Thoughts about Genesis (5)

Genesis 1:6-8
⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
⁷ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

Day 2 starts with and God said, and ends with there was evening, and there was morning. On the 2nd day of creation, God separated the water above the earth from the water on the land, placing the sky between the two. The sky (or our atmosphere) is like a blanket of gasses that protects the earth. Because of the atmosphere, the sun (created later) does not burn us to death and protects us from harmful solar radiation. Although we cannot see the atmosphere, it constantly plays the part God intended.

There may have been more water involved at that time than that which is present in our atmosphere today. One possible explanation is that God placed a layer of water vapor around the earth, high in the atmosphere. Such a layer of water would have created a “greenhouse” effect that could have encouraged the rapid growth of plants and protected the earth’s inhabitants from the sun’s damaging rays. This protection could partly explain the long lives that the first people enjoyed and the volume of water that spilled from the sky in the Flood. Concentrating on air and water without referring to land (which God doesn’t “play with” until the third day) is challenging. When you think about air and water, you find much to discuss. There are clouds, wind, evaporation, ice particles, snow, etc. Water exists in many forms in the atmosphere.

Genesis 1:6
And God (אלהים - Elohim) said (אמר - amar), “Let there be (יהי - yehi) an expanse (רקיע - raqia) in the midst (תוך - tawek) of the waters (מים - mayim) and let it (ויהי - wihi) separate (בדל - badal) the waters (מים - mayim) from (בין - ben) the waters (מים - mayim).

As we discussed in previous lessons, the word Elohim - אלהים (Strong’s #H430) is generally translated as “God.“ Elohim is not a name. Elohim is a common noun, not a proper noun. Clarifying the difference: common nouns are words for types of things, people, and places, such as “dog,” “professor,” and “city.” Common nouns are not capitalized. A common noun is a descriptor in that it describes what something is. Proper nouns are words for specific things, people, and places, such as “Max,” “Dr. Jenner,” and “London” by its name. They are always capitalized.¹

Even though Elohim is not a name, it is treated by most theolgians as if it is a name. I cannot stop thousands of years of tradition, so I won't even try. As a “name ” Elohim emphasizes God’s creative power and might, including his attributes of justice and rulership.² The “name” Elohim (as used in Genesis 1:1) is a plural noun but is singular in concept. In Hebrew, the plural ending “im” indicates a plural ending, just as the letter “s” does in English. The plural in Elohim is understood as the plural of fullness; God is the God who really, and in the fullest sense of the word, is God.³

The word Elohim by itself is simply the Hebrew common noun used to refer to the true God in an honorific way.⁴ To describe something in an honorific way is to convey esteem, respect, and honor when referring to a person, in this case, God. Elohim means “strength, might, and power(ful).”⁵ It describes God’s creative power and might. It can also include his attributes of justice and rulership. The word Elohim in the Old Testament can refer to God, angels, or men in positions of rulership.

The word said (אמר - amar), (Strong’s #H559, pronounced aw-mar) means “to speak, say.” The word often refers to what a person is thinking or has thought. In this case, the heart of God is “speaking.” An example is Ecclesiastes 3:17, “I said (amar) in my heart.” In most cases, however, amar tends to reflect the act of speaking. It is essential to realize that there are two different words in Hebrew for “to speak.” The first word is amar, and the second word is debar. Debar has been recognized as a more direct, clear, and forceful speech, whereas amar is more like everyday conversation.⁶ The other thing to remember is that in Genesis 1, God’s word is creative. God created everything through his words and speech. This use of speech was not necessary, but it was his choice to demonstrate his creative power. He could have thought the universe into existence. He could have willed it to be so, and it would have happened. He could have snapped his fingers, and it would have happened. Instead, he used words that carried divine thoughts, patterns, plans, and designs. God created everything as he envisioned it. In no other religion was creation carried out by the words of the gods, which set Judaism apart from all those other religions.

