It is estimated that the sheet of water would have filtered out harmful sun rays and contributed to the longevity of life on earth before the flood. In scripture, the word denotes an expanse, a wide extent; for such is the signification of the Hebrew word, coinciding with regio, region, and reach. KJV Dictionary Definition: firmament firmament. L. firmamentum, from firmus, firmo. And God called the firmament Heaven. In scripture, the word denotes an expanse, a wide extent; for such is the signification of the Hebrew word, coinciding with regio, region, and reach. Stay Up To Date Sign up and receive important updates from the Jerusalem Prayer Team. The eighth sphere carrying the fixed stars, which surrounded the seven spheres of the planets in the geocentric model. the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky:--firmament. The term "firmament" and its identity has been one of the greatest puzzles concerning the Creation account, mostly because of its Hebrew definition: רָקִיעַ raqiya` raw-kee'-ah from 7554; properly, an expanse, i.e. The region of the air; the sky or heavens. Strong’s Definitions (Strong’s Definitions Legend) רָקִיעַ râqîyaʻ, raw-kee'-ah; from H7554 ; properly, an expanse, i.e. The region of the air; the sky or heavens. At times the use of the word connotes the idea of extension or expansion-thus the expanse of the heavens at creation. It is then possible that the "floodgates of heaven were opened," at the beginning of the flood, is the collapse of this "hammered out sheet" of water. the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky… [9] Augustine (354-430) considered that too much learning had been expended on the nature of the firmament. It is translated “firmament” in the King James Version and “expanse” in most Hebrew dictionaries and modern translations. The Hebrews believed the sky was a solid dome with the Sun, Moon, planets and stars embedded in it. While its original meaning is uncertain, its root, raqa ((qarf), means to spread out, beat out, or hammer as one would a malleable metal. Cosmas described a flat rectangular world surrounded by four seas; at the far edges of the seas, four immense vertical walls supported a vaulted roof, the firmament, above which in a further vaulted space lived angels who moved the heavenly bodies and controlled rainfall from a vast cistern. 1 [11], The Copernican Revolution of the 16th century led to reconsideration of these matters. firmament (n.) mid-13c., from Old French firmament or directly from Latin firmamentum "firmament," literally "a support, a strengthening," from firmus "strong, steadfast, enduring" (from suffixed form of PIE root *dher-"to hold firmly, support" ).. Used in Late Latin in the Vulgate to translate Greek stereoma "firm or solid structure," which translated Hebrew raqia, a word used … Detailed definition: Extended surface (solid), expanse, firmament. From raqa'; properly, an expanse, i.e. Firmament, auch Himmelsgewölbe oder Himmelszelt, bezeichnet in den frühen Weltbildern den über der Erde gelegenen Teil des Kosmos. Show declension of firmament. The original Hebrew word Gaqiacspode notes a strip of hammered out metal. 1a) expanse (flat as base, support) 1b) firmament (of vault of heaven supporting waters above) 1b1) considered by Hebrews as solid and supporting ‘waters’ above Whether there are waters above the firmament? So the evening and the morning were the second day.[3]. This word may also be pronounced as ‘ra•kia,’ without separating the last syllable. Genesis 1:6,, Psalms 19:2 fully רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם Genesis 1:14, 15, 17, 20, etc. The key Hebrew word in Genesis 1: 6–8a is raqia ((ayqirf). firmament ( plural firmaments) noun. The term is coined in the Vulgata in imitation of LXX στερέωμα (steréōma, “firm or solid structure”), which in turn translates Hebrew … To this vault are fastened the lights, the stars. The region of the air; the sky or heavens. [10] "We may understand this name as given to indicate not it is motionless but that it is solid", he wrote. Definition: Properly, an expanse, i.e., the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky. Wörterbuch oder Synonyme. And God called the firmament SCHAMAIM” (which numerous scholars say is the same as “ibi aquae” (“There are waters”), but which they translate as “the Heavens.” “And the evening and the morning were the second day. They who rendered raki'a by firmamentum regarded it as a … 1 The language of Scripture is not scientific but … Find more Hebrew words at wordhippo.com! the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky:—firmament. [Latin firmamentum, from firmus, firmo.] The term and its referent are relevant to our understanding of ancient culture, interpretations of the creation account, and the possible condition of the earth prior to the Genesis Flood. There were seven inner orbs for the seven wanderers of the sky, and their ordering is preserved in the naming of the days of the week. FIRMAMENT, n. ferm’ament. [12] "He who would learn astronomy and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere", wrote