The phrase “The evening and the morning were the first day” literally means “evening was, morning was, day one.” This phrase indicates clearly the duration of each of the seven parts of the creation week and is repeated five more times in this chapter (vs. 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Day one was followed by day two…by day three…by day four…and so on.
Some have thought that the creative act lasted one night, from the evening to the morning; and others, thought that every day began with the morning, although the Bible clearly records that the evening preceded the morning.
The literal statement “evening was [with the following hours of the night], and morning was [with the succeeding hours of the day], day one” is clearly a description of an astronomical day, that is, a day of 24 hours’ in length. It is the corresponding of the later Hebrew phrase “evening-morning” of Dan. 8:14. Thus, the Hebrews, who were never were in doubt about the meaning of this phrase, started the day with sunset and ended it with the following sunset (Lev. 23:32; Deut. 16:6).
Some adopt the idea that the days of creation were long periods of time, even thousands of years. They do so in an attempt to make the Bible record agree with the theory of evolution. Geologists and biologists have taught people to believe that this earth’s early history took millions of years, in which the geological formations were gradually forming and living species were evolving.
But the Bible clearly contradicts the evolution theory. The belief in a divine and instantaneous creation as the result of words spoken by God stands in total disapproval to this theory held by the majority of scientists. Jesus Himself affirmed the Genesis account of creation and that man was created by God and in His image (Genesis 1:27) and did not evolve from lower forms (Matthew 19:4).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
