God made every herb before it was on the earth

I know nothing of Philo other than him being some Greek-like Hellenistic philosopher Jew that died about 45 AD. They all had a tendency to overthink all things of God. I think this line says it all: "in accordance with intellectual nature "

Who cares when God created a certain plant or if it was intellectually "in His mind" before it existed. What profit could something like this be to us. All those different Greek philosophies amount to nothing except to overthink our existence and how we fit into it without God.

I have been thinking about this Thread since I first responded to it, and the thoughts I have had are the lyrics to the Carman song "There Is A God."

93 million miles from the blistering surface of the sun
Hangs the planet earth
A rotating sphere perfectly suspended in the center of the universe

The ultimate creation from an infinate mind
An unbelievably intricate complex design
A supernatural testimony, an irrefutable sign that there is a God

The size, position and angle of the earth
Is a scientific phenomenon to see
A few degrees closer to the sun we'd disintegrate
A few degrees further, we'd freeze

The axis of the earth is tilted at a perfect 23 degree angle
And it's no mistake that it is
This allows equal global distribution to the rays of the sun
Making it possible for the food chain to exist

Or take for example the combination of nitrogen and oxygen
In the atmosphere we breathe every day
It just happens to be the exact mix that life needs to prosper
It doesn't happen on any other planet that way

You see the Bible says the invisible things of God
Are clearly seen through His creation, to believe this is not hard
If there's a design, there's a designer if there's a plan, there's a planner
And if there's a miracle, there is a God

There is a hope, there is a light
There is an answer to all answers
There is a flame that burns in the night
And I know, I know, I know there is a God

The Scripture says the heavens declare the glory of God
And the skies proclaim the work of His hands
If we allow our minds to drink in all the truth that just surrounds us
Creation itself will help us understand

Did you know the moon controls the tides?
It's the maid that cleans the ocean
Even the waves don't crash the shores in vain
The tides drag impurities into the depths of the sea
It's nature's constant recycling chain

It simply boggles the mind to think that the stars will rotate
With such exact precision that it's true
That the atomic clock with an error factor
Of less than three seconds per millennium is set by the way we move

Though they silently orbit, the sun, the moon, the stars
Are like celestial evangelists above
Who circle the earth every 24 hours shouting
In every language that there is a God

Atheism is the wedge under the foundation of our faith
Trying to topple our relationship with Christ
When the fool said in his heart there is no God
He rejects the truth God painted on the canvas of the night

Atheism has never created an artistic masterpiece
Never healed a fatal disease or calmed a fear
Atheism has never still given answers to our existence
Peace to a troubled mind or even dried a tear

For it's God who created heaven and earth
And flung the stars in space
And breathed in the handful of dirt and it became a man

It's God who sits on the circle of the earth
And measures the mountains in a scale
And holds the seven seas in the palm of His hand

It's God who sent His only begotten Son to the cross of Calvary
To save our souls from Hell and grave
It's God who creates, God who delivers
God who heals and God who is worthy of a thunderous ovation of praise

There is a hope, there is a light
There is an answer to all answers
There is a flame that burns in the night
And I know, I know, I know there is a God

There is a hope, there is a light
There is an answer to all answers
There is a flame that burns in the night
And I know, I know, I know there is a God

There is a God, there is a God, there is a God
And I know, I know, I know there is a God

that right there is a pretty good testimony to God!

You should add 'in the twinkling of an eye'

What is the Hebrew word for evening and morning for the creation days were marked by evening and morning.

My opinion; Genesis 2 has always been about the heart of a man, it is what is referred to as the garden of Eden. Before anything else was established, the heart of the man was established with the knowledge about everything because it was not created, it came from God when He breathed into a clay structure.

עֶ֥רֶב
(e·rev) = ereb = evening

בֹ֖קֶר
(vo·ker) = boquer = morning

It is not necessary to spiritualize the Garden of Eden (if that is what you are suggesting). It was an actual Paradise in what is now known as Iraq, and the four rivers associated with it make that clear.

What needs to be noted is that God created all creatures as herbivores, and gave mankind an orchard + a vegetable garden + a herb garden, to provide every kind of fruit, vegetable, and herb.

In spite of that the first man and woman could not resist the forbidden fruit. Which was a disaster for all.

Interesting, not saying I agree or disagree (although that doesn't matter to you ) but it is interesting, and worth thinking on.

The point I was making is that you do not have to be atheist or live after Darwin to not to be a Genesis literalist.

So it doesn't make any sense for people to believe a creation day as a long unknown period of time, it is actually a day (Evening and morning)

There's actually a very very deep mystery about this garden, it was not just a garden and the trees and herbs were not just trees. We see the restoration in Revelation and there we have a clear picture that the tree of life is actually Jesus.
Don't have enough time now but will explain later.

Actually, it does, because repetitions like "evening, morning" is a poetic language, not a scientific one.

Even ancient readers and teachers knew that.

Philo is not inspired. In fact, there are many mistakes in the early church fathers. Plus, your translation was not good, and does not reflect the consistency found in the rest of the Bible regarding the origins of creation!

You’ve already made it clear you don’t believe in the worth of the Old Testament, “except Isaiah” I believe you said.

So why even bother quoting Genesis when you don’t believe it? Or are you systematically trying to break down people’s faith? Take your apostasy elsewhere!

What translation do you have in mind?

Well, Philo is not inspired, neither is Augustin, Luther or YEC crowd. I just thought that its interesting to see that we do not need Darwin for thinking more about Genesis.

I never said that I think the OT is not worth. Its useful. Some books are more useful, some less. Some are better preserved, some less. Some are lost and some I think do not need to be in the OT canon.

ESV:

Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
Gen 2:5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,

YLT:

Gen 2:4 These are births of the heavens and of the earth in their being prepared, in the day of Jehovah God's making earth and heavens;
Gen 2:5 and no shrub of the field is yet in the earth, and no herb of the field yet sprouteth, for Jehovah God hath not rained upon the earth, and a man there is not to serve the ground,

NASB:

Gen 2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.
Gen 2:5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

NAS77:

Gen 2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.
Gen 2:5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

ASV:

Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.
Gen 2:5 And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth: and there was not a man to till the ground;

Here's how it all happened:

These Bibles did not exist in the 1st century so Philo did not know such textual variant. He used Septuagint, the Bible of Jews and Christians.