We were never addressing the rock, we were addressing the life on the rock.
The 7 days of creation covers the life on the rock.
Not according to what you previously said:
“Theologically the earth was made by God in 7 days but scientifically it took billions of years.”
That claim goes beyond what the text itself states. As others have noted, the same issue applies to the creation of life: Scripture does not describe material mechanisms or timeframes, only the ordering and emergence of life within an already-present world.
Genesis 1:24 states that the earth “brought forth” living creatures. As with the description of the earth earlier in the chapter, this language does not specify duration or material origins.
To say something is “brought forth” is not to say it was created ex nihilo. It describes emergence within an ordered system, not manufacture out of nothing. If a store clerk is asked to “bring forth” eggs, no one assumes the eggs were created out of thin air.
This pattern is consistent throughout Genesis 1. Humanity is “made” in the image of God (Gen 1:26), which describes vocation and status, not material origin. Dry land “appears” when waters are gathered (Gen 1:9–10), presupposing the land’s existence. The heavenly lights are “made” to govern/rule functions over day and night (Gen 1:16–18), with emphasis on their role rather than their material coming-into-being.
Genesis consistently describes ordering, assignment, and function. Reading it as a concordant account of material origins, whether of the earth or of life, imports assumptions the text itself does not supply.
As an alternative interpretation, consider the language of forming a football team. I could say that in seven hours I “created” a team—by assigning roles and functions to people who already existed. I might say, “let the field bring forth my linebackers,” or “I made this person the quarterback,” without implying anyone was created out of nothing.
Genesis uses similar language. Naming, assigning roles, and bringing forth do not inherently describe ex nihilo creation. Rather, the text can coherently be read as God taking what already exists, like the formless earth, and ordering it into something more than it previously was.
If I make a quarterback in my image, or maybe I make a painting in my image. Or maybe I could make a sculpture in my image. Or if I make someone to rule something, I'm going to make the zookeeper to rule over the zoo.
I'm not necessarily saying that I am creating a zookeeper ex nihilo out of nothing to rule over the zoo. I would simply be saying that I'm going to take someone and I'm going to do something with them.
