"THE CASE FOR CREATION"
The Case For Six Literal 24 Hour Days
INTRODUCTION
1. I believe it fair to say that any casual, first-time reader of
Genesis...
a. Will conclude it teaches all things were created in six days
b. That those days were six literal 24 hour days
2. The popularity of the theory of evolution has led many to...
a. Discount any literal interpretation of Genesis 1
b. 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...]
I. ARGUMENTS FOR SIX LITERAL 24 HOUR DAYS
A. HEBREW LEXICONS AND DICTIONARIES...
1. 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
2. The following examples were offered by McCabe (plus one that I found):
a. The Dictionary Of Classical Hebrew - Clines
b. A Hebrew And English Lexicon Of The Old Testament - Brown,Driver, Briggs
c. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament
- Baumgartner, Stamm
d. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament - Saeboe
e. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and
Exegesis - Verhoef
f. Dictionary Of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains:
Hebrew (Old Testament) - Swanson
-- These lexicons and dictionaries cite the days of creation as
literal 24 hour days
B. SEMANTIC CONSTRAINTS FOR SINGULAR USE OF "DAY"...
1. "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.
2. "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
-- The semantic use of the singular suggests a literal day
C. NUMERIC QUALIFIERS AND "DAY"...
1. "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.
2. "When yôm is qualified by a number, it is almost invariably
used in a literal sense." - ibid.
-- The numeric qualifiers suggest a literal day
D. SEQUENTIAL NUMBERING AND "DAY"...
1. "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
2. "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.
-- The sequential numbering suggests a literal day
E. EVENING AND MORNING AS QUALIFIERS OF "DAY"...
1. "So the evening and the morning were the ____ day." - Gen 1:5,8,13,19,23,31
2. "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.
-- The use of morning and evening suggest a literal day
F. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS AND "DAY"...
1. Problem one
a. Fruit trees and seed-bearing plants were created on the third day - Gen 1:11-12
b. Much vegetation requires insects for pollination
c. Insects were not created until the sixth day - Gen 1:24-25
d. It would be impossible for many plants to survive long
periods without insects
e. "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.
2. Problem two
a. "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.
b. "This would guarantee that both plant and animal life would
be unable to survive." - ibid.
-- The sequence of events suggest a literal day
G. SCRIPTURAL CONSIDERATIONS...
1. In the Old Testament
a. "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.
b. "These passages are Exo 20:8-11 and Exo 31:14-17." - ibid.
c. "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.
2. In the New Testament
1. The origin of man and marriage was "from the beginning of the creation"
a. Man was created male and female "from the beginning" - Mk 10:6; cf. Gen 1:27
b. The institution of marriage soon followed - Mk 10:7-8;cf. Gen 2:20-24
c. If it was ages after "the beginning of creation", this
would not be true
2. Death and corruption was a consequence of Adam's sin
a. By man came death, in Adam all die - Gen 2:17; cf. 1Co 15:21-22
b. By man's sin, the earth was cursed - Gen 3:17; cf. Ro 8:20-22
c. If the "days" of Genesis 1 are long periods of time,
death and corruption occurred long before Adam
-- The scriptural considerations suggest the Genesis account should be taken literally
[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...]
II. RESOURCES FOR SIX LITERAL 24 HOUR DAYS
A. FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE...
1. A Defense Of Literal Days In The Creation Week - Robert V.
McCabe, Professor of Old Testament at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary
2. Creation Days And Orthodox Jewish Tradition - Paul-James Griffiths
3. A Summary Of Evidence For Literal 24-Hr Creation Days In
Genesis 1 - Andrew S. Kulikovsky
4. The Days Of Creation: A Semantic Approach - James Stambaugh
5. Studies About The Days Of Genesis 1 - David E. Pratte
-- These resources argue that the case for six literal 24 hour
days is biblically sound
B. FROM A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE...
1. Institute For Creation Research - Henry M. Morris, Duane Gish
2. Answers In Genesis - Ken Ham
3. The Creation Research Society
4. Creation Ministries International
5. Bible.ca's Scientific Evidence For Creation - Don Patton, Steve Rudd
6. A List Of Over 175 Scientists - who accept the biblical account of Creation
-- These resources argue that the case for six literal 24 hour
days is scientifically sound
CONCLUSION
1. Before rejecting that God created all things in six literal 24 hours
days, one should ask...
a. Is it consistent in regards to Hebrew syntax as found in the Bible?
b. Is it in harmony with the rest of the biblical record?
-- For those who accept the Bible as the Word of God, such concerns
should be paramount
2. One should also ask...
a. Must we force our view of Genesis 1 to fit popular evolutionary thinking?
b. Is it scientifically necessary to do so?
-- Has the theory of evolution been proven as it relates to origins?
To help answer the latter questions, our next two lessons will focus on
problems with the theory of evolution...
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011
