Today we are going to look at Genesis 1.6-8. It is going to be in two sections. Section one is an easier to understand version whilst the second section goes into a lot more detail. It is possible to read the first section without the need to read the second section.
The Problem
In verses six through to 8 we have the word firmament (raqia). Its interpretation is very important because it affects how we ought to read the rest of the Old Testament (Tanakh).
Section 1 What! A watery world…
How do we contemplate before anything existed except God because God is eternal and there is an unfathomable distinction between Creator and created things ‘yet there is a relationship’. Before we move on to these things I think it is important to allow our imaginations to run a little wild for learning purposes. Let us think about exoplanets and the watery type like earth:
I was thinking about Ceres. This is a small dwarf planet in our solar system that is 1/13 the size of earth. It is very small. It has a lot more water than the earth but is very cold between -136 degrees and -28 degrees. I remember going for a dip at -30 in a lake and I lived to tell the tale. However I was told to wear tennis socks as ones feet could stick to the ground. This is Ceres’ warmest temperature! There is no atmosphere on Ceres. It is a hostile place to life on the surface.
It doesn’t look like much on the surface but on a good day if the temperature went up by +30 degrees it would become liquid. Let us look in
side the planet:
In this dwarf planet then we can see water. Even though Genesis was written by Moses with no way of knowing what the earth was like before anything existed, it gives an excellent description. Even though early humans had no telescopes they had a very good idea of what went on in the heavens.
So then my son created for me an imaginary watery world without an atmosphere:
My son also said that in reality the watery world would be in complete and utter darkness. Obviously a black background would not help our imagination! 😊
The pyramids, Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, Stone Henge et al. So, I suppose I get annoyed when scholars talk about cosmic eggs because ancient humans with their limited knowledge made astounding discoveries about the world and the heavens.
Our Bible text today is Genesis 1. 6-8:
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. Genesis 1:6-8 NASB
Where you see the word expanse in the text other translations have various words for it:
- vault
- space
- expanse
- firmament
- dome
- canopy
- sky
- horizon
As we saw with the dwarf planet Ceres, it has no atmosphere. According to Moses neither did the earth. God had to make the heavens. The heavens in Hebrew is masculine and plural. This means that there are differences in the heavens. There are:
- God’s throne room
- The stars and the planets
- Our atmosphere ‘Dome’
For Judaism there was a physical structure up there in the sky. The Hebrew word can convey hitting a piece of metal until it becomes very thin and expands over a wider area and hence the word ‘expanse’ tries to cover this. Firmament comes from the Latin and is about a solid structure yet the solid structure perhaps needs to have a quality of translucency that one can see through it. How about the following verse:
9Then Moses went up [f]with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, gas clear as the sky itself. 11Yet He did not reach out with His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.
From https://biblehub.com/nasb_/exodus/24.htm
God steps out in the heavens (possibly) and the elders of Israel see God walking on what looked like a pavement of sapphire. The expanse, firmament, dome whatever you like to call it was therefore seen as a solid structure. This idea is found also in the book of Revelations:
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. 3 And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Revelation 15:1-3
So then the firmament that God created has certain functions and hence the differences in the translations as one word cannot do justice.
Lets put these noun translations into families first
- Vault, firmament, and dome
- Space and expanse
- Canopy, sky, and horizon
In the first set we have engineering words and this idea of beating metal into a thinner sheet to cover more space can be argued for. Vault is the wrong word because that is where people keep their treasures. Dome is very visual and solid. It is possible for someone to walk on the roof of the dome outside so it kind of works. Firmament and vault are very solid and gives the idea of some permanence.
Space I think is a bad choice because it could be an area inside your car boot. Expanse however can only cover a large area, so expanse is a better choice because it can cover a vast area. This is the word that the Late Rabbi Sacks preferred in his Tanakh for Genesis 1 6
Although the word canopy has been used somewhere else in the Old Testament (Tanakh), I think it is a bit flimsy and has the idea of impermanence. The other two, sky and horizon are not appropriate here because Moses is trying to tell us more. We already know about sky and the text is saying more than that.
