Bible Words

One problem with translating the Bible into new languages is the problem of words. The word "yom" from the Hebrew is the subject of intense debate. Does it mean a 24- hour day or a long period of time? And that interpretation has been used to drive a lot of doctrinal discussions.

Take for instance "awful" in English. It can mean terrible, horrible, repulsive, and the like or it can mean filled with awe or awe inspiring. Sometimes the usage gives a hint as to the desired meaning. "It was an awful sight." That does not help much.

"It was an awful sight. People turned away in horror and attempted not to get sick." This helps a lot. "It was an awful sight. People left the encounter in a worshipful mood and praised God for such a sight."

In the previous paragraph the meaning of "awful" was clearly established by the context. When that happens, the translation would be quite simple and straight forward. What happens when this is applied to "yom?"

To begin, realize that the Bible means what the Bible means, not what the words say. This is not contradictory nor silly. Imagine I said, "You are pulling my leg." Now translate that into a new language 1000 years in the future. Would the readers be correct in concluding that you had a hold on my foot and were trying to stretch my leg or separate my knee? (Rick Warren gave this example.) The erudite reader would look for context and other examples of that and interpret it as "teasing" or trying to fool or play a prank.

In Genesis 1, the word "day" comes from yom in Hebrew. You can find all types of hermeneutic gymnastics about how it means everything but a 24 hour day. But, a Hebrew-English lexicon* helps to explain. It has about seven different ways the word is used and lists a seeming exhaustive report on each. One of the divisions is: "day as defined by evening and morning." The specific texts are listed. Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31; see also Genesis 2:2 (twice in verse); Genesis 2:3, Exodus 20:11 (twice in verse), Exodus 32:17 (twice in verse).

Now we can get into dueling authorities and get nowhere. But the specific verses all link a 24 hour day with "yom." So our critical question, is why attempt to define it in a different way? Does any Scripture either suggest or demand such a translation? Is the meaning absurd as the literal pulling of leg is? Does it correlate with other Scriptures? And finally, why would we want to interpret it in any other way?



*Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
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