The Hebrew word יהי - yehi (Strong’s #H1961) is typically translated as “let there be, to become or became, will be.” This word (in Hebrew) is a Qal imperfect in a jussive form, which means it is not command, but a desire or a wish.⁷ Our English translations imply that “let there be” is a command. That is not completely accurate. God is really saying; “My desire is for …” or “I wish for ….” In plain English, the best we can do is say: “Let there be.” While the phrase “let there be“ is accurate, it fails to convey the desire of God’s heart. What he is speaking is the desire of his heart. This desire is God’s love in action. His love carries the weight of a command, so his words come to pass. In Genesis 1, yehi declares God’s intention to create something, in this case, light.⁸

The first word we want to examine is רקיע – raqia, which the ESV accurately translates as expanse. Some versions translate raqia as the “firmament,” but that is not accurate, as firmament comes from Latin, not Hebrew. Since the King James version depended heavily on the Catholic Latin Vulgate, they translated the Latin “firmamentum” to get the English word “firmament.” Raqia is used seventeen times in the Old Testament. In many verses in the Old Testament, raqia refers to the broad “expanse of heaven.”⁹ The raqia would be between the waters above, and the waters below. We could easily refer to the raqia as the sky, where the birds fly (Gen 1:20). In modern terms, we could better think of raqia as “atmosphere.” Raqia refers to that which separates the earth from all that is beyond it.¹⁰

Many modern scholars incorrectly teach the raqia was a solid dome. They teach that ancient civilizations thought of the sky as a solid dome despite very little evidence to support that theory. Some theologians read extra meaning into the word by looking up the root word and substituting that meaning for the meaning behind raqia. The term raqia implies something that has been spread out or stretched out; it is a cognate of the root verb raqa, which means “to spread out or stretch out.”¹¹ Raqia conveys the notion of expansion and enlargement. No specific material substance is inherent in the term raqia, so just what has been spread out must be determined from the context of the text. The context of raqia in the Genesis narrative does not imply any sort of solid mass like a dome but instead talks about water.¹² Genesis 1:8 states that God called the raqia “shamayim,” thus equating the raqia with the “sky” or “the heavens.” The term raqia of the shamayim, or “expanse of the sky” or “expanse of the heavens,” occurs four times in the creation narrative: Gen. 1:14-15,17, 20. Birds fly in the raqia, and stars shine in it.

The picture painted with the word raqia goes beyond what we think of as the sky. It includes what we (in our morden day and age) think of as “outer space.” However, remember that the ancient Israelites did not have a concept of outer space. The sun, moon, and stars were simply in the sky. Later in verse 14, God will place the sun, moon, and stars in the raqia. Let’s back up a few verses and quickly review them to help us understand raqia. With the understanding that Genesis 1:1 is an initial statement that God created the sky and the land, Genesis 1:2 gives us more information about them. It begins with the formation of the land and its sky as a single great body of water, formless and empty at the outset but presumably in the general shape of a sphere (with the land at the center of that watery sphere). God formed the raqia (expanse), which separated the water into two zones — one zone above the and raqiaone below. At this point, the land remained submerged in the water below the raqia. Also, the size of the raqia is not specified.

Verse 6 tells us that the raqia was in the midst (רקיע - tavek, Strong’s H8432) of the waters. The word tavek means “midst, middle, into, through, among, in-between.”¹³ Rabbi Solomon Yitzchaki, in his famous eleventh-century Rashi Commentary, stated that the expanse was “in the exact center of the waters.”¹⁴ If Rabbi Yitzchaki is correct, then 50% of the water would be above the raqia and 50% would be below. The raqia separates the two from coming back together. The Hebrew word בדיל - badal means to divide or separate. The word badal has the prefix letter מ (mem) at the front of the word, acting as the preposition “from.” This prefix causes badal to mean “divide from.” Just as God separated the light from darkness, we now see him separating the waters above from the waters below.

