Does yom mean a 24 hour period?

There are some who want to reject the plain reading of scripture in Genesis 1 to say the Hebrew word yom, translated as day, means a long period of time or an unspecified period of time.

The Hebrew word ‘Yom’, like the English word ‘day’, can have different meanings, depending on context.

Here is an example of using the word day in different ways:

“In my father’s day, it took six days of driving during the day to drive a car across the country.”

It is evident from the context when “day” means 24 hour time period and when it means a long period of time or when it means daylight period. The same is true for the Hebrew word “yom”.

In the Old Testament, when the Hebrew word for “day” (yom) appears with “evening” or “morning” or is modified by a number (e.g., “sixth day” or “five days”), it always means a 24-hour day.

So yes, yom in Genesis 1 means a literal day. This tells us the author intended to convey creation took six days. We see this where was specified how many days creation took in Exodus 20:11

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lordblessed the sabbath day and made it holy.