THE DAYS OF CREATION

We are back to this theme because of its importance in the building of solid foundations for the Christian faith. The reading of this text along with "Understanding Genesis 1", in particular, provides a good reflection on the question of origins. Another reason is that it is natural for the beginner reader of the Bible to go to the biblical text with the lens of the scientific and technological society in which they live. For this reason, he is astonished by the claims that God created the universe in just six days and that the light was created in the first one, and that the luminaries radiating it only appeared in the fourth (Genesis 1). How to understand these statements? 

Many have presented various solutions to these questions. One of them shows the effort of interpretation aligned with science. This is the case of those who claim that the days of Genesis would be periods of time equivalent to geological ages. In the same vein, one could say that this light of the first day might well be due to the initial explosion of the "big bang" theory about the origin of the world. But this is not a good way to address this issue. Scriptural analysis by this line of thought is unreasonable. Also, it is important to note that the "big bang" theory is fragile in its purpose. It only explains well the present condition of the universe: its expansion. It does not present a rational explanation for the original conditions of the cosmos. 

On the other hand, there is an assertion that the days of Genesis 1 would be 24 hours, as we know it. It is the effort of the line of literal interpretation of the Bible. However, not everything in the biblical text can be taken literally. Of course, God could have created everything in just six days. But it is unlikely that the days of the first page of the Bible are as we know it today. Wenham (2009, p.101), in his commentary on this biblical text, notes that this word "day" refers to periods of time relating to the activity of the Creator rather than human. Thus, he considers unlikely to be 24-hour days [1]. 

This concern to understand this text of the Scriptures is understandable, because it is the basis of the whole Christian worldview. The human being perceives existence, reality, from the planes "time" and "space". Therefore, it is natural that he wants to understand how and when everything began. We must also be realistic and recognize that the interpretation line aligned to Science, as well as the one that seeks the literalness of the text, do not answer the question satisfactorily. So what would be a viable way to understand this problem? 

Genesis 1 is not a scientific text. Many scholars believe that this first chapter of the Bible was written in the literary style of Hebrew poetry, which is characterized by repetition and parallelism of ideas. See, for example, these aspects in Genesis 1:27: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. Notice how the same idea is said three times. Another evidence that this text is pure poetry can be seen in the expression "and there was evening, and there was morning", which closes the description of each day of creation. 

The text of Genesis 1 itself, as a whole, reveals itself to be structured in a parallelism. The days are not described within a linearity, but in parallel. The first three relate, respectively, to the last three. Light is created on the first day, but the luminaries, which radiate it, are only created on the fourth. The firmament and the waters that appear on the second day only receive the beings that dwell in them on the fifth. The same is true of the third and sixth days. So Genesis 1 cannot be treated as a scientific text, but as a theological text, written in the poetic style that affirms God as creator of the universe. 

The author is not interested in explaining how God created the world, but in declaring that He created it. And this truth needs to be received by faith, for "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:60). Of course, the fallen human being, separated from God, rejects receiving such an important truth by faith. He wants explanations, proofs, verifications, because he understands himself to be in control of everything. That is why God has determined for man the way of faith to reach the Truth, that is, Him.

Antônio Maia – M. Div

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WENHAM, G.J. Comentário Bíblico Vida Nova. São Paulo. Ed Vida Nova, 2009.