There are several problems to the atheist strictly literal interpretation. The most obvious being that so much of the Bible isn't literal, it's figurative, metaphoric or symbolic.
But conversely, much of it is not. Are you suggesting Christians can cherry-pick the bits they want to take as symbolic, and atheists just have to go with their dictates?
I think not. If you want to claim the author meant this symbolically, you have to make a case for that. And merely saying the Bible is figurative, metaphoric or symbolic in some places really does not cut it.
Another problem with it is that your interpretation must be harmonious throughout. For example, in this case, as I pointed out, the term day is applied to all six days collectively. The seventh day continued in David then Paul's and now our day. And the language. The six days didn't start until the heavens and earth had already been created. And by the way, I've already won this argument. Really easy. The impossible part is convincing others who don't believe what I'm saying is true.
It is harmonious. The seventh day was one 24-hour period, just like the other six.
The evidence for this is that the Jewish week has seven days of equal length. This is based on the creation week, with the seventh day, the Sabbath, being a day of rest.
Genesis 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
If I can't convince you that day has various meanings, then (yohm or yom) and now, then what makes you think I can convince you of anything?
You are claiming the seventh day continues even now. You could try presenting Bible verses that support your position.
I believe the author understood the seventh day to be a single day, and if you look just above this, I provided two Bible passages to support that position.
Correct. And as I said, it is used 3 ways in the creation account, that being one of them.
Why should I believe you?
Who was there to see it? Angels. When did it start? After the creation. When was the first literal 24 hours? After the earth Morning/Evening is only half a day. Whet is the time "between the two evenings"? (Deuteronomy 16:6; Psalm 104:19, 20) The morning is when the angels, watching the creation could see what had been done. The evening is the time when they couldn't. It's about stages of accomplishment.
According to tradition, God told this to David, so the answer to your question - as far as the Israelites were concerned - was God.
The first literal 24 hours was from the start of creation until 24 hours after the start of creation. This seems pretty obvious. Here is the Biblical description:
Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
A period of light, followed by a period of dark. A full day; 24 hours.
No, you have just asserted your opinion as though it is fact. You have offered no reason for me to think it is right.
We've been through this. Everyone has biases. To suggest someone else does while ignoring your own is a weakness you should address.
And yet I can supply Bible verses that support my position, and you cannot. Right not it would seem my biases are right.