Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Ian Hutchesson <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

>Interestingly Ian in several posts has insisted that Genesis 1 starts the
>day with the morning. IMO the story clearly starts the day with the evening.
>That is each day begins with the evening and extends through the morning (to
>the next evening). That is God creation efforts extended throughout the
>entire "24 hour" day. That is on day X there was the following sequence
>evening, [night], morning, [day]. The sixth day finished after the evening
>and the morning of that day. God then rested on the seventh day - that is
>beginning with the evening following the sixth morning.

This is of course why we are told that God did his creating "and evening
was and morning was, day Xth": wyhy `rb wyhy bqr ywm X. We are told this
each day of the six days of creation. Note the "and"s: the first implies
that God worked before the evening. God did his creating, then evening came
and then morning -- people don't work at night. 

>The sixth day finished after the evening and the morning of that day

That's right. It may help to think of bqr as the end of night or the
beginning of day, just as `rb was the end of day and the beginning of night.


Ian