agree with Modern Geology 6ft 



present day was established. It was only on the fourth day, or 

 epoch of the creation, " that God made two great lights to di- 

 vide the day from the night, and to be for signs, and for seasons, 

 and for days, and for years." The very first time that the term 

 occurs in the Hebrew text, after the history of the six days' 

 work, and of the rest of the seventh, as if to furnish us with de- 

 finite information regarding its true import, we find it employed 

 in a similar manner to that in which we must understand it 

 here ; for, in Gen. ii. 4, we have, " These are the generations of 

 the heavens and the earth, in the day (beyom) that the Lord 

 God made the earth and heavens."" The use of the term in this 

 indefinite sense is so common in the Hebrew writings, that it 

 would be a great labour to quote all the passages in which it is 

 found ; and we shall satisfy ourselves by at present referring to 

 Job xviii* 20, where it is put for the whole period of a man's 

 life, " They that come after him shall be astonied at his day"^ 

 (yomu) ; and Isaiah xxx. 8, where it is put for all future time^ 

 " Now go write it in a book, that it may be for the latter day 

 (leyom), for ever and ever.*" It is quite obvious, from these ex* 

 amples, that the Hebrews used the term (yom) to express long 

 periods of time. The very conditions of the history in this chap- 

 ter prove that it must be here so understood. 



They who object to this interpretation of the term here, im- 

 mediately quote against it the reason added to the fourth com- 

 mandment, " For in six days the Lord made heaven and earthy 

 the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, 

 wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and sanctified it.*" 

 This is, however, no more than a brief reference, and the terms 

 of it must therefore be strictly interpreted in accordance with 

 those of the detail to which the reference is made. 



It has been said that such an interpretation goes to nullify 

 the reason assigned for the sanctification of every seventh revo- 

 lution of the sun ; but this does not follow. In point of fact, 

 the rest from the work of creation (we use this form of speech 

 from the example before us) did not endure only for one revo- 

 lution of the sun, but has continued since the creation of man ; 

 and we have no grounds on which to establish even a conjecture 

 of the time of its coming to a close ; so that if we were urged to 

 adopt a period of twenty-four hours as the meaning of yom'. 



