Affirming 6×24‑hour days, using asah to support Gen 1:1 as the creation event

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I hold to six literal 24‑hour days in Genesis 1, but I’m not talking about gap theory. I’m closer to John Sailhamer’s view: Genesis 1:1 describes the initial creation of the heavens and the earth, and the six days describe a later, literal week in which God formed, ordered, and assigned functions to what He had already created.

A key part of this comes from the Hebrew verbs Moses uses. He consistently distinguishes between:

  • bara — “create,” used only of God, often referring to the initial act of bringing something into existence
  • asah — “make, do, appoint, assign”
  • yatsar — “form, shape”

In Genesis 1, the initial creation of the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1) uses bara. But the six‑day sequence that follows (Gen 1:3–31) overwhelmingly uses asah and yatsar, which describe God’s forming, shaping, and assigning functions to what He already created.

A good parallel for this functional/appointive use of asah appears in 1 Kings 12:31, where Jeroboam “made” priests. He didn’t create them, he appointed them. This shows that asah can refer to assigning roles or preparing something for its purpose.

This becomes relevant when we look at Exodus 20:11: “For in six days the LORD made (asah) the heavens and the earth…”

Moses does not say God created (bara) the heavens and the earth in six days. Instead, he uses asah, the same verb used in Genesis 1:3–31 for God’s work of forming, preparing, and assigning functions during the six days.

To me, this supports the idea that:

  • Genesis 1:1 describes the initial creation of the heavens and the earth (bara).
  • Genesis 1:3–31 describes the six literal days in which God formed, ordered, and assigned functions to what He had already created.
  • Exodus 20:11 refers specifically to this six‑day forming/ordering work, not the initial creation event.

So my question is there a linguistic or exegetical reason not to read Exodus 20:11 as referring to God’s six‑day work of forming and assigning (asah), while understanding Genesis 1:1 as the earlier act of creation (bara)?

Seeking additional references and resources