re: #184 Aceofwhat?

Although the process is coherent if, as i understand it, we translate the Hebrew YWM with regard to scientific rather than literary context.

Ludwig - other Jewish friends - help me out here. YWM in Genesis 1 makes more sense when translated as ‘epoch’ or ‘era’ or ‘period’, doesn’t it?

The “era” thing is a little better than “24-hour days”, but you still have to creatively reinterpret certain bits of it (ie, the sun/moon “become visible” in such-and-such era; they were created sooner). I’ve studied it pretty extensively, and it always feels like I have to twist and manipulate and violate the text to get it to fit into any sort of sensible timeline.

I think it’s much more in line with the text to view it as a poetic introduction to monotheism. All the evening-morning-day stuff provides a literary framework in which “God is eternal and created everything according to His own purpose” is brought out. Once I read the Egyptian creation story, the Genesis creation story seemed so natural as a response. I no longer had to ignore details that didn’t fit the timeline, and details I had long ignored (like the sun/moon not being treated as worthy of names) suddenly became obvious.

If you’re interested, read the Egyptian creation story I linked above. Get it in your head; think about the sort of gods described therein. Then immediately read the first chapter of Genesis, and see how the details seem to purposefully contradict the Egyptian account.