So then how would I translate it? This is a good question and perhaps in this situation dynamic equivalence could possibly help. I would probably say ‘expansive firmament’. The heavens are a large area but at the same time it has solid foundations:
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. Genesis 1:6-8 NASB
Tweaked translation with my translation of Rakia (firmament):
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expansive firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expansive firmament and separated the waters which were below the expansive firmament’ from the waters which were above the expansive firmament; and it was so. 8 God called the expansive firmament heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. Genesis 1:6-8
With the tweaked version we have the expansivity without losing the solid foundations of the heavens.
Reflection
Our God is an amazing God. Here in these verses we have an ancient version of God setting up the atmosphere, God’s relationship in distance to humans and the rest of the night sky. I think that is really amazing. In the description of the firmament there was yet no life and hence God did not say ‘good’ for the second day. After the second day however the foundations are almost ready for a habitable planet.
Section 2: Getting to know the Hebrew of Rakia!
God as the Master builder / BakerBackground Reading for how modern humans see the world nature and space.Builders and bakers have something in common. They use a recipe either for the perfect tasty meal or the perfect concrete for a building. They need to understand temperatures and time and other factors. When God created the heavens and the earth, the theatre in which humans would live out their existence everything had to be just right:1. There had to be light so that we could see.2. The right temperature or we would burn to death or frozen to death.3. There had to be vegetation so we could have food and not go hungry.4. There had to be water so we could clean ourselves and boil our food.5. There had to be regular time so that the crops could be renewed.6. There had to be animals of various forms some we would eat and some for company.As the master builder God first got the building materials from nothing and then He flung stars and planets into space to be at their appointed places. Even as a baker flings the pastry onto the table for rolling so God flung materials into space for their preparation. In the next stage of the enterprise, instead of an oven God used words and used the materials he created in the first place. When we read the Genesis creation story in the first chapter there is one actor and His Spirit. In that sense then it is a monologue. Genesis should not be treated as a scientific text book. It has a culture, a Writer and ideas that would shake the ancient world. So, then what do we know about the world today and its place in the universe? The facts are actually amazing:· Our galaxy sits inside a cosmic bubble a thousand light years across, and we are in the centre of it. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-solar-system-is-shrouded-by-a-local-bubble-that-birthed-all-the-nearest-stars-180979396/ (This is an external link)· The earth’s rotation around the sun gives us almost perfect time. It is consistent enough to make farming possible.· The moon is just far enough to give us regular tides.· Molten rock churns under our feet that give us a magnetic protective shield that protects the earth from lots of harmful things.· The sea blooms and trees give us oxygen and deal with the carbon dioxide.Stone age man would also have had ideas about this earth and how the universe ticks.About 12000 years ago a catastrophe took place on the earth with a mini ice age that lasted a thousand years. This ice age happened when a meteorite hit the earth: https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-carvings-in-turkey-show-a-comet-hitting-earth-changing-civilisation-foreverThis evidence comes from Göbekli Tepe where they found carvings of animals in the position of the stars in the night sky. A group ran simulations on computers and showed stuff.
This image was taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe I think this is enough background for us to start to look at a very important text:6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. Genesis 1:6-8 New American StandardOr King James version 16116 And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 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. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. Genesis 1:6-8There is a key Hebrew word in these texts that is very important ‘raqia’. Raqia which is a Hebrew noun has caused problems over the centuries for translators. Have a look at the following translations in Genesis 1. 6-8:
Theological Wordbook of the Old testament on firmament or expanse“(rāqîa רָקִיַע ). Firmament. (NASB renders more correctly as “expanse”; cf. riqqūʿê paḥîm (Num 16:38 [H 17:3]), literally “an expansion of plates,” i.e., broad plates, beaten out (BDB, p. 956). rāqîaʿ may refer to a limited space, such as that of the canopy over the cherubim, under the throne in Ezekiel’s vision (1:22, 26). Or it may refer to the broad “expanse of heaven” (Dan 12:3, NASB), as it does in thirteen of its seventeen occurrences.rāqîa is the most important derivative of rāqiaʿ. It identifies God’s heavenly expanse. The Mosaic account of creation uses rāqîa interchangeably for the “open expanse of the heavens” in which birds fly (Gen 1:20 NASB), i.e. the atmosphere (H. C. Leopold, Exposition of Genesis, I, p. 59), and that farther expanse of sky in which God placed “the lights … for signs and for seasons” (vv. 14, 17, referring apparently to their becoming visible through the cloud cover; the stars, sun, and moon presumably having been created already in v. 3), i.e. empty space (ISBE, I, p. 315), over which, as Job said, “He stretches out the north” (Job 26:7). The former receives greater emphasis, particularly during that period before the second day, when the earth cooled sufficiently (?) to permit surface waters, separated from what must still have been a massive cloudbank above, by the atmospheric expanse (Gen 1:6–8). Such circumstances serve to explain the OT’s poetic references to “doors” or “windows” for the phenomenon of rainfall, e.g., “He commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven” (Ps 78:23). That the Hebrews knew rain came from clouds is clear from Isa 5:6, etc.J.B.P.(From J. Barton Payne, “2217 רָקַע,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 862.”)
