Bible Question:

Genesis 1:half-dozen-8 says that God ready his dome, which nosotros telephone call the empyrean or sky to separate the waters to a higher place from the waters below. Practise nosotros reject the scientific theories of the universe, atmosphere, et al and accept the Bible'south teaching that the sky is blue and rain falls because there'south a dome in the sky holding back the sky river (much as the ancient Egyptians believed)?

Bible Answer:

Does the Bible teach that in that location is a solid dome in the sky embedded with stars holding back a river in the sky, such as the ancient Egyptians believed?  The purpose of this arictle is to respond the question past explaining the significant of the Hebrew word "firmament" or "expanse" which first occurs in Genesis i:half-dozen-8. Here is the passage.

Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and permit it separate the waters from the waters." God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were to a higher place the expanse; and information technology was so. God chosen the expanse sky. And there was evening and there was morning, a 2nd solar day. Genesis 1:6-viii (NASB)

Expanse In The Midst of The Waters

Hebrew Pregnant of the Word "Expanse"

The Hebrew give-and-take that is translated as "expanse" in the NASB is raqia. This give-and-take is translated as "firmament" in the KJV Bible and "vault" in the NIV Bible. The Hebrew word occurs seventeen times in the Onetime Attestation (Genesis 1:6, seven (occurs iii times), 8, 14, 15, 17, 20; Psalm xix:1; 150:one; Ezekiel 1:22, 23, 25, 26; ten:1; Daniel 12:iii). In Genesis i the word always has the idea "of something that is created by being spread out."

The basic meaning of the noun is determined by a consideration of the verb raqia. Hither the basic idea is "to spread out," and specifically the spreading out of the earth at creation (cf. Ps. 136:half-dozen; Isa. 42:5; 44:24) or the spreading out of the sky (cf.Job 37:18). In Isa. xl:19 the significant is to overlay or plate (with gilt). A raqia, then, is something that is created by beingness spread out either by stretching (e.g., a tent) or by hammering . . .[one]

Therefore in Genesis 1:vi-viii, the discussion refers to space that was created between the waters – the waters below and the waters higher up. Psalm 19:one uses raqia to the heavens existence stretched out. Both Psalm 150:1 and Daniel 12:3 actually refer to heaven beingness stretched out. In Ezekiel 1:22, 25, 26raqiarefers to an surface area above the heads of the "living beings." In Ezekiel 1:23 raqiahas a different meaning or dash since it refers to the wings of the "living beings" being spread out. And then in Ezekiel 1:25-26 it becomes clear that raqiais an area above the angels and God appears to a higher place the raqia. This helps us understand that raqia does not refer to a solid dome with a sea of h2o or a river of water above a dome. Information technology refers to an expansion or an expanded area.

The New International Dictionary of Old Attestation Theology & Exegesis provides a detailed explanation ofraqia every bit follows:

This term, ofttimes rendered as firmament, is translated as expanse (Gen 1:6; Ezek 1:22; 10:1, etc.), skies (Ps 19:isamayim, heavens), or heavens (Ps 150:i; Dan 12:three) in NIV. In Gen 1 :8, God chosen the expanse, samayim. The term is hyponymous to samayim; i.east., what raqia refers to is included in what samayim refers to, every bit in the expanse of the sky (Gen one: xiv, 15, 17, 20). Cf. Akk. burumu, empyrean (of the heav­ens) (CAD B:344-45).[ii]

Theological Wordbook of the Onetime Testament defines raqia in detail. The reader should find that . . .

raqia may refer to a limited infinite, such every bit that of the canopy over the cherubim, under the throne in Ezekiel'south vision (1:22, 26). Or information technology may refer to the wide "area of heaven" (Dan 12:3, NASB), as it does in thirteen of its seventeen occurrences.[three]

That is, raqia refers to a region that has been stretched out or has extent. Keil & Delitzch summarizes the meaning of raqia in Genesis i equally "to stretch" or "to spread out."

. . . from raqia to stretch, spread out, and then beat or tread out, ways expansum [sic], the spreading out of the air, which surrounds the earth equally an temper.[iv]

The Jewish scholar Nahum Sarna agrees. He says,

The Hebrew noun raqia is unparalleled in cognate languages. The verbal course is frequently used for hammering out metal or flattening out earth, which suggests a basic significant of "extending."[5].

Defoliation About The Significant of raqia

Those who claim thatraqia refers to a solid dome with a sea of water or a river of water above it demand to be aware that this confusion was caused past the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible. Harris, Archer Jr., & Waltke explain as follows,

