| | Genesis 1:1 to 2:1 (the chapter- and verse-divisions and numbers are of purely medieval origin) describes how this God created light and darkness, heaven and earth, the seas and plants, the sun, moon and stars, the fishes and birds, the animals and ''then'' man over the course of six 'days' (Hebrew ''yom''), before resting on the seventh. This account is contradicted in chapter 2, however, where the creation takes only one 'day' (still Hebrew ''yom'') and man is created ''before'' the animals | | Genesis 1:1 to 2:1 (the chapter- and verse-divisions and numbers are of purely medieval origin) describes how this God created light and darkness, heaven and earth, the seas and plants, the sun, moon and stars, the fishes and birds, the animals and ''then'' man over the course of six 'days' (Hebrew ''yom''), before resting on the seventh. This account is contradicted in chapter 2, however, where the creation takes only one 'day' (still Hebrew ''yom'') and man is created ''before'' the animals |
| − | Until the development of more reliable dating methods, creation was thought to have occurred about 4000 BC. This was proposed, for example, by Dr. John Lightfoot, a 17th century Anglican clergyman, though the idea had been current for centuries before that. It was most famously elaborated on by James Ussher, the Irish archbishop of Armagh. Ussher dated the arrival of Abraham in Canaan to 2126 BC and the Noahic flood to 2349 BC. The time of creation was calculated using the ages of famous pre-flood personages in the Bible to estimate the number of years between creation and the flood.
| + | Some have suggested that creation occurred about 4000 BC. This was proposed, for example, by Dr. John Lightfoot, a 17th century Anglican clergyman, though the idea had been current for centuries before that. It was most famously elaborated on by James Ussher, the Irish archbishop of Armagh. Ussher dated the arrival of Abraham in Canaan to 2126 BC and the Noahic flood to 2349 BC. The time of creation was calculated using the ages of famous pre-flood personages in the Bible to estimate the number of years between creation and the flood. |