365.2422

God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day.Genesis 1:5 NASB

One day – The Hebrew syntax isn’t quite the same as the English translation.  In Hebrew the final words of this verse are yôm ʾeḥad (literally, “day one”).  Since the English versions treat this as the first sentence in a temporal sequence (i.e., the six creation days), the translators treat this as the opening day, the first step of the process.  But Hebrew seems to treat it differently.  Each of the days of creation are designated by the Hebrew word “day” followed by the ordinal number (“day second,” “day third,” etc.”).  This pattern continues until the seventh day which is the only day to be given a name, i.e., Shabbat.  The word ʾeḥad is just the word for “one” or “first.”  “It stresses unity while recognizing diversity within that oneness.”^[1]  Day first God began the creative process.  Day sixth He finished it.  All the days are equally unremarkable(if we can even say that) until we get to the seventh day.  It’s important to note that unlike pagan cultures the other days of the week do not have names in Hebrew.  They are not represented by gods or goddesses.  They have no magical or mystical power.  They are simply days.  By the way, we should notice that the sequence of seven days is a ubiquitous standard that is entirely Hebrew dependent.

Four seven-day sequences create the month which, it so happens, aligns with the lunar cycle.  But not with the solar cycle.  That’s where 365.2422 comes in.  The rotation of the earth around the sun is 365.2422 days long.  So, we must adjust, and that means every four years we get an extra day, a deferral to the pagan calculation based on the sun.  Actually, every day of the 365 isn’t exactly the same length.  Those extra few moments add up.  If we followed the lunar cycle, as the ancient Hebrews did, this problem would disappear.  It’s not a God-problem.  It’s a human calculation solar rotation problem.  And it’s also a spiritual problem, because many competitive cultures of the ancient world were solar-based cultures while Israel was not.  Today this juxtaposition of two counting systems creates some unusual conflicts; conflicts that never existed when Moses stroked these Hebrew words.

At any rate, today you get an extra day.  Today is evening and morning day one plus.  Enjoy it.  You’ll have to wait a while to have another.  Do something that doesn’t need repeating for another 1460.9688 days.

Topical Index: one day, day one,  yôm ʾeḥad, lunar, solar, Genesis 1:5

^[1] Wolf, H. (1999). 61 אֶחַד. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 30). Chicago: Moody Press.