![[#05] Genesis 1:5 – The First Day of Creation](https://redeeminggod.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/One-Verse-at-a-Time-150x150.jpg)
Do you think the world was created over millions and billions of years? Or do you think that everything that exists was created in six 24-hour periods?
In this episode of the One Verse podcast, we will look at Genesis 1:5, I will share my view.
And just as a fair warning, if you hold strongly to one view or the other, you will probably be somewhat offended by what I say.
The text of Genesis 1:5
Genesis 1:5. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
In this discussion of Genesis 1:5 we look at:
- Why Moses borrowed from Pagan Creation Myths to tell the story of Creation
- The truth about why and how God redeems the darkness
- The theological importance of “naming”
- Whether the days of creation were 24-hour days or not.
Resources:
- Logos Bible Software
- Free Book of the Month at Logos
- Sailhamer on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
- Victor Hamilton on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
- Gordon Wenham on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
- Read The Enuma Elish for yourself
- Compare Creation Accounts from other religions
- My New Categories for Theology
- Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes
Downloadable Podcast Resources
Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.
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Thanks Jeremy, that was a good podcast. I appreciate the openness because Genesis has quite some unexplained portions…..
Thanks for listening. Yes, Genesis is tricky (as are other portions of Scripture…)
I listened to your pod cast on the actual six days. You have a great voice, it doesn’t make me cringe, lol. I enjoyed your approach to the idea, and honestly, I really don’t care if it was a day as we know a day or thousands or millions of years, that doesn’t change my opinion that God did it. But I appreciate your approach and I would like to hear more. Great job, keep it up!
Glad to hear it! I would hate it if my voice made people cringe. And yes, the length of the day doesn’t matter. Glad you see this!
“Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.” – Genesis 5:5
Adam was created on the sixth day. His lifespan included his creation day until death.
Good point. Of course, the word “days” in Genesis 5:5 is plural, so some will argue it is not exactly the same as the use of “yom” in Genesis 1.
Hi, Jeremy
Wasn’t Moses correcting errors in those ancient creation myths? Did moses ‘borrow’ from these ancient sources or did he set the record straight? Isn’t it possible that enuma elish is a corrupted account of creation and not merely a ficticious fairy tale on the same level as Cinderella?
I agree that the creation account is a piece of literature/theology which is couched in language which the Hebrews could understand but to put it on the level of a completely imaginary fairy tale like Cinderella creates problems because we cant formulate doctrine on the basis of fairy tales. We cant have a fairytale as the basis of our faith.
I’m also thinking about the evening-morning motif of days one thru six. That motif is absent from day seven. is there any significance in the omission of this motif on day seven?
Great question! I will try to address this question in my Q&A podcast.
What you say is possible … as long as we do not try to read the account too scientifically, for then it doesn’t match reality.
As for the “evening and morning” on the seventh day, I will address this when we get to Genesis 2:1-3, but briefly, I believe it is because the seventh day is still ongoing…
Jeremy,
As you know, the Hebrew terms for evening and morning are, respectively: ‘erev’ and ‘boker.’ I once heard a lecture by a Hebrew scholar who said that when Genesis was originally written, at THAT POINT IN TIME, erev and boker probably didn’t mean evening and morning, and that such semantics for those terms probably weren’t introduced until much, much later. I just wondered what your thoughts are on that. Have you heard that before? Would you agree, disagree, or neither?
Hmmm. I have not heard this before. I would love to read some on it though… if you have any articles or books you know of which present this idea.
I just want to say, “thank God for you!” A perfect example of God bringing light and harmony into the darkness. The darkness is put into it’s proper place and used as as the perfect display for the light. “God is so awesome!”