In pre-Christian Egypt confusion was intro­duced into biblical cosmology when the LXX, perhaps under the influence of Alexandrian theories of a "stone vault" of heaven, rendered raqia by stereoma, suggesting some firm, solid structure. This Greek concept was then reflected by the Latin firmamentum, hence KJV "firma­ment." To this day negative criticism speaks of the "vault, or 'empyrean,' regarded by Hebrews equally solid, and supporting 'waters' above it" (BDB, p. 956); cf. the rendering of Job 37: 18, "The skies, strong (hazaqam) as a molten mirror (cf. Ps 150:1, their "mighty surface area"), changed by the RSV to read, "the skies, difficult." Babylonian mythology recounts how Marduk used one-half of Tiamat'due south carcass to form the heavens (shamamu held in place by a crossbar!). In the OT, however, Isaiah insists that God "stretches out the heavens [lit.] similar gauze (doq, Isa 40:22); and even Ezekiel's limited canopy (raqia) is "as the [lit.] center of awesome water ice" (Ezk one:22), i.due east. transparent, "shining like crystal" (RSV), though so dazzling as to be terrifying (KD; cf. Dan 12:3 brightness").[6]

In summary, raqia does not refer to a "solid construction" or "stone vault" such as a dome. In addition, the Bible never refers to a "sky river" or a "bounding main of water." The Bible is not fanciful like the mythology of the Egyptians or the Babylonians. Just the Bible does speak of water to a higher place and water below the area. The Bible does not refer to a metal dome property back a sea of water.

Example of The "Expanse"

A improve interpretation of Genesis one:half dozen-8 is thatraqia refers to an area that separated a gaseous body of airborne humidified air or humidified vapor from water in a liquid country.[7] Genesis 1:6-eight merely refers to a body of uncondensed humidified air that surrounded a body of liquified water since land did not appear until later in Genesis 1:9-11. That is, the expanse is not a physical barrier such as glass, metal or plastic. Instead information technology is a concrete police that God implemented that separated liquified h2o from vapor. Also notice that Genesis 1:twenty states that the birds fly above the earth across the open expanse. Psalm 148:four suggests that the expanse extends into infinite.

While Genesis vii:10-12 does not refer to the "waters in a higher place the surface area," our atmosphere with clouds, it refers to the "floodgates of the sky." From human perspective the clouds, like gates, released the water. The worldwide flood occurred when God acquired h2o to erupt from deep beneath the earth while water also poured down from heaven as rain. Hither is Genesis 7:10-12,

It came about afterwards the vii days, that the h2o of the flood came upon the earth. In the half dozen hundredth year of Noah's life, in the 2nd month, on the seventeenth day of the calendar month, on the aforementioned mean solar day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. The rain roughshod upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. Genesis vii:10-12 (NASB)

It is important to observe the word "floodgates" is translated from the Hebrew discussion, aruba and is in the plural. The Hebrew give-and-take means "window," "lattice" or "very heavy rain." It has a broad range of meaning. It is the best discussion to describe an extremely torrential rain. After the worldwide flood occurred, God stopped the very heavy rains.

Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the heaven were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained . . . Genesis viii:ii (NASB)

Determination:

When God acquired the incredible torrential rain in Genesis 7, the rain did not but seem to be torrential. It was more than torrential. For example, the Weather Channel has reported that the amount of rain dumped from heaven can be excessive. An example is the article Vi Incredible U.S. Rainfall Records. The article states that Puu Kukui, a mountain peak in Hawaii, had over nine feet of rainfall in March of 1942.

In March of 1942, Puu Kukui recorded near 9 feet (101 inches) of rainfall, which stands every bit the greatest precipitation total ever recorded in one month in the Usa.[8]

Try to imagine the rainfall that God caused. Information technology was in excess of 9 anxiety in one month. We close with the answer to the question, "Does the Bible say the heaven is a dome covered with ocean of water?" The respond is, "No!" The Bible teaches that the expanse separated the gaseous trunk of airborne humidified air or humidified vapor from water in a liquid land. The country was then formed on the tertiary day.

References:

one. Victor P. Hamilton. The Book of Genesis 1-17, The New Testament International Commentary on the One-time Testament. Eerdams Publishing. 1990. p. 122.
two. David Toshia Tsumur. "raqia". New International Dictionary of Onetime Testament Theology & Exegesis. Zondervan. 1997. vol. 3p. 1198.
3. J.B.P.raqia. Harris, Archer Jr., & Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Attestation. Chicago: Moody Press. 1980. vol. 2. pp. 2217-2218.
4. Keil and Delitzsch. Genesis. Commentary on the Old Testament. Hendrickson Publishers. March 2006. p. 32.
v. Nahum Sarna. Genesis. The JPS Torah Commentary. The Jewish Publication Society. 1989. p 8.
6. J.B.P.raqia. Harris, Archer Jr., & Waltke. Ibid.
vii. Henry Morris. The Genesis Record. Baker Volume House. 1988. pp. 194.
eight. weather.com/holiday/spring/news/extreme-rainfall-records-united-states-20130313#/2

Related Articles:

one. For more than information read, "Is the Raqiya' ('Firmament') a Solid Dome?" at  Answers In Genesis.
ii. Brian Thomas. "What Were the 'Waters Above the Firmament'?"

Suggested Links:

Does the Bible say the earth is about 6,000 years old? – Immature World
Did God create the lord's day on the offset or fourth day?
What is the low-cal in Genesis 1 verses 3-5?
Does Genesis ane:2 describe a destruction of a previous cosmos? — GAP Theory
Is there a gap between the outset and second poesy of Genesis 1?
Is it not laughable to think of dinosaurs in the ark?