. So time itself would have begun along with matter and space. Since GOD is the creator of the whole universe, he is the creator of time. Therefore He is not limited by the Reality, Time dimension He created..

Answer 6

There are many meanings. The simple literal meaning might not be the most important one. Its literary genre is legend, not contemporaneous record keeping. It is not even the genre of a visionary experience involving the receiving of knowledge from God or an angel.



The culture was pre-scientific. Assuming the more relaxed versions of divine inspiration, the writer would have no scientific understanding. It is more likely he telling of a widely accepted story to reflect the difference between "our god" and other gods.

Answer 7

Figurative. Genesis 1 is a song of praise to the miracle of creation – not a science paper. The average ten year old can see that it’s not meant to be scientifically accurate. Only funDs and fringe cults (and ironically some atheists) can’t see the poetic elements that are obvious to everyone else. Especially the repetition of phrases and the structure/rhythm. Numbers also had great symbolic meaning for the Jews, especially the number 7 which was considered "divine" and "perfect."



As far back as Philo, 1st C, followers were warned NOT to read it at face value, and that the "days" referred to are not 24 hour "days."

The Hebrew word for "day" (yom) ALSO means 'period of time' and this is how it is used in Genesis 1.

Hebrew had only 8700 vocabulary words and many words had multiple meanings.

The idiomatic expression "evening and morning" signified the ending of one period and the beginning of another.

Psalms 90:4 "For a thousand years are but a day in your sight."

2 Peter 3:8 "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day."

Showing time is meaningless to God. (There was no word for and no concept of a "billion.")



In 408 AD, Augustine warned the faithful not to read Genesis 1 at face value, or to be overheard spouting absurd ideas about the physical world by non-believers. Such ignorance just brings ridicule to all people of faith. (See "On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis").



Thomas Aquinas echoed the same ideas in the 11th C, as did the well respected Rabbi - Maimonides - who made a warning very similar to that of Augustine.



Even when reading a text 'literally', one is still obliged to research the symbolism, metaphorical expressions, idioms, and at the very least, the correct translation of the terms, and of course, to understand the cultural context.



Jews even Orthodox Jews, as well as all mainstream, educated Christians know that the fundamentalist/literalist reading of Genesis 1 - 11 is LAZY and sows confusion where none needs to be.

They read without exegesis, without scholarship, and consequently make all people of faith look ignorant.



Remember also, that they had no system of writing until appx. 1000 BCE, and poems/songs have historically been a common way for people to remember things. (Think back to your kindergarten days). Not to mention that Genesis 1 - 11 were added much later, after Moses, to give the Hebrew tribe a sense of origins. There were no Hebrew people at all until Genesis 12 when God spoke to Abraham. That is a fact.



Added:



"We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as “one theory among others” is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children. We believe that among God’s good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God’s loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris...We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth."



-The Clergy Letter, signed by thousands of pastors

Answer 8

In honesty, in light of evidence, I would say figurative. The Bible is still true, just not as absolutely literal as some like.

Answer 9

It shouldn't take a high level of intelligence to grasp that the itemized details of the creation of the solar system could hardly be contained on a couple of small typewritten pages.



The book of Genesis is an outline and it is really about things that are simply none of our business. It should be enough that God was kind enough to give us a few written examples of His work.



The rest of the book contains information that should keep you busy 24/7. So you don't need to stress over things you know nothing about.

Answer 10

Jesus Christ taught about adam and eve and about noah



3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?



4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,



5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?



6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.



Matthew 24

36"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37"For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38"For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark



34Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I SAID, YOU ARE GODS '? 35"If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),



But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.



God knows the point is He created everything for us whether it's six days or thousands of years He created it for us



Look what happen to Pompeii in one day



God is able to do all things and are not bound by nature laws

Answer 11

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to

govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.



Adam didnt live for millions of years between day 6 and day 7

Answer 12

The bible and other relevant material is meant to be anecdotal. The old testament is full of mis-translations.



Prime example: Ever notice that the number 40 occurs so often. 40 days of....40 years of....It's because the word for "forty" is the same word for "many".

Answer 13

The sun, moon and stars were created on the fourth day. Before that, on the first day it began with God saying "light be." or "Let there be light." That light was not the creation of the sun. That light on the first day came directly from God himself. For the scripture says that God is light.



Though God is light, God can also hide or cover that light, the absence of which is darkness. Which was described before God said, "Let there be light."



-Juelrei

Answer 14

its definitely defined by Paul and with a careful reading of Genesis. Paul plainly said a Day to man is a thousand years. why? because God said the day you eat of the fruit, You will die. and yet the bible verse says Adam lived another 930 years...

Gen. 5:

5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

so, literally, as written in the book of Moses, from the pearl of great price, in LDS scripture, the creation could be 6 thousand years to create man and woman, and another thousand years for the Lord to rest, OR, the Lord showed Moses a 6 day vision that showed the creation of 7 thousand years in 6 days.

Answer 15

6 literal, 24 hour periods.



They are not figures of speech, or metaphors.



The phrase "morning and evening" is an emphasis that it is a literal, 24 hour period.

Answer 16

if He was creating planets and solar systems and the earth, then a 24 hour earth day did not exist yet ..

Answer 17

The word that you are looking for is: Fictional.



"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." Isaac Asimov

Answer 18

Seems to depend on who you ask and what they want to 'believe'...



Not like there is ANY real evidence for any of it to base anything on...



But this is what is quoted in the Bible... make of it what you will, everybody else seems to... LOL



IMHO

Answer 19

The depiction of creation as with the rest of the Bible, is absolutely totally literal truth .... except where taking it literally in one place contradicts taking it literally in another.

Answer 20

Yes

Answer 21

It is figurative.

Answer 22

days back then were more like millions of years