The interesting question is when God separated the waters into two zones, where did the top body of water go? Where are those waters? The top body of water became a gaseous body of water particles or vapor that became clouds. Many Old Testament passages, such as Deuteronomy 28:12, Judges 5:4, 1 Kings 18:44, 45, Ecclesiastes 11:3, and Isaiah 5:6, support the idea that water’s top layer is clouds. Thus, there is good evidence to conclude that the waters above are equated with clouds in ancient Hebrew thinking, as opposed to a celestial ocean of solid water above a vault.¹⁵ The amount of water vapor in the air is defined as humidity. Scientists even invented an instrument, the hygrometer, to measure humidity. Dry areas such as deserts have very low humidity, whereas a jungle may have a very high humidity. As the water on the earth evaporates, its gaseous form joins with the water vapor in the sky. While the two zones of water release water to each other, they remain separated.

Genesis 1:7
And God (אלהים - Elohim) made (עשׁה - asah) the expanse (רקיע - raqia) and separated (בדיל - badal) the waters (מים - mayim) that were (אשׁר - aser) under (תחת - tachath) the expanse (רקיע - raqia) from the waters (מים - mayim) that were (אשׁר - aser) above (מצל - meal) the expanse (רקיע - raqia). And it was so (ויהי - wayhi).

As discussed under verse six, due to our modern understanding of science, most theologians believe the top body of water was incorporated into the expanse, not above the expanse. Verse seven clearly states that top body of water was not incorporated into the expanse, but rather placed above the expanse. This leaves a question that no one can answer: where is the top body of water? Where did it go? Did God pull that upper body of water thousands of light years into outer space where we cannot see it? To answer these questions, we must examine the Hebrew word (preposition) אשר - aser, translated as “above.” The preposition can be translated as “above, against, beside, on, over, and upon.”¹⁶ The context of the sentence determines the usage. Since the water was divided by the expanse, it makes sense that God separated it into two bodies. One body of water would be below the expanse, covering the land, and the other body would be above.

Genesis 1:20 states that God placed the sun, moon, and stars in the expanse. Psalm 148:4 states, Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Psalm 148:4 also places the top body of water above the expanse and beyond heaven (sky). That certainly rules out the top body of water as being the water vapor inside the earth’s atmosphere. As you can see, there are numerous problems in figuring out what or even where this body of water “above” the expanse is. Everything hangs upon our definition of the expanse. If the expanse is the atmosphere, then the body of water above the expanse is the clouds and water vapor in the atmosphere. If the expanse includes the sun, moon, and stars, then the body of water above the expanse is somewhere out in space. How did the ancient Israelites view the expanse?

The context of Genesis 1:6-8 indicates that Moses intended his audience to understand that raqia is simply the sky, or atmosphere, above the earth. We need to realize that Moses was allowed to use the only terms available to him in his language to describe natural phenomena but was not allowed to offer anything more than the vaguest, most minimal descriptions of those phenomena, thereby leaving nearly everything unsaid about their exact nature.¹⁷ For the ancient Israelite, the raqia would have included the sun moon, and stars, that were visible in the sky. The concept of outer space is a relatively new concept astronomers developed in the 1800s during the Scientific Revolution. More than likely, the original audience would have understood the body of water above the expanse to be the water in the upper reaches of the atmosphere.

Genesis 1:8
And God (אלהים - Elohim) called (קרא - qara) the expanse (רקיע - raqia) heaven (שׁמים -shamayim). And there was (ויהי - wayhi) evening (ערב - ereb) and there was (ויהי - wayhi) morning (בקר - boqer), the second (שני - seni) day (יום - yom).

The Hebrew word שׁמים - smym, pronounced shamayim (Strong’s #H8064), is typically translated as heavens. Shamayim is a plural word and is always used in the plural (heavens rather than heaven). Shamayim has three meanings:

1.  The heavens refer to where God lives.
2.  The heavens refer to the starry expanse.
3.  The local heavens, or the sky.

