RE: Misconceptions about the Bible
June 21, 2022 at 11:06 am
(This post was last modified: June 21, 2022 at 12:36 pm by Data.)
(June 21, 2022 at 10:39 am)Jehanne Wrote: The 6-day account of Creation was printed in English Bibles for over 200 years:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ussher_chronology
Okay. But setting aside for a moment the more recent interpretations what does the Hebrew say and how does that compare to the English? If you want I can give the answer or give you the opportunity to provide your interpretation. I can give a brief heads-up . . .
So, for example, the English word day. I'll use it to signify various lengths of time. In the early days I worked the day shift 6 days a week. Now for ancient Hebrew: "This is a history of the heavens and the earth in the time of their being created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven." Genesis 2:4. That seems to say God created the heavens and earth in just 1 day. Compare that to the image provided by @Fake Messiah regarding Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 as multiple days. The same as my English example above. Then, watch out you don't get blind sided; many years later the psalmist wrote that the 7th day continued to that day. Even much later than that Paul reiterated that it continued during his day. It continues to our day. Then you have the problem of the Hebrew word for day, yohm, being interpreted throughout the Bible in application of a few hours up to any given period of time within a narrative, time indefinite. Judgment day, for example. 1000 years.
On top of that you have the perfect and imperfect state of the Hebrew. The Hebrew verb consists of two different states. The perfect state indicates an action which is complete, whereas the imperfect state indicates a continuous or incomplete action.
The word bara, translated as created at Genesis 1:1, is in the perfect state, which means that at that point the creation of the heavens and the Earth were completed. Later, as in verse 16 the Hebrew word asah, translated as made, is used, which is in the imperfect state, indicating continuous action. The heavens, including sun, moon, stars and Earth were complete, already created in verse 1 and an indeterminate time later they were being prepared for habitation, much the same as a bed is manufactured (complete) and made (continuous) afterwards.
