The Creation "Days" Were Not 24 Hours Long

I hate forfeits. ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS YOM - we both agree that Yom has three definitions (and that each has been used in various places in the Bible). Both of our arguments rest heavily on our interpretation of that particular word. The definition of yom to be used for any given passage depends on how the word yom is modified and in which context it is used. In this case, particularly “And there was evening, and there was morning, the [first] day (1-6)" (repeated six times for each subsequent day), we see the word yom (day) is modified by the words "evening" and "morning". In Hebrew, the word for evening is "ereb" and the word for morning is "boqur". While Yom may have three meanings, ereb and boqur each have one and only one meaning: a portion of the day representing the time period around the setting sun (ereb) and rising sun (boqur). There are no alternative definitions for these words in Hebrew. So, we have three words in the same sentence regarding time, two out of the three represent definitively a 24-hour day and one that could represent a 24-hour day (and almost certainly does when modified by ereb and boqur). In order for that sentence (again repeated six times) to represent a time period different than 24 hours, we would need evidence from the Bible and all Hebrew texts that ereb and boqur can refer to an indefinite time period - this is simply not the case. Never, and I mean never, do these words represent an indefinite time period. Exodus 9-11 - What do other parts of the Bible think about the length of a creation day? In Exodus 9-11, we see this: "9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. " What we see here is a direct and undeniable link between a standard 24-hour human day and a 24-hour creation day. REBUTTALS1) "And the earth brought forth vegetation" - If God "brought forth" vegetation over time, then wouldn't God have "brought forth" the human being over time as well? There is no mention of a development phase of the human being (or any animal, for that matter) in Genesis.2) "I already addressed your claims about God's nature in my first argument. " I don't see any reference to the Nature of God himself in your first argument. However the characteristics of Omnipotence and Transcendence certainly show that God could do whatever God desires in 24 hours.3) "It did not say God placed the plants or created the plants but rather planted and watched them sprout. " It did not say that either. It said "plants yielding seed. " According to www. dictionary. com, "Yielding" means producing or productive. Your claim is that they already produced, which is not what yielding means.4) "We have already addressed that the language of the text and the specific wording used shows how God most likely resided over the Earth as it grew and sprouted on its own without supernatural help. " The phase "most likely" is incongruent considering the definition Pro is relying on is the least often used definition in Hebrew texts, especially since Yom is NEVER used as an indefinite time period when combined in the same sentence with definitive 24-hour day modifiers like ereb and boqur.5) Dinosaurs - No human being can prove that dinosaurs walked the earth. We can only prove that their fossils exist yet cannot with certainty show how and when they got there. What can be inferred is that they walked the earth, but it cannot be proven. We think they walked the earth but we don't know. I don't have an answer to this, just pointing out a logical fallacy you used to support your position. Smoke doesn't always mean fire. Until you see the fire, you don't really know what caused the smoke. Without firm, 100% proof, one must consider other options may exist. 6) "At Last" - Since God always was and always will be, God wasn't waiting for man just over six days. God has been waiting for man since the beginning of eternity with man finally showing up on the sixth 24-hour day of creation. Eternity started an infinitely long time before creation started.7) Dasha - Given God's Transcendence and Omnipotence, dasha could occur instantaneously. The use of that word doesn't assure a certain passage of time. It assures the process but not the time it took to complete. The use of the word dasha combined with the nature of God certainly doesn't "completely destroy the idea of a 24-hour day. " If anything, it's neutral and doesn't help either of our arguments in this case because it gives no reference to time. It simply speaks of the process. Thank you for the debate.