How long was a day in the bible?

Answer 1

The word 'day' in both the Old Testament, and the New Testament, can have different meanings. Often you can determine the meaning based on the context.

• Sometimes it refers to a 24 hour period.
• Sometimes it refers just to the 'daytime' as opposed to 'nighttime'.
• Sometimes it refers to a person's whole lifetime, however long that is. For example it may speak of 'in Noah's day'; meaning 'in Noah's lifetime.'
• Sometimes it refers to a whole 1,000 year chunk of time.
• In Genesis, each day seems to refer to a 7,000 year time period.
• And then in Genesis 2:4 it refers to the whole 6 days of Genesis chapter 1, as a day also.

Therefore the word 'day' in The Bible can be: --literal; --figurative; --symbolic; depending on the context.

Answer 2

Generally speaking, a day in the Bible stories was 24 hours, just as it is now. However, the word "day" also is used in several mephorical and symbolic ways in various parts of the Scripture.

> The Creation stories in Genesis specifiy six "days" on which the Creator formed specific things. Beginning in the 19th Century, a relatively small Christian tradition began to interpret these as actual 24-hour days, while far more scholars and faith traditions recognize these "days" as segments of time, separating specific periods of divine creativity.

> In some texts, the phrase "In that day..." refers to a period of time, usually in the future, which something will occur that might include weeks, months or years. This use parallels the modern expression, "In my day..." referring to the years of the speaker's young prime.

> Another phrase, particularly in prophetic literature, is "The Day of the Lord." In most cases this is understood as the Final Judgement. But it can also be interpreted as a specific catastrophy that is perceived as retribution for the sin of Israel. So it includes not only the particular 24-hour day when, for example, an enemy envaded Jerusalem, but also the following years of oppression or captivity that followed.