BIBLE HEBREW WORD STUDY
Yôm — Meaning & Usage in the Bible
Yôm (יוֹם, H3117) is the common Hebrew noun for 'day,' used for daylight hours, a full day from evening to evening, and figuratively for an undefined period of time.
Meaning of the word
The noun yôm (יוֹם) primarily denotes 'day' in its everyday sense. The lexicon defines it as a day tied to the warm hours, whether the literal span from sunrise to sunset, a full day from one sunset to the next, or a figurative stretch of time marked by an associated term. The word is so common it is frequently used adverbially as well.
The creation account in Genesis 1 illustrates the basic range clearly. In Genesis 1:5, God calls the light 'Day' (יוֹם), pairing it with the darkness called 'Night.' The recurring refrain 'And there was evening and there was morning, one day' (1:5) — repeated through the second day (1:8), third day (1:13), fourth day (1:19), fifth day (1:23), and sixth day (1:31) — fixes yôm as a defined unit that begins with evening and ends the following evening.
Usage in Scripture
Beyond marking the units of creation, yôm also names the daytime portion of the 24-hour cycle. Genesis 1:14 has God set the lights 'to divide the day from the night,' and 1:16, 1:18 describe the greater light ruling the day while the lesser light rules the night — yôm here is the daylight half that contrasts with לַיְלָה (laylâ, 'night').
In Genesis 2:2 the pattern extends to the seventh day, where God 'rested on the seventh day from all his work.' The same noun that names each working day of creation now names the day of rest, showing that yôm carries its meaning consistently whether the day is filled with creative acts or set apart as Sabbath.
The word in detail
- H3117 Yôm (יוֹם) is the standard Hebrew noun for 'day.' Its semantic range covers (1) the daylight hours from sunrise to sunset, (2) a full day reckoned from evening to evening, and (3) a figurative period whose length is set by the surrounding context. Because of this flexibility, the same word can refer to a literal 24-hour day in the creation week or to an indeterminate span of time when paired with qualifying terms.
Example verses
- Genesis 1:5 Here yôm is paired with 'Night' (לַיְלָה) as God names the light 'Day,' establishing the foundational day/night contrast that governs the rest of the chapter.
- Genesis 1:14 The lights are set 'to divide the day from the night,' using yôm for the daylight portion of the diurnal cycle.
- Genesis 1:16 The greater light is appointed 'to rule the day,' again contrasting yôm with the night governed by the lesser light.
- Genesis 2:2 God 'rested on the seventh day,' extending the use of yôm from the six days of creative work to the day set apart as Sabbath.
Common questions
Does yôm always mean a literal 24-hour day?
The word covers a literal day from sunset to sunset, but the lexicon also notes figurative uses where yôm marks an undefined span of time set by its context.
How is the start of a day reckoned in these verses?
Genesis 1 frames each day as beginning with 'evening' and ending with 'morning,' so yôm is reckoned from evening to the following evening.
What does yôm mean in Genesis 1:5?
In 1:5 yôm names the light-period of the diurnal cycle, the half God calls 'Day' in contrast to the darkness called 'Night.'