“yom” means more than “day”
יום
You probably know that יוֹם (yohm) means day.
You also probably know that the Book of Genesis (סֵפֶר בְּרֵאשִׁית – SEH-fehr beh-reh-SHEET) presents the story of creation in a six-day sequence – and that this contradicts modern science… at least on an initial reading.
On top of that, the second chapter of Genesis speaks not of six days of creation, but of one day on which the heavens and the earth were created!
What’s the story here?
I propose (could be that Gerald Schroeder said it too) that יום doesn’t mean only day in the sense that we take it – as a 24-hour cycle. However, יום means period of time. This meaning is attested all over the place in both the Bible and in Modern Hebrew – היום means today, both in the sense of a specific date as well as today in the general sense – פַּעַם, הָיוּ מַנְהִיגִים, אָבָל הַיּוֹם… (PAH-ahm, hah-YOO mahn-hee-gheem, ah-VAHL hah-YOHM…) – once upon a time, there were leaders, but today…
If יום means more than day in the literal sense, then the biblical account of creation becomes more understandable to the reader of היום – today.
Once again, Ehud Banai’s היום (written in honor of his wife) – it’s a song about ceasing the day.
Enjoy! (and speak out loud the Hebrew words you know)
Enjoy! (and speak out loud the Hebrew words you know)
