Once again, the point (that keeps getting missed) is that it doesn't matter what *we* think Scripture means. It only matters what it meant to the original intended audience. We must understand Scripture in its *original context.*
This is basic Biblical Hermeneutics 101. I like this diagram of the process: (1) First, determine what it meant then to the ancient audience, in order to know (2) what it actually means, so that (3) we know how to correctly apply it today.
People don't realize how much they read modern ideas back into Genesis 1 where they don't belong.
People read Genesis 1 through the lens of the "evolution-creation" debate and as a result completely misunderstand Genesis 1.
I remember the first biblical commentary I read on Genesis. I was so excited, thinking that finally all my questions about the creation-evolution debate were going to be answered, as well as debates over whether "day" in Genesis means long ages or 24-hours; and what Day 2 tells us about the "water vapor canopy" theory as a source of water for Noah's Flood; and how Day 3 and the appearance of land relates to plate tectonics; and whether or not "Let there be light" has to do with the Big Bang Theory; and other such things.
Needless to say, I came away extremely disappointed, and discovered that Genesis 1 doesn't speak to such questions or concerns.
What does Genesis 1 says about all the aforementioned things. Answer: absolutely nothing! Genesis 1 has little to nothing to do with our modern debates on the age of the earth and evolution vs creation. And as a result, most people completely miss the point of Genesis 1 as it was meant to be understood in its *original context.*
As long as people continue trying to read modern scientific debates back into Genesis, they will keep getting it wrong and interpreting Scripture incorrectly. (Just the same as when people incorrectly read Jeremiah 10 as a prohibition against Christmas trees
before there was such a thing a Christmas trees
or even Christmas).