How Long are the Days in Mentioned in Genesis 1

Today, we commonly refer to one single day as a composition of a 24 hours period of time. Due to this reason, many are so curious if the days mentioned in the Book of Genesis were also equivalent to a 24 hours time period for each day.

If we are going to read Genesis 1:5, we can find in this Scripture about what composes a day.

Genesis 1:3-5

As mentioned in Genesis 1:3, God created the light to bring brightness into the world particularly onto the surface of the earth. But aside from the brightness offered by the light, it also serves as the basis for time or counting the number of days.

This Holy Scripture stated that the very first day which was during God's creation was composed of an “evening that passed” until the “morning came”. Based on my own common understanding, it does sound like a 24 hours period.

The same description about the second day is mentioned in Genesis 1:8 of the Holy Bible.

Genesis 1:8

Similar to the first day, the second day of God’s creation was also composed of an evening that passed up until the next morning. It also goes the same with the other succeeding days which were the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days of God’s continued creations.

Literally, the “passing of an evening until the next morning” is what’s composed of a single day. But when it comes to many number of days, the Scripture also used the term “many evenings and mornings”. We can read the example in the Book of Daniel 8:26.

Daniel 8:26

Above all, the most important Scripture from the Holy Bible regarding the days can be read in the Book of Exodus 20:9-11.

Exodus 20:9-11

Clearly explained by God, He wanted us to follow His daily routine when He worked or created everything that exists in this world. He wanted us to spend our regular days during the six days period. While on the seventh day, we need to take a rest because this day is blessed by God as the Sabbath day or Holy day for us to worship Him.

Moreover, my own personal opinion regarding the 24 hour period of time which is composed of a day has something to do with innovation or increase of knowledge by man. During the ancient days, the prophets or Moses who had written the Holy Scriptures knew nothing about accurate measurement of time. They solely rely on the sunrise and sunset as a basis for counting the number of days. Thus, this is probably the reason why they could not use a 24 hours time period as a description for one single entire day.