When a day means a day

[Micaiah]

The word 'day' in Genesis 1 and 2 is an often disputed word in these forums. It would be interesting to know how the Jews interpret the word. That would give some insight into its meaning.

 

[Aeschylus]

I doubt it to be hionest as from what I understand it's pretty much the same as with Christianity: Most Jews don't hold to six-day literal creation, but a not insignifcant minority do.

 

[artybloke]

The word "day" in English has various meanings, depending on the context.

Eg:

"The day of reckoning" - is that a specific day of twenty-four hours?

"day-light" as in a period from dawn till dusk

"One day I'll understand creationists" - some nonspecific period in the future.

"Some day" ditto

etc...

Why would the Hebrew be any different? Words only have meanings when they're placed in sentences. They're not magic.

 

[Underdog77]

The word "day" in English has various meanings, depending on the context.

Eg:

"The day of reckoning" - is that a specific day of twenty-four hours?

"day-light" as in a period from dawn till dusk

"One day I'll understand creationists" - some nonspecific period in the future.

"Some day" ditto

etc...

Why would the Hebrew be any different? Words only have meanings when they're placed in sentences. They're not magic.

So are you saying that the context of Genesis 1-2 should determine the meaning of "yom"?

 

[fragmentsofdreams]

I interpret it as one day, but then, I interpret the passage as a non-historical account, so the exact time isn't that big of deal to me.

 

[Sinai]

Actually, a "literal" reading of Genesis 1 says that God created in six יוֹםs. The Bible doesn't give an age other than six periods of time--each identified as a יוֹם (pronounced yom)--plus the period of human history since the time God created a soul for Adam. Although יוֹם is most commonly translated as "day" it can also mean an age, an era or an unspecified period of time. The Bible can support either a "young Earth" position that the universe is only a few thousand years old (generally YECs claim it to be in the range of 6-58 thousand years) or an "old Earth" position that agrees with the scientific evidence that it is billions of years old.

 

[Micaiah]

Could any past or future posters identify if they are Jewish. My understanding is that Jews traditionally understood the word day used in Genesis 1 is a literal solar day, ie. one rotation of the earth's sphere.

 

[Dracil]

Try this page. http://jewish.com/page.php?do=page&cat_id=1015

Here are parts of some answers, from 5 different rabbis there.

Q: Can a person who believes in evolution also believe in a God, such as in Judaism?
A: In Judaism, there's no problem with believing in scientific theories while also having faith in and a belief in God. One of the reasons for this is that there are many different Jewish understandings of how God operates in terms of the universe and in relationship to the earth and human beings. Unless science comes up with concrete proof that there is no Divine influence in the universe, there's no reason not to believe in both science and God at the same time. Although many Orthodox Jews look at the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) as the actual word of God, most Jews see the Torah, which is the most important book in Judaism, as a God-inspired anthology of history, sacred myths and religious instruction, rather than as literal, scientific truth. - Rabbi Jo David

Q: I want to know if there is a way to believe in both evolution and creation.
A: As to the age of the world being "5757" years old, we are under no obligation to regard the Biblical chronology of the six days of creation in its most literal sense. Days most probably means "periods" of creation. - Rabbi Dr. Michael Samuel

Q: How does Judaism explain Creationism and Evolution?
A: As a Conservative rabbi, I believe that Judaism has to be consistent with our best understanding of the physical world. I accept the idea of evolution completely. Nor do I read that as inconsistent with the Biblical story of creation, because I understand that story as not being literally true but as a statement of certain moral truths about the world, including, among others: (1) God created the world according to His will (2) Human beings are the highest created being (3) Not only creation, but cessation of creation, is critical to an understanding of the higher value of the human being. - Rabbi Danny Horwitz

Q: Can you tell me the Jewish position on evolution (i.e., from the conservative and/or orthodox perspectives if they should differ). More specifically is it possible to accept Darwins Theory of Evolution (apes to humans) and still believe in creation as described in the bible. I discussed this issue with a Jewish friend of mine the other day. It is my belief, that commonly accepted Jewish theology allows Darwinism to coexist with Creation Theory since Jews do not interrupt the bible literally, like Christian fundamentalists do.
A: I can only speak for the Orthodox perspective on Judaism, which does not agree with your belief that Darwinism can coexist with the "Creation theory". Jewish theology does interpret the Bible literally, and therefore Adam was formed by G-d, and did not evolve from an ape. Where the Judaic position differs from Christian fundamentalism is in the rich expansiveness of ethical and social perspectives to be gleaned from every word in the Bible. In this respect, we utilize a degree of latitude in interpreting Bible passages to teach us worthwhile lessons. However, we never lose sight of the literal translation. We have no right to. - Rabbi Leibie Sternberg

Q: My 14 year old asked the inevitable question regarding the Jewish position on Darwinian evolution and Creationism. What is it, especially in the context of liberal Judaism, but I would be interested to know the Orthodox position, as well.
A: Your 14 year old asked a good question. For many centuries the classical Jewish tradition has taught that the Torah teaches us WHY God created the world and THAT God created the world, but not HOW God created the world. While there are Orthodox (and even non-Orthodox) Jews who do not accept evolution, most of Judaism, including many Orthodox thinkers, recognize that religion and science ask different questions, and that there is no reason for a faithful Jew to reject scientific teachings. So yes, we accept evolution. - Rabbi Michael M. Remson

So it appears that most Jews have no problems reconciling evolution with Judaism, except for the Orthodox Jews (like the person who gave the 4th response). Most do not take the Bible/Torah literally either, again, except for mainly the Orthodox Jews.

 

[Micaiah]

There are evidently some Jews today who have a liberal interpretation of Genesis. The orthodox position is to interpret day as one solar day.

 

[Dracil]

In the US at least, the Orthodox position is also only about 7%.

Funny really though, you don't like it, so you call them liberal, despite the fact they're the majority.

 

[artybloke]

So are you saying that the context of Genesis 1-2 should determine the meaning of "yom"?

Every word in the Bible, or indeed in any text anywhere, has to be interpreted in its context. And that context doesn't just include the text as we read it today. It includes the historical context of when it was written, or what it might have meant to the people who wrote it. Words without context are just collections of letters: sxylopatic, in other words.