What do you say to people who say the earth is 4.6 billion years old?
I'm glad you understand facts, now do you understand even harder facts, Jesus is the son of God and God the Father, God the Son/Redeemer, and God the Holy Spirit created the universe 13.7 billion years ago, day one as it is "known" is really YOWM 1 and the Hebrew word used for YOWM is used as a TIME REFERENCE and any space of time can be inserted as long as it matches the facts in reference. So, the first day lasted 9.2 Billion Years from 13.7 Million BC until 4.5 Billion BC.
Now less shut down the debate of the young earthers.......I must say, every time I see this argument I just SMH.
So, the question is can we understand how YOWM is used via intellect, or are we bound to our thought process that mandates it has to be a day when the Hebrew language was very primitive, they had only around 4000 words, and many words were used to many many things in multiple forms, like the word YOWM.
#3117 יוֹם yowm {yome}
from an unused root meaning TO BE HOT; TWOT - 852; n m
—Hebrew Word Study (Transliteration-Pronunciation Etymology & Grammar)
1) day, time, year
1a) day (as opposed to night)
1b) day (24 hour period)
1b1) as defined by
evening and morning in Genesis 1
1b2
) AS A DIVISION OF TIME
1b2a) a working day, a day's journey
1c) days, lifetime (pl.)
1d)
TIME, PERIOD (general)
1e)
year
1f) temporal references
1f1) today
1f2) yesterday
1f3) tomorrow
—Brown-Driver-Briggs (Old Testament Hebrew-English Lexicon)
From an unused root meaning TO BE HOT; a day (as the WARM HOURS), whether literally (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figuratively (a SPACE OF TIME defined by an associated term), (often used adverbially):—age, + ALWAYS, + CHRONICLES, CONTINUALLY (-ance), daily, ([birth-], each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever (-lasting, -more), X FULL, life, as (so) long as (. . . live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X REQUIRED, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year (-ly), + younger.
—Strong's (Hebrew & Chaldee Dictionary of the Old Testament)
#3117.
יוֹם
yom (398a); a prim. root; day:—
NASB - afternoon*(1),
age(8), age*(1), all(1), always*(14), amount*(2), battle(1), birthday*(1),
Chronicles*(38), completely*(1), continually*(14),
course*(1), daily(22), daily the days(1), day(1115), day of the days(1), day that the
period(1), day's(6), day's every day(1), daylight*(1), days(635), days on the day(1), days to day(1), days you shall daily(1), days ago(1), days'(11), each(1), each day(4),
entire(2), eternity(1), evening*(1),
ever in your life*(1), every day(2), fate(1), first(5),
forever*(11), forevermore*(1), full(5), full year(1), future*(1), holiday*(3), later*(2), length(1), life(12), life*(1),
lifetime(2), lifetime*(1), live(1), long(2), long as i live(1), long*(11), midday*(1), now(5), older*(1), once(2), period(3),
perpetually*(2), present(1), recently(1), reigns(1), ripe*(1), short-lived*(1),
so long*(1), some time(1), survived*(2), time(45), time*(1), times*(2), today(172), today*(1), usual(1), very old*(1), when(10), when the days(1), whenever(1), while(3),
whole(2), year(10), yearly(5), years(13), yesterday*(1).
—NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries
AV - day 2008,
time 64, chronicles + H1697 37, daily 32,
ever 17,
year 14, continually 10, when 10, as 10, while 8,
full 8
always 4, whole 4, alway 4, misc 44; 2274
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Some examples where this word is used in a different way besides a day can be seen BELOW: Notice it's always used as a
PERIOD OF TIME of some sort.
2 Kings 17:37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for
evermore(YOWM); and ye shall not fear other gods.
Genesis 4:3 And in
process of time(YOWM) it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting(YOWM).
Ezekiel 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a
year(YOWM).
Exodus 13:10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from
year to year(YOWM).
Genesis 8:22 While the earth
remaineth(YOWM), seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 40:4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a
season(YOWM) in ward.
Joshua 24:7 And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a
long season(YOWM).
1 Kings 9:3 And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there
perpetually(YOWM).
Genesis 29:14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the
space(YOWM) of a month.
Leviticus 26:34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths
, as long(YOWM) as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
Deuteronomy 28:29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and
spoiled evermore(YOWM), and no man shall save thee.
Deuteronomy 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments
always(YOWM), that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually(YOWM).
Genesis 41:1 And it came to pass at the end of
two full(YOWM) years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
I could go on and on, but I think this shows enough variation and instances which show us that the Hebrew word YOWM is used for a PERIOD OF TIME of many sorts. Of course, it is going to be used for a day more than any other word because God is going to use "SPECIFIC MENTIONS OF DAYS" more than any other period of time. Whenever a Prophets says that there will be so and so many days of this or that he used the word YOWM. But when it was meant as EVERMORE he also used the word YOWM, and when it meant a YEAR they also used the word YOWM, etc., etc.
So God uses the word YOWM and it's up to us to EVENTUALLY figure out what "PERIOD OF TIME" He(God) meant by that !! The Hebrew language had 4000 words and no vowels at the time, it was a primitive language of course. We shouldn't allow the professors of that time (Pharisees, Scribes) to sway us into saying this has to mean ONE DAY, it was a period of time and it's up to us to figure it out in the end. All men knew back then comparatively speaking was that we had days/years/months. So they had to see it as something, what was it going to be ? Day, Year, Month, Evermore, Perpetually, Full, Always, X Required, Space of time, etc., etc. They sure didn't have a clue about how big the universe is like we do, they had no concept of billions of years like we do.
So God created the Universe in a period of 7 YOWMS...........which as shown above means periods of times in various ways. We have to figure it out, we can't allow the dog to lead us here, we have to lead the dog. We can't allow the word DAY (YOWM) to force us to look at things in a way which it drives people away from the Gospel. We want to understand the facts, therefore we can reach people in truth.
The facts are right there in print, the word YOWM is not only used for actual days. So, God gave Moses the first 5 books, how would God want 7s to Interpret or Translate YOWM? By looking at all the facts, we see light that it has taken billions of years to travel down to earth, or in some cases, millions of years. If God created the Earth 6000 or so years ago we would not be able to see the Stars in Heaven. Thus we know the earth is billions of years old, as are the stars. END OF DEBATE.