Reasoning through the proofs:
Like a rainbow with all the various colours I’m sure that all the translations have something to contribute. Yet, it is so easy to read into the text an alien meaning, a meaning that does not belong to the translation. We need to be able to put our own assumptions aside and perhaps pretend that we do not live in the 21st century and imagine that we are living in the Jewish community that Moses was shepherding. So then as a worshipper of the Lord what can we find from Scripture both the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the New Testament especially Revelations. Lets have a look:Note the word raqa here means to ‘spread out’ “Can you, with Him, spread out the skies,Strong as a molten mirror? Job 37:18
Comment: the idea of a molten mirror is very interesting. For something to be molten, it is either rocks or metals. A mirror is a reflector of an image. The imagery here of the sky is quite beautiful. Then Moses went up [f]with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet [g]there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, [h]as clear as the sky itself. 11Yet He did not reach out with His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank. From https://biblehub.com/nasb_/exodus/24.htmComment: In the above verse God is standing on what appeared to be a pavement of sapphire. Was heaven opened up? Were they describing glass?and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the centre and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. Revelation 4:6Comment: From Johns point of view perhaps the elders saw God from his dwelling place above the firmament, above the expanse.Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. 3 And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Revelation 15:1-3Comment: The Martyrs then were standing on the firmament from God’s side. h7549. רָקִיעַ raqia; from 7554; an extended surface, expanse: –expanse(16), expanse of heaven(1). h7554. רָקַע raqa; a prim. root; to beat, stamp, beat out, spread out:–beaten(1), hammered(2), plates(1), spread(3), spreading(1), stamp(1), stamped(2). It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,Who stretches out the heavens like a curtainAnd spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22 stretches h5186. נָטָה natah; a prim. root; to stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend:– spreads out h4969. מָתַח mathach; a prim. root; to spread out:–spreads(1). Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. Ezekiel 1:22 h7549. רָקִיעַ raqia; from 7554; an extended surface, expanse:–expanse(16), expanse of heaven(1). h5186. נָטָה natah; a prim. root; to stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend:– Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3 ReflectionWhen we look at all the evidences of early humans and the text of Scripture. There world view can only be understood from their own vantage point and the lenses they were wearing. Concretely, I mean to say their point of view and their experiences. Whether we are religious or not we can learn a lot from these people. We are not any different to them as we share a common humanity. We can love, hate, feel happy and sad etc. What I learn from verses 6-8 is wonder. I am filled with wonder how great God is and how great his love for us is. Von Rad noticed in these verses that God works in two ways:· Doing (In the beginning God created…)· Speaking (Then God said…)The important point is “More important is the fact that the younger has not displaced the older, that rather both voices in the present text receive their due: the older, which tries to preserve the direct, effectively applied creative working of God in the world (the world came directly from God’s hands which fashioned it), and the younger, which, without removing this testimony, speaks of the absolute distance between Creator and creature. ” (From Von Rad’s commentary pages 53-54)In a nutshell what Von Rad is saying whether with the creating (Bara) or with the speaking (amar) there is always an absolute distance between the Creator and the creature. He also points out that God doesn’t say it was good until the third day.
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