Research Paper
The Literal Meaning of the Word “Day”
Presented to
Professor Aaron Lumpkin
For
RLGN 301-B07
By
William Leicht
L27050847
October 2, 2018
A specific word in a conversation, in a screen play, or even in a book, can make all the
difference in what the writer or director is trying to portray. In a book written John Davis, he
states that the word “day”, or in the Hebrew language, yom, has four ways for the word to be
understood; “twelve-hour period of daylight as opposed to night, a solar day of twenty-four
hours, the period of light that began with creation of light on the first creative day, and the entire
sex day creative period.” The meaning or length of the “days” in Genesis has been a major
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Biblical controversy for over 150 years. From the simple definition of the word “day”, many
different theologies have been formed. In Genesis 1:5, “God called the light “day” and the
darkness “night”. And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.” The word
“day” here or “yom” in the Hebrew text, has been used almost three thousand times. Its Strong
number is H3117 and it is in reverence to being a day. The literal meaning in the original
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Hebrew text is meaning from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next. Likewise, the
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word “day” has meanings to represent the time of day; dawn, midday, late afternoon or evening
hour.4 Like previously mentioned, there are many ways to interpret the word “day” but the
question that is being presented today is the word “day” meaning a literal twenty-four-hour
period of time? The word “day” can have a meaning for a literal twenty-four-hour period of
time and there is evidence to support that view, just as well there is evidence to support other
views for the meaning of the word “day and the evidence will have to be presented.
The first meaning of the word “day” in Genesis 1:5 that we are going to look at is the
meaning of an undetermined time span or a time period of unspecified length. This theory is
typically popular with the Old Earth fanatics. There are a few different views within the Old
