Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
From above it is self evident that the word Yom does in fact mean more than just a day.Hebrew Dictionaries
Let’s start with the possible meanings of Yom;
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (1980, Moody Press)"It can denote: 1. the period of light (as contrasted with the period of darkness), 2. the period of twenty-four hours, 3. a general vague "time," 4. a point of time, 5. a year (in the plural; I Sam 27:7; Ex 13:10, etc.)."Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (symbols omitted)
from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figuratively (a space of time defined by an associated term), [often used adv.]:--age, + always, + chronicles, continually (-ance), daily, ([birth-], each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, end, evening, (for)ever(lasting), ever(more), full, life, as long as (...live), even now, old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, required, season, since, space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), whole (age), (full) year (-ly), youngerAs you can see, Hebrew dictionaries attest to the fact that the word Yom is used for anywhere from 12 hours up to a year, and even a vague "time period" of unspecified length.
Other Uses of Yom
Day is not the only translation for the word Yom. Here are some other uses.
Time
It is interesting to note that in 67 verses in the Old Testament, the word Yom is translated into the English word "time." For instance, in Genesis 4:3, it says "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord." In this instance, Yom refers to a growing season, probably several months. Again, in Deuteronomy 10:10, it refers to a "time" equal to forty days. In I Kings 11:42, it says "And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years." In this case, Yom translated as the word "time" is equivalent to a 40 year period.
In Isaiah 30:8, it says "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever." In this case, Yom is equal to "forever." How long is forever? An infinite number of years...billions upon billions upon billons of years. If Yom can equal trillions of years here, then why not billions of years in Genesis?
Year
Four times in the Old Testament Yom is translated "year." In I Kings 1:1, "David was old and stricken in years..." In 2 Chronicles 21:19, "after the end of two years" and in the very next verse "Thirty and two years old." Finally, in Amos 4:4, "...and your tithes after three years." In each case, Yom represents years, not days.
Age
Eight times in the Old Testament Yom is translated "age." These range from sentences like "stricken in age," meaning old age (Genesis 18:11 and 24:1; Joshua 23:1 and 23:2), and other times it says "old age" (Genesis 21:2, Genesis 21:7). Genesis 47:28 refers to "the whole age of Jacob," therefore yom here refers to an entire lifetime. In Zechariah 8:4, it says old men and women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, "each with cane in hand because of his age."
Ago
One time Yom is translated "ago." 1 Samuel 9:20 says "As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, ..."
Always
Four times yom is translated as "always," in Deuteronomy 5:29, 6:24, 14:23, and in 2 Chronicles 18:7. Always here can be interpreted as a lifetime...for instance, we are to keep the commandments of the Lord always (Deut. 5:29).
Season
Three times yom is translated "season." In Genesis 40:4, "...and they continued a season in ward." Again, in Joshua 24:7, "dwelt in the wilderness a long season," and in 2 Chronicles 15:3, "...a long season Israel hath been...". In each case yom represents a multi-month period.
Chronicles
When used in conjunction with the word dâbâr, yom is translated "chronicles" (27 times).
Continually
When used in conjunction with kôwl, yom is translated as "continually" (11 times). Once, in Psalm 139:16, it is translated continuance (without the kôwl).
Ever
Ever is used to represent a long period of time, such as in Deuteronomy 19:9, "to walk ever in his ways." Nineteen times Yom is translated "ever." The old testament uses "for ever" instead of the word forever. In sixteen cases of use of the word ever, for is placed before it, indicating a infinite period of time. I will not list them all (consult Strong's Concordance for a full listing) but here is an example. In Psalm 23:6, it says "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Here Yom is translated as the final word of this verse, ever. Thus, Yom in this verse, and 16 others, represents eternity.
Evermore
In one instance, when yom is used in conjunction with kôwl, Yom is translated "evermore." Deuteronomy 28:29, "...and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore;" thus representing either a lifetime or eternity.
