Yom (Hebrew : יום) is a Biblical Hebrew word which occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The word means "day" in both Modern and Biblical Hebrew.
Although yom is commonly rendered as day in English translations, the word can be used in different ways to refer to different time spans:
Biblical Hebrew has a limited vocabulary, with fewer words than other languages, such as English or Spanish. [1] [a] Hence words often have multiple meanings, with the exact meaning determined by context. [9] In Strong's Lexicon, yom is Hebrew #3117 יוֹם, from an unused root that means "to be hot, as the warm hours of the day." [10]
Thus yom, in its context, is sometimes translated as: "time" (Gen 4:3, Is. 30:8); "year" (I Kings 1:1, 2 Chronicles 21:19, Amos 4:4); "age" (Gen 18:11, 24:1 and 47:28; Joshua 23:1 and 23:2); "always" (Deuteronomy 5:29, 6:24 and 14:23, and in 2 Chronicles 18:7); "season" (Genesis 40:4, Joshua 24:7, 2 Chronicles 15:3); either "epoch" or 24-hour "day", depending on interpretation (Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31) – see § Creationism, below.
Yom relates to the concept of time, and is used not just for "day" or "days", but for time in general. How yom is translated depends on context, using hermeneutics. [11] The word day is used somewhat the same way in the English language, as in "In my grandfather's day, cars did not go very fast" or "In the day of the dinosaurs there were not many mammals."
The word Yom is used in the names of various Jewish feast days; as, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; and Yom Teruah (lit., day of shouting), the biblical name for Rosh Hashannah, the Feast of Trumpets.
Yom is also used in the name of each of the days of the week in the Hebrew calendar.
See also Age of the Earth.