How long is a day?

 

Genesis 1:5 ESV
(5)  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

The bible makes the claim that God created the world in six days.  Some have tried to squeeze evolution into that narrative by claiming that the Hebrew word יום can mean a period of time.  However, good hermeneutics demands that we properly interpret Hebrew as the word is used elsewhere.

Regarding the word day (yôm) several interpretations have been suggested. (1) The days of Creation refer to extended geological ages prior to man’s presence on earth. (2) The days are 24-hour periods in which God revealed His creative acts. (3) They are literal 24-hour days of divine activity. In favor of the third view is the fact that the term yôm with an ordinal (first, second, etc.) adjective means 24-hour days wherever this construction occurs in the Old Testament. Also the normal understanding of the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:11) would suggest this interpretation. BKC

What does Exodus 20:11 say?

Exodus 20:11 ESV
(11)  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Have you ever wondered why a week is seven days and not ten or five?  The answer is found in creation – God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.  That is why our week is seven days.

And now you know how long a day is.