Тремя днями позже...

[freiburg234.livejournal.com]

Dear Russian Experts,

I'd be grateful if you could please explain the use of the instrumental case in the following:

"Тремя днями позже..." It looks to me as if one could equally use "Три дня спустя..."

What is the effective difference between the two? Is the first case some indirect reference to a particular literary style or epoch? What effect is the author attempting to achieve by using "Тремя днями позже..." as opposed to "Три дня спустя..."?

How would each variant be translated into English so as to preserve the differences in nuance?

It seems to me that the first case might be something one would read in the Bible, e.g. "On the third day..." as opposed to "Three days later...". If so, when and why do Russians use this apparently exalted/antiquated style? (Irony, tongue-in-cheek, sarcasm, etc.?)

Here's the particular context:

"Тремя днями позже вице-президент США Дик Чейни, выступая на международной конференции..."

Thank you in advance for your efforts.

FB