Stephen J. Krogh wrote:
> Looking at the word-for-word translation of the Hebrew text, one finds this
> phraseology: "and was evening and was morning day Xth." The NIV renders the
> time markers in this way: "And there was evening, and there was morning -
> the Xth day." The word arrangement in both cases is a departure from the
> simple and ordinary. It creates ambiguity. If "day Xth" was intended as the
> noun compliment for the one evening and morning together, the linking verb
> should appear just once, in plural form (as the KJV renders it): And the
> evening and the morning were the Xth day." We would expect the literal
> Hebrew to say, "and were evening and morning day Xth." However, this is not
> the case. This syntactic ambiguity does not constitute a proof. However, it
> does at least suggest an indefinite period for each phase of the creation.
More about these creation days being long periods can be found in R.C.
Newman & H.J. Eckelmann, "Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth"
(Hatfield, PA: IBRI, 3rd ed. 1989), p.61 ff; P.G. Phillips, "Are the
Days of Genesis Longer than 24 Hours? The Bible Says 'Yes!'" (Hatfield,
PA: IBRI, 1991); A. Held & P. Rüst, "Genesis Reconsidered", PSCF 51 (Dec
1999), p.231 ff (refer also to notes 29 & 30).
Peter Ruest
-- Dr Peter Ruest, <pruest@dplanet.ch> CH-3148 Lanzenhaeusern, Switzerland Biochemistry - Creation and evolution ----------------------------------------------------------------- Creative providence in biology (Gen.2:3): "..the work which God created (in order) to (actively) evolve it" -----------------------------------------------------------------
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