Big Bible Science
Thank you for stopping by! We hope that you will find some answers here to some of the deepest questions that your heart and mind can ever ask – about your life, your soul, the creation of our beautiful universe, and the ultimate meaning of life. Please linger a bit to find some treasures. You will be glad you did.
The sequence of events described in Genesis 1 are proving to be scientifically accurate. This is based on 3 key insights.
The Hebrew word yom
In Genesis 1, it is the Hebrew word yom that is translated as "day", as in "And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day (yom)". The word "yom" is translated into many other words, however, throughout the Bible. This yom word study shows how yom is translated as "time", "ever", "season", "age", and "year" in the Bible, depending on the context. Once we understand that "yom" can be translated as "age" or a longer time period than a 24 hour span of time, then the possibilities for the harmony between Genesis 1 and science are greatly expanded.
The point of view of the narrator
The other key understanding for realizing that science is in harmony with Genesis 1 concerns the point of view. Most stories are told from a certain point of view by the narrator. The point of view for understanding Genesis 1 is most likely given in Genesis 1:2, which says that the "Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (NKJV). From this we can see that the descriptions in the rest of Genesis 1 are told from the viewpoint of the surface of the water covered earth at the time ("face of the waters") and not somewhere out in the universe, as many others have assumed.
The use of metaphor in Genesis 1
A strong case can be made that parts of Genesis 1 use metaphor, as has been clearly seen in the famous situation with Galileo. The use of metaphor has many precedents in the the Bible. Understanding the use of the phrases like "evening" and "morning" as metaphorical then brings greater clarity to other passages as being literal.
