[OT] Days of Creation

Days of Creation

Akkadian and Ugaritic literature indicate seven consecutive periods are considered a perfect period of time to do an important work, with action lasting six days and reaching it's conclusion/outcome on the 7th. [UC 13]  In their traditions,  6 days of labor were divided into three pairs, 1&2, 3&4, 5&6 with completion occurring in the 7th period.  Genesis does this a bit differently with 1&4, 2&5, 3&6 periods being related. 

Stationary Creation	Animated, Moving Creations
1; Light	4; Luminaries (sun , moon & stars)
2; Sea and Heaven	5; Fish and fowl
3; Earth (with it's plants)	6; Land creatures and Man

[UC 17]

Note the conceptual relationship in the symmetric pairs (rows).  The 1st column has the static phenomena or place, while it's parallel (2nd column) occupies and moves through the 1st [UC 42].

Some have felt the need to reconcile the order of the 6 "periods" of creation with a scientific understanding of creation.  This is difficult when the sun (4th day) is created after the plants (3rd day).  But this is not a scientific description of creation, but a literary parallel, and should be understood that way.