Clear Bible Answers

We Say a Biblical day begins at sunset. It’s from sunset to sunset. The lunar Sabbatarians say a Biblical day begins from sunrise. They say it’s from sunrise to sunrise.

 Let us investigate

 What was there first—darkness or light in the first chapter of the Genesis creation record?

Genesis 1:2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Darkness was there even before the light was introduced. Logically speaking, light that came later cannot be placed ahead of darkness, in regard to time. That is exactly what the word of God says about each creation day—darkness first, light next.

God then proceeds to make two distinct periods of time, previously only one existed—darkness.

Genesis 1:3, 4 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

God then names those two periods of time.

Genesis 1:5 “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.”

So “light” and “day” are synonyms and “darkness” and “night” are synonyms.

Genesis 1:5 “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

There are only two segments in the 24-hour orbit of the earth—light and darkness. We now have different terminologies for the two segments of time in the above verse of Genesis 1:5—light, day, darkness, night, evening, morning. Light & day & morning are synonyms. Darkness & night & evening are synonyms.

Look at the order of the two periods of time.

Genesis 1:5 “And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

There are only two periods of time—darkness/night/evening and light/day/morning. So, “evening and morning” means night and day, or darkness and light.

How do we know that “the evening and the morning” of Genesis chapter one embraces a 24-hour period and not a 12-hour period, as the lunar Sabbatarians believe?

This same phrase of “the evening and the morning” is used also in the book of Daniel, and it is clearly a 24-hour period there. This is the only other place apart from Genesis chapter one where the phrase “the evening and the morning” is used.

Daniel 8:26 “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.”