In our modern understanding, the word heavens has the same 3 meanings. The first meaning refers to the dwelling place of God (as in Deut. 26.15; 1 Kings 8.30; 22.19; 2 Kings 19.15; Isaiah 40.22; 63.15; 66.1). The second and third meanings refer to the sky and (or) the stars (as in Gen. 1.26, 2.19, 6.7, 7.3, etc.). Other passages combine the second and third meanings, such as 1 Kings 8.23-54; Psalms 33.6, 13; 102.19, 25; 115.15-16; 136.6, 26; Nehemiah 9.6, 13). It is quite probable that the verse (Genesis 1:1) intends us to understand that all three meanings (sky, stars, and God’s dwelling place) are implied.

Genesis 1.1 describes God first creating His dwelling place within the created realm. This order of creation means that God provides His context for His creative activity and that the created order is always present to God.¹⁵ As God’s holy dwelling, shamayim is a place where people intuitively desire to go (Genesis 3:16, Haggai 2:7, Philippians 3:20).¹⁶ Shamayim is where God lives (Deuteronomy 26:15, Isaiah 66:1) and where His angels have their headquarters (Genesis 1:14-18, Matthew 22:30), and where rain and dew come from (Genesis 27:28, Judges 5:4), and destructive fire (2 Kings 1:10).¹⁷

In Rabbinical literature, “shamayim” became the regular expression for the name of God, which was, from motives of reverence, avoided as far as possible; hence the words “mora” or “yir’at shamayim” = “fear of heaven,” “shem shamayim” = “the name of heaven,” and “malkut shamayim” = “kingdom of heaven.” This last expression is used often in Matthew’s gospel. Acknowledging Israel’s God as the only King and Ruler was a profession of faith. The other three gospels do not use the phrase “kingdom of heaven” but instead use the phrase “kingdom of God.”

It is clear from the words in verse eight that the shamayim describes some space or expanse that God placed between two bodies of water, one on Earth and the other somewhere above and around the Earth. The word shamayim is a plural word, so this can lead to some confusion. The plural form belongs to the poetic vocabulary to connote a region.¹⁸ The region is the newly created space between the waters.

Modern science tells us that the raqia includes Earth’s atmosphere. However, it cannot only be the Earth’s atmosphere. If you look ahead to verses 14-17 and Day 4 of creation, you will see that God put the sun, moon, and stars inside this expanse. Therefore, according to modern science, the raqia could not simply mean the Earth’s atmosphere because the sun, moon, and stars are beyond our atmosphere. But we’re not dealing with modern science; we’re dealing with how the original audience interpreted the raqia.

Regarding verse eight, translating shamayim as “sky” makes more sense in modern English. Even today, we still refer to the sun as traveling across the sky. We still refer to stars as being in the nighttime sky. This understanding is precisely how the original audience would have perceived the “sky.” While it is not wrong to translate shamayim as “heavens” in verse eight, translating it as “sky” would be more accurate in today’s language.¹⁹

There was evening, and there was morning, the second day. Remember, an evening and a morning was simply another way of stating that twenty-four hours had passed. The evening is at sunset, and the morning is at sunrise. Another way of looking at this portion of the verse is, “There was sunset, and there was sunrise, the second day.” So when exactly does a day start? The answer is at sunset.²⁰ This lines up with verse three, where light is created that shatters the darkness. God’s “work” started with creating the heavens and the earth in complete darkness, but in verse three, his work occurs in the light, a custom that the Israelites continued.

Many of the Jewish religious holidays set up by God through Moses begin at sunset, such as Passover. Also, the Sabbath begins at sunset. Many verses in the Old Testament refer to the day starting at sunset. This concept would have been the opposite of the Egyptian idea of a day, which began at sunrise. God wanted the Israelites to be a people set apart from the rest of the world. Even the dietary laws prevented the Israelites from eating foods popular in other cultures. Starting the day at sunset would be another way for God to remind the Israelites that, as God’s chosen people, they were different from everyone else.