Calvin. Here, the phrase "were hammered out" is again the verb root raqa. It denotes the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately above us. [17], without rejecting the authority of scripture, "Online Etymology Dictionary – Firmament". Synonyms: blue, heaven(s), high… Find the right word. The word raqiya comes from the root word raqa which can be found in several passages including Isaiah 40:19 - "The idol! Firmament (of vault of heaven supporting waters above). The region of the air; the sky or heavens. [10] According to Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) the firmament had a "solid nature" and stood above a "region of fire, wherein all vapor must be consumed". In 1554 John Calvin proposed interpreting the "firmament" as clouds. from 7554; properly, an expanse, i.e. The waters above are … the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected. [7] According to The Jewish Encyclopedia: The Hebrews regarded the earth as a plain or a hill figured like a hemisphere, swimming on water. The gold was hammered into thin sheets then laid over the surface of the alter. Expanse or Firmament (raqia). One of those issue concerns the second day of creation (Genesis 1:6-8), where God made the “expanse” or the “firmament.” The Hebrew word for this is raqia (pronounced ra-KEE-ah). And God said, let the waters under the heaven (SCHAMAIM) be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear: and it was so. a workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains." Donate Now. The Greeks and Stoics adopted a model of celestial spheres after the discovery of the spherical Earth in the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE. Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Raqiya is a Hebrew word that has been translated as "firmament" (KJV, ASV), "expanse" (NIV, ESV, NASB), "dome" (NRSV), and "vault" (TNIV, NJB). firmament . Synonyms: blue, heaven(s), high… Find the right word. Princeton's WordNet (2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition: celestial sphere, sphere, empyrean, firmament, heavens, vault of heaven, welkin (noun) the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected Numbers 16:39 reads "So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered; and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar." If you check the "firmament" definition in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible in the Hebrew definition (the origin of the word) #7549 it reads; 'an expanse i.e. Expanse (flat as base, support). H7549 - רָקִיעַ râqîyaʻ, raw-kee'-ah; from ; properly, an expanse, i.e. This word means simply "expansion." Much discussion has centered on the meaning of the term “firmament” (Hebrew raqia; “expanse”—ESV, NIV, NASB) in Genesis 1:6,7,8,14,15,17,20.The word “firmament” leaves the impression that Moses was saying a solid dome surrounds the Earth, which Bible skeptics have used to argue that the Bible teaches erroneous beliefs from antiquity. It denotes the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately above us. [10] Saint Basil (330-379) argued for a fluid firmament. [5] This in turn is derived from the Latin root firmus, a cognate with "firm". In biblical cosmology, the firmament is the vast solid dome created by God on the second day to divide the primal sea (called tehom) into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear. The word raqiya is the noun form of the verb raqa and is literally a "hammered out sheet". Here is what Noah Webster said about the firmament: Firmament. The word firmament is only used 17 times in the Old Testament and it comes from the Hebrew word “raqiya,” which is defined as “an expanse” or “visible arch of the sky.” The root of the word is “raqa,” which means “to pound the earth” like a metalworker or blacksmith hammers or beats metal flat and thin to make a covering. Firmament bei Wortbedeutung.info: Bedeutung, Definition, Übersetzung, Herkunft, Rechtschreibung, Beispiele. "Creatio ex Nihilo in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible", Denver Radio / YouTube Debate on the Firmament, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Firmament&oldid=1004318191, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 2 February 2021, at 01:08. [8], The 6th-century Egyptian traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes formulated a detailed Christian view of the universe, based on various Biblical texts and on earlier theories by Theophilus of Antioch (2nd century CE) and by Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215). shamayim is translated as "heaven". Rāqîa derives from the root raqqəʿ (רָקַע), meaning "to beat or spread out thinly", e.g., the process of making a dish by hammering thin a lump of metal.. Jetzt Texte prüfen und Zeit sparen → Mehr erfahren . They who rendered raki'a by firmamentum regarded it as a solid body. The Medieval Scholastics adopted a cosmology that fused the ideas of the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Ptolemy. 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