There is great debate because the text itself is not clear. As Mason has pointed out, Augustine, to which we could add a number of Greek Fathers, saw the creation account for what it was, an account of creation. It is not a scientific treatise. We need to look at the story behind the account, not least its relation with Ancient Near East creation accounts as regards Mythopoetic language and thought forms. Further, we need to take into account the work of redactors.

E.g. God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament by John Day as well as Gunkel's Creation And Chaos in the Primeval Era And the...