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To: derheimwill
Hebrew poetry often does this. Take as example the story of Bathsheeba. The story is preceded by a summary description of a period of wartime. But the Bathsheeba events happen during the war. Gen 1:1 gives an overall summary - kind of like a title. Then, more detail is given in the seven-day-story. All of this is then backdrop for the Eden description. 2:4 is not an event. The Eden description end with the description of Adam and Eve. Then, in chapter 3, we beging moving in time again with the story of the Fall. The yom you spoke of in verse 4 is actually a b-yom: in that day.

I agree that 1:1 is a summary of creation and an introduction. There is a lot more to it than that, but I don't have time to go into it with you right now.

And I would agree that it is typical to go back and forth temporally, as the Hebrew verbs did not have the same sense of time we use in English.

However, there are some interesting points about the seven yoms you must consider. Each has a number, except the first day really should be translated "day one" because it did not use the "harishon" form for first. The rest use second, third etc. This is significant.

As to the bet in front of yom in the 4th verse, I see little significance in this. I know some say if it is a prepositional clause yom takes on a different meaning, but this is a simplistic view at best. The Hebrew had no spaces between words, so putting the bet with the yom is arbitrary. It might just have been a separate word in the minds of the Hebrews. In any event, it does not change the meaning of bucket if I say "in the bucket". And the form of Genesis 1 to Genesis 2:4 fits Hebrew poetry's thought rhyming, in that the summary at the end is a repetition with an amplification of the thought. The two together should be convincing to anyone who is an objective analyzer of the Hebrew that "yom" means long periods of time. Why would verse Gen 2:4 talk about generations if it wasn't? It means long generations or lists of geneologies of the history of the Earth and the Universe in this context.

To trivialize "yom" here and not connect it to the intended meaning God reveals to us in the fact of evolution is disingenuous at best, rejection of God at worst.

117 posted on 12/03/2004 6:37:01 PM PST by shubi (Peace through superior firepower.)
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To: shubi
Why would verse Gen 2:4 talk about generations if it wasn't?

I'm not suggesting that definition but, it's not "day 8." I believe it refers to day 6.

118 posted on 12/03/2004 6:43:46 PM PST by derheimwill (Tagline, Schmagline)
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