The English language is often inept in communicating what the original Hebrew or Greek is saying, so scholars often have to use the context and their own personal convictions to describe what that words meaning is. Here in Genesis 1, most translators have this word yowm wrong. If you do a search, you find that the word yowm appears 2287 times in 1931 verses, and it’s translated in a multiplicity of fashion throughout, but let’s look at the Genesis chapter 2 creation accounts to help us understand this word’s meaning throughout this whole creation account.
Genesis 2:4 says – “These [are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.”
Some might attempt to associate this verse with Genesis 1:1, but this is just bad exegeses. The term “Generations”, or toledaw in the Hebrew, helps define the context for this verse for us. As per Strongs, the word means:
1) descendants, results, proceedings, generations, genealogies
a) account of men and their descendants
1) genealogical list of one's descendants
2) one's contemporaries
3) course of history (of creation etc)
b) begetting or account of heaven (metaph)
So this verse is setting the stage for elaborating man’s creation, the Eden story, and the generations that were to follow - the information about to be described immediately after this verse which fully affirms the context of the verse. So . . . God takes all His creative activity in chapter 1, and sums it all up in “yowm” here in this verse – this word simply isn’t being used in the creation account as “day”, it means “period of time”
I really don’t want to go through all the references for yowm or yom, buy I think one more will make the point. The very next reference for yowm appears in Genesis chapter 2 verse 17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” - - - Did Adam and Eve die the same day they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? No! In fact, Adam lived to be about 930 years old. - this word simply isn’t being used in the creation account as “day”, it means “period of time”
Of course Adam died spiritually here, so please don’t remind me of this fact. I would even agree with Watchman Nee here, who suggests that Adam lost the force of his soul, and his dominion over all creation. He was cut off from the spiritual source and like you or I becoming a quadriplegic, Adam knew he lost something profound after he sinned. On top of this fact, he could not hide from his guilty conscience. But what does the word “Die” mean in this verse, and how is it used throughout scripture? It means, “to die, kill, have one executed” This means physical death!
Interpreting Yowm as “period of time” here in Genesis 1 is not simply the conviction of a few radical heretics that are intent on undermining the authority of God’s word. Many conservative Christian thinkers would argue for this definition. In fact, the International Council for Biblical Inerrancy deliberated for many hours on this very issue and concluded that no case can be made from the original languages to favor a young universe/earth interpretation.
For a balanced perspective on this word see: http://www.accuracyingenesis.com/day.html
Biblical references that would imply an ancient earth would include: Habakkuk 3:6 the mountains are declared to be "ancient" and the hills "age-old." In Proverbs 8:22-31 God compares His eternality to the length of time the oceans and mountains have been in place and to the span of time since He created the heavens. The figures of speech used in Psalm 90:2-6, Ecclesiastes 1: 3-11, and Micah 6:2 all depict the immeasurable antiquity of God's presence upon (and plans for) the earth.
I’m not suggesting that I believe in evolution, but here is how I would suggest the Genesis 1 narrative supports an ancient earth. Genesis 1:1 defines the original creation, as this is the only verse that uses the word “Bara” (to create out of nothing) for create, and in all the other creative activity in Genesis 1, the word “Asah” is used, which describes an artist or craftsman making something out of what is already there. So, Genesis 1:1 describes God’s original creative event, Genesis 1:2 describes the world after Satan fell, and the rest of Genesis 1 is a picture of God restoring the world after the fall of Satan.