Rather I will give my reasons for concluding that the firmament/expanse (Hebrew: רָקִיעַ ) is primarily what we call “outer space,” the atmosphere is the “face of” of the raqiya‘, and the waters above are at the outer boundary of the universe. However, as I argue below, a careful examination of the biblical text (and especially the Hebrew words in a few key phrases in Genesis 1) does not support these various interpretations. 1 On the other hand, some commentators as well as flat-earth advocates say that the firmament was a hard, metal-like shell covering the atmosphere and attached to the perimeter of a circular, flat earth. Many young-earth creationists (no doubt in part because of the influence of the writings of Henry Morris and John Whitcomb) also think that “the waters above” the firmament are a watery canopy (made of vapor, liquid, or ice) in the upper atmosphere which collapsed at the onset of Noah’s Flood to produce the many days of rain. Many Christians today have assumed that the firmament (or expanse) created on Day 2 of Creation Week is the atmosphere where the birds fly and the clouds float.
Keywords: raqiya‘, expanse, firmament, heavens, sky, waters above, waters below, atmosphere, vault, dome, canopy, flat earth, Bible translations, commentaries, Logos Bible software.
The conclusion of this study is that 1) the expanse is outer space, 2) where the birds fly and the clouds float is the “face of the expanse,” and 3) the “waters above” are the outer boundary of the universe. Should it be called “the firmament” or “the expanse”? Was the firmament or expanse the earth’s atmosphere where the birds and clouds are? Or was it a hard, metal-like dome or vault over the atmosphere under which or in which the sun, moon, and stars were placed? Were the “waters above” clouds, or did they form a vapor canopy above the atmosphere that collapsed at the beginning of Noah’s flood? Or is the expanse what we today call outer space and the “waters above” are the outer boundary of the universe? This essay will examine carefully the Hebrew words in the relevant biblical texts, the various English translations of the key phrases in Genesis 1, the Septuagint Greek translation of the same in Genesis 1, a number of popular commentaries on these verses, and some images related to these questions found in the Logos Bible software. Considerable disagreement exists in the church about what God made on the second day of Creation Week in Genesis 1.
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