A Call to Christians

[stu43t]

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Firmament

from the Vulgate firmamentum, which is used as the translation of the Hebrew raki'a . This word means simply "expansion." It denotes the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately above us. They who rendered raki'a by firmamentum regarded it as a solid body. 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.

It is plain that it was used to denote solidity as well as expansion. It formed a division between the waters above and the waters below (Genesis 1:7). The raki'a supported the upper reservoir (Psalms 148:4). 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.

 

[Jenyar]

2 Kings 23:
2... He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD . 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD - to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

Snakelord: The law was always there in the temple for them to read. If you read further you see that the Israelites started worshipping other gods, and stopped doing what God commanded them. It wasn't because the texts were lost, but because they forgot their God and their history.

FIRMAMENT
***deleted duplication from
--Easton's Bible Dictionary

In Scripture the word denotes an expanse, a wide extent; for such is the signification of the Hebrew word. The original, therefore, does not convey the sense of solidity, but of stretching, extension; the great arch of expanse over our heads, in which are placed the atmosphere and the clouds, and in which the stars appear to be placed, and are really seen. --Webster.

 

[EvilPoet]

SnakeLord,

I think the exterior panels (the creation of the world) of Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights shows a good visual representation of what is being described in Genesis 1:6-7. I also thought this quote might be of interest - it is from a book entitled The Hermetic Museum: Alchemy and Mysticism.

"The (Philosophers') Stone is made in the image of the Creation of the World. For one must have it's chaos and its prime matter, in which the elements float hither and thither, all mixed together, until they are separated by the fiery spirit. And when this has happened, the light is lifted up, while the heavy is brought downwards." (J. d'Espagnet, Das Geheime Werk, Nuremburg, 1730)