Firmament
In biblical cosmology, the firmament (Hebrew: רָקִ֫יעַ rāqīaʿ) is the vast solid dome created by God during the Genesis creation narrative to separate the primal sea into upper and lower portions, so that the dry land could appear.
![]() |
This article is a stub. You can help out with Wikiquote by expanding it! |
Quotes
editHebrew Bible
edit- See also: Biblical cosmology (Wikipedia)
- יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל בֵּין מַיִם לָמָיִם׃
- Genesis 1:6 (MT)
- Translation:
- Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Commentary
edit- See also: Firmament (Wikipedia)
- The book of Genesis was written a long time before the idea of a spherical Earth was suggested and, as we shall see, the exegetes later found themselves in difficulty when attempting to reconcile the biblical writing with the results of the natural science; then the faith–science conflict was born, which has remained with us for almost two millennia.
- Dino Boccaletti: The Waters Above the Firmament: An Exemplary Case of Faith–Reason Conflict, "Preface", p. viii. Springer (2020). ISBN 978-3-030-44167-8. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-44168-5.
- When I caught the speaker's eye and asked about the rakia, I caused the lecture to grind to halt.
- Oren Fass: "My Encounter with the Firmament". TheTorah.com (2017).