Explanation #1. In the Book Of Psalms, Chapter 90, Verse 4, King David quotes Moses as saying to God " For even a thousand years in your eyes are but a bygone yesterday, and like a watch in the night". This can be interpreted to mean that there is a difference between years of 365 days as we know them, and years as defined in the quoted verse in which 1,000 years equals one day in the eyes of God.

Explanation #2. The Midrash says that before God created this world, he created 7 others and had to destroy them because they were not to his liking. Why ? We do not know. Perhaps these fossils were from the previous 7 worlds.

Explanation #3. We know that there were 2 major changes that took place in this world. The first one was after Adam's sin. Before the sin a woman was able to conceive and give birth in the same day. After the sin it was a hard 9 months pregnancy and a painful birth. The second major change took place after Noah's great flood. You will notice by the biblical accounts that the life spans of human beings decreased markedly from close to 1,000 years to somewhere below 150. After the death of our Patriarchs, the life spans decreased even further, closer to what they are today. The entire nature of the world, and particularly that of humans has gotten weaker throughout the years. The references to Leviathan could have corresponded to some of the pre-historic fossils and extinct species. Until the death of our Patriarch Jacob, there was no sickness in the world. People died suddenly when their time was up. It was Jacob who prayed to God that people should have some sort of a warning before their time came so that they could repent, and it was before his death that the first mention of illness is made in the Bible. So the point is that we are talking about different characteristics of species throughout history.

Explanation #4 - The world is only 5765 lunar years old since creation. Why then does the radioactive carbon test results tell a different story ? Because God is testing us to see whether or not we are true believers. The faithful believe that had a radioactive carbon test been performed at the very moment the world was created, it would have shown the world to be already millions of years old. In other words, "God created and old and mature world". Those of us who pass this most difficult test and still remain believers will merit the highest rewards in the "world to come" (hereafter). SOL ZELLER