Word Usage in the Old Testament
As you can see, Yom is used in a wide variety of situations related to the concept of time. Yom is not just for days...it is for time in general. How it is translated depends on the context of its use with other words.
Yom in the Creation Account
Even within the creation account, Yom is used to represent four different time periods.
The fourth usage of Yom in the creation account is in the summary for each of the six creation days, "and there was morning and evening the first day". Yom is used to represent a finite, long period of time, usually either millions or billions of years. To show support for this, consider the uses of Yom by Moses.
- Genesis 1:5 "And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night." Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate a 12-hour period
- Genesis 1:14 "And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years." Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate 24-hour days
- Genesis 2:4 "...in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate the entire creative week.
Moses Other Uses of Yom
Moses, the author of the first five books of the Bible, and of Psalm 90, used Yom in many different ways.
- Genesis 4:3 "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord." In this instance, Yom refers to a growing season, probably several months.
- Genesis 43:9 "...then let me bear the blame for ever." Here, Moses uses Yom to represent eternity
- Genesis 44:32 "...then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever." Again, Moses uses Yom to represent eternity
- Deuteronomy 4:40 "...that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth the, for ever." Here Yom represents a physical lifetime
- Deuteronomy 10:10, "Now I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, as I did the first time,..." Here, Yom is a "time" equal to forty days.
- Deuteronomy 18:5 "...to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for ever." Again, Yom is translated as eternity
- Deuteronomy 19:9 "...to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in His ways..." Here, Yom represents a lifetime. As long as we live we are to walk in his ways
As you can see, Moses used the word Yom to represent 12-hours, 24 hours, the creative week, forty days, several months, a lifetime, and eternity.
Okay, seems this guy is a strict literalist, especially with regards to the creation account. So, hopefully it will be safe for me to assume that he's a Young Earth Creationist (YEC).
With that said I will try and find some errors in his statements.
First, he says each day was half light and half dark and if we were to believe each day was a billion years each... so that would mean 500 million years of darkness followed by 500 million years of light would mess up photosynthesis.
Well we see that plants were already formed before visible light (on earth) came to be. So, that totally destroys the argument about photosynthesis.
The thing is we see the appearance of light after plants (which need photosynthesis) were created.
In day 4 God allowed light to be visible on earth (Gen 1:15), yet on day 3 God made plants that sprung forth fruit (Gen 1:11-12).
So for for Dr. Martin to argue the point about photosynthesis is a moot argument. I mean seriously he's going to argue about photosynthesis yet neglect the fact that plants were already created before light was visible on earth.
So, that is one error unless someone can correct me and please do if I'm wrong.
I don't know if I'm being pedantic here, but he says the Hebrew word Yom always means a day and no one even questions it anywhere in the Bible. He then makes some valid points about Jonah and Ester. However, he is still completely wrong in that Yom always means a day and that no one questions it. Please look below and you'll see for yourselves that Yom is translated in the Bible to mean an array of things ....
From above it is self evident that the word Yom does in fact mean more than just a day.
Also, Dr. Martin seems to think all theistic evolutionist believe what's known as scientific concordism (Meaning each statement in Genesis 1 must match up perfectly with the theory of evolution)... Which is not true at all.
He then ends by saying the Scripture couldn't be any more clear. Well, hopefully some of you will read the Scripture above and know his arguments are wrong.
I'm a theistic evolutionist, but I'm also orthodox in my interpretation of Scripture believe it or not.
Just when I see stuff that like these videos with guys not telling the whole truth makes me...![]()
that is your opinion. You're entitled to it, just as i am entitled to mine. I would hope that you didn't post here only to shoot holes in what the OP posted.
You were not present when our Creator created the heavens and the earth. You can theorize, however, your theorizing is im-perfect. That's because you, and the rest of us are im-perfect. We theorize, bump our heads, theorize again, and on throughout history, because we do NOT know ALL there is to know. So we "guess', based on our estimations, and our logic, and "what makes sense to us". The fact is, we do NOT know. We can merely keep "guessing".
