7 And as for those towards the east, 〈 one 〉 was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. 6 I saw» at the end of the earth the firmament of the heaven above. 5 I saw the winds on the earth carrying the clouds: I saw «the paths of the angels. 4 I saw the winds of heaven which turn and bring the circumference of the sun and all the stars to their setting. 3 «And I saw how the winds stretch out the vaults of heaven », and have their station between heaven and earth: « these are the pillars of the heaven ». 2 And I saw the corner-stone of the earth: I saw the four winds which bear the firmament of the heaven. the vault of heaven, or ‘firmament,’ regarded by Hebrews as solid, and supporting ‘waters’ above it, Gn 1:6, 7 (×3), 8 (called שָׁ מַיִם all P), ψ 19:2 (|| הַש ָּׁ מַיִם ), זֹהַר הָר ׳ Dn 12:3 also הַש ָּׁ מַיִם ר׳ Gn 1:14, 15, 17Įnoch 18 : 1 I saw the treasuries of all the winds: I saw how He had furnished with them the whole creation and the firm foundations of the earth. Co Toy), v 26 (supporting י׳ ’ sthrone ) 10:1. Gn 1:6 extended surface, (solid) expanse (as if beaten out cf. In Job 37:18 the existence of the vault of heaven is attributed to God’s spreading it out, “hard as a molten mirror.” רָקִיע ַ S7549 TWOT2217a GK8385 n.m. 17:4 ), the former usage referring to the expanse of the heavens at creation, and the latter to the beating out of metal into thin plates or sheets. It is a cognate form of the verb rqʿ, “spread out” ( Ps. This curious divergence of meaning is matched by the difficulty in translating the original Hebrew term rāqî (a)ʿ. Although in classical Greek the latter denoted something solid, or a firm structure such as a foundation, its LX X usage was of the open sky, or the expanse stretching above the earth. This term is derived from firmamentum, the Vulg. "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.The expanse of the atmosphere or sky. "Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!" Psalm 148:4 ESV "He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved." Psalm 104:5 ESV And there was evening and there was morning, the second day." Genesis 1:6-8 ESV "And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. "Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?" Job 37:18 ESV And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years," Genesis 1:14 ESV "And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 19:1 ESV It was the support also of the heavenly bodies ( Genesis 1:14) and is spoken of as having "windows" and "doors" ( Genesis 7:11 Isaiah 24:18 Malachi 3:10) through which the rain and snow might descend. The raki'a supported the upper reservoir ( Psalms 148:4). It formed a division between the waters above and the waters below ( Genesis 1:7). It is plain that it was used to denote solidity as well as expansion. The language of Scripture is not scientific but popular, and hence we read of the sun rising and setting, and also here the use of this particular word. They who rendered raki'a by firmamentum regarded it as a solid body. This word means simply "expansion." It denotes the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately above us. Merriam-Webster simply defines the firmament as “the vault or arch of the sky heavens.”Īccording to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, from the Vulgate firmamentum, which is used as the translation of the Hebrew raki'a, or raqia. The definition of the firmament can be essentially summarized as the arch or vault over the earth and sky that separates the earthly realm from what is beyond. And the evening and the morning were the second day ( Genesis 1:6-8). And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
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