References
[1] “The Name of God,” The Name of God (American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d.), accessed June 25, 2021, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-name-of-god.
[2] Colin Brown, “Elohim” in the New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1997), 2:67.
[3] Traffis, Catherine. “What Are Proper Nouns? Definition and Examples.” Grammarly, June 22, 2023. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/proper-nouns/.
[4] Mark D. Futato and Robert L. Maclellan, Ask A scholar: What does Yhwh Elohim mean?, September 21, 2010, https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/ask_a_scholar_what_does_yhwh_elohim_mean.
[5] Don Stewart, What does the Hebrew term elohim mean?, accessed July 18, 2024, https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_1303.cfm.
[6] Chaim Bentorah, “Hebrew Word Study – Speak To Say Debar La'amar,” www.chaimbentorah.com, last modified August 2, 2020, accessed August 16, 2021, https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2020/08/hebrew-word-study-speak-to-say-debar-laamar/.
[7] Chaim Bentorah, “Hebrew Word Study – Let There Be Light,” Chaim Bentorah Biblical Hebrew Studies, accessed July 23, 2024, https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2020/12/hebrew-word-study-let-there-be-light/.
[8] Michael A Grisanti, “היה” in the New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1997), 2:1023.
[9] J. Barton Payne, “raqia” in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago IL: Moody Publishers, 1980), 862.
[10] Edward .J. Young, Studies in Genesis One, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, New Jersey, p. 90, 1973.
[11] Richard M. Davidson and –Randall W. Younker, “The Myth of the Solid Heavenly Dome: Another Look at the Hebrew Rāqîaʿ,” The Myth of the Solid Heavenly Dome: Another Look at the Hebrew RāQîaʿ, May 1, 2015, accessed July 25, 2024, https://www.grisda.org/myth-of-the-solid-heavenly-dome.
[12] Kenneth A. Mathews, The New American Commentary: Genesis 1- 11:26, vol. 1 (Brentwood, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 150.
[13] Chaim Bentorah, “Hebrew Word Study – into the Midst,” Chaim Bentorah, accessed July 25, 2024, https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2018/07/hebrew-word-study-into-the-midst/.
[14] M. Rosenbaum and A. Silberman, Rashi Commentary on the Pentateuch, Vol. 1 (Jerusalem: Silberman Family, 1930), p. 4.
[15] Richard M. Davidson and Randall W. Younker, “The Myth of the Solid Heavenly Dome: Another Look at the Hebrew Rāqîaʿ,” The Myth of the Solid Heavenly Dome: Another Look at the Hebrew RāQîaʿ, May 1, 2015, accessed July 25, 2024, https://www.grisda.org/myth-of-the-solid-heavenly-dome.
[16] G. Lloyd Carr, “’al” in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago IL: Moody Publishers, 1980), 669.
[17] James P. Holding, “Is the Raqiya’ ('firmament’) a Solid Dome?,” Answers in Genesis, December 15, 2022, accessed July 26, 2024, https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/cosmology/is-the-raqiya-firmament-a-solid-dome/.
[18] Gerardo Sachs, “Why Shamayim as Sky,” Jewish Bible Quarterly, accessed July 30, 2024, https://safe.menlosecurity.com/doc/docview/viewer/docN0722B28AF7AAe6482f9d72af668afa96051eb944dc0a54078c5f1d6873b0a09745fdd5b3cdec.
[19] Nicholas Peterson, “The Rāqîaʿ Is the Definition of the Sky According to Genesis 1,” The Cosmos of the Hebrew Bible, accessed July 29, 2024, https://hebrewcosmology.com/tag/raqia-2/.
[20] David Wilber, “When a Biblical ‘Day’ Begins and Ends,” David Wilber, accessed July 29, 2024, https://davidwilber.com/articles/when-a-biblical-day-begins-and-ends.

© 2024 by Steven P. Wickstrom, all rights reserved.