The fact is, God, our Creator, WAS there when He formed man out of the dust and breathed His breath of life into him, thereby man became a "living soul".
The bottom line is, if we believe our Creator, our God, did as He said He did, and whether HE is worthy to be trusted, simply because He DOES know ALL things, even as we do not. We are finite. He is not.
I'm believing my Creator.
Oh no, I'm not here to stir up friction or any trouble.
Just I found fought with Dr. Martin's logic, that's all. IMO, Dr. Martin was arguing about those people who are Christians and believe in evolution (theistic evolutionists) are doing so in err. He argued what it seemed to me those who try to do what's known as scientific concordism (meaning people use the creation account and try to match it up perfectly with the theory of evolution) are wrong b/c it would make photosynthesis and plant life unable to exist.
Dr. Martin argued if we was to beleive the Hebrew word Yom can mean a billion years (for the creation account) than that would mean there would be 500 millions years of darkness and 500 million years of light. He argues that couldn't be possible b/c of photosynthesis and plant life couldn't co-exist.
Yet, the guy totally forgets to mention that plants have already been created and are already bringing forth fruit (Gen 1:11-12) which existed before light appeared or became visible to even allow for photosynthesis to occur on earth (Gen 1:15).
Also, he was simply dead wrong in that the word Yom always means a day. In my above post I used an excerpt from a website that proves my point.
So, IMO he was wrong on two accounts. Making that video untrustworthy and IMO should be deleted from the internet all together.
I'm not saying God is wrong, I'm simply saying Dr. Martin is wrong in this video. That's all.
in your opinion, it's wrong. if you do not believe what he stated, ignore it. Because you do not believe what he stated is no reason to remove it from the internet. Everyone can decide for theirself what to believe about what he stated.
The liberal rooms can be found elsewhere on this massive site. People who read the bible and believe it should not be brow beaten by liberals in the Baptist room.
Oh no, I'm not here to stir up friction or any trouble.
Yet, the guy totally forgets to mention that plants have already been created and are already bringing forth fruit (Gen 1:11-12)
You are incorrect. Back up to Genesis 1:3,4,5
3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light day, and the darkness He called night And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Light was already on the earth as well as darkness. That marks your first point moot.
Regarding Yom, Yom is used as "day" more than 90% of the time in the texts. Using Yom with day and night makes no sense textually. If Yom was to refer to an "age" or "era" or "season" there would be no need for the clarification of evening and morning.
Yes, God made light at the beginning and simply defined that light = day and dark = night.
Now with that fact known, no where does it actually say that light was on earth until God specified it here...(Genesis 1:14-19
It is clear that light had not actually touched the earth until the forth day.
It absolutely does say light was on earth before Gen. 1:14.
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light day, and the darkness He called night And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
I am very confused as to how you can deny that there was light before the creation of the sun and moon. There was darkness, then God spoke light into existence. It plainly shows it, if you read it LITERALLY.
If you don't think that God has/will provided light without the sun or moon please look at Revelation 21: 22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it,for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
And I also ask that you look at 2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The liberal rooms can be found elsewhere on this massive site. People who read the bible and believe it should not be browbeaten by liberals in the Baptist room.
Where in 14-19 does it say "and light was not on the earth" ???
God provided the light, then He created the sun and moon to take over.
I'm not grasping at straws friend, just trying to open your eyes with supporting scripture.
I have proven my Yom point. I don't care if Dr. Martin is right or wrong. I'll say he's wrong just to humor you.![]()
See, I can play this game as well and ask you where does in say in verses before 14-19 that there was light on earth?
It says it right here!!!
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from
the darkness.
Equation : Only darkness + "let there be light" + separated the light from the darkness = day (light) and night (darkness)
There is your light on earth!
Yes, the moon and sun give light, but 2-4 shows that there was already light and darkness because God "separated the light from the darkness". That verse qualifies that there was not only darkness but light and darkness.