Smoodock's Blog

The cosmological belief that Earth was believed by the ancients to be either a flat plane or a flat discus is an archaic and scientifically disproven conception of the Earth’s shape. Many modern Biblical scholars tell us that the ancient Jews believed in a flat Earth that floated on a great sea. Its heaven was an arched firmament, a solid dome, if you will, that separated the Earth from the heavens, and this ‘dome’ contained the Sun, Moon and stars, including the wandering ones that we call planets. At this point, we need to emphasize that this idea is an interpretation of the scriptural text. Nowhere in the pages of the Bible would one find the Earth described as being flat or a discus. Neither would one discover a solid heaven in the shape of a dome resting upon the ends of the earth. This whole idea, correct or not, was conceived by Biblical scholars who interpreted the text in order to give others this perception of it!

So, how should we interpret the understanding of the ancient Jews, as that pertains to ancient cosmology? Notice that scripture tells us that God created a firmament between the waters above it and the waters below it (Genesis 1:6-7). Immediately we discover that our English translation has been influenced by the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, which uses the Latin firmamentum. The Vulgate, itself, seems to have been influenced by the Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Hebrew text. The LXX uses the Greek word stereoma (G4733) to translate the Hebrew word rakia (H7549), because the Greek stereoma (G4733) means, according to Thayer’s Greek Definitions: something that was made firm, a fortified place, that which furnishes a foundation etc. The Greek word is used only once in the New Covenant text:

“For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ” (Colossians 2:5; emphasis mine).

The Hebrew isn’t as strong in its implications toward being a solid as the Greek or the Latin translations are in saying it is something physically fixed or solid, although the Greek of Colossians 2:5 does point to a firm attitude, and not a solid object. Notice that the Hebrew rakia (H7549) couldn’t be very solid if birds could fly in it (Genesis 1:20). On the other hand, we have the appearance of the sun, moon and stars inside the firmament at Genesis 1:14. Why wouldn’t this verse point to the dome model, which many modern Biblical scholars conclude was how the ancient Jews understood the cosmos? Well, first of all, according to what believers understand about the scriptures, we must not force them to contradict other portions of scripture (cp. John 10:35). So, if the critic is to prove the believer is wrong, he must prove what the believer understands to be true is wrong. Otherwise, we are debating about apples and oranges, and nothing will be solved. So, how should we approach this?

First, if birds are able to fly in the firmament (Genesis 1:2), then the Hebrew word, rakia (H7549) couldn’t be a solid mass. Secondly, let’s consider what Genesis 1:14 is actually telling us. Does it say that the sun, moon and stars are inside the firmament? Well, the waters are a little muddy here, so we need to be careful what we conclude. While the text does say: Let there be lights in the firmament, there isn’t a preposition in the text. The word in is understood. The Hebrew word, rakia (H7549), is translated: “in the firmament” at Genesis 1:14. However, when we come to the birds flying “in the open firmament” (Genesis 1:20), the preposition al (H5921) is supplied in the text. So, while **inside** is clearly the sense in verse-20, which is written: “in (H5921) the open (H6440) firmament (H7549),” it is not so clearly the sense in verse-14, which is written: “in the firmament (H7549).” So, how should we understand the text there?

We need to go back to day-two in creation week, when God said: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…” (Genesis 1:6). Many Biblical scholars conclude that we need to go to the Hebrew verb, raka (H7554) to get the sense of the noun rakia (H7549). The verb is used in Exodus 39:3 to say they “beat (H7554) the gold” into a thin plate for the ephod. So, the sense is beating something solid. However, in Job 37:18 we have: “Have you with him spread out (rakia – H7549) the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?” Many scholars interpret this verse to mean the solid dome shaped sky. However, this can’t be true, because the word for sky is shakhak (H7834) and it means: cloud, dust, vapor or powder beaten small. In other words, the Lord is seen to be beating the powder like clouds into small particles. When God created the firmament on the second day, it was as though it were a dense fog or cloud engulfing the whole earth. He beat it down into a vapor like substance and the sun, moon and stars could be seen in the firmament on the fourth day. So, it’s not that the solar lights were ‘inside’ the firmament, but that they could be seen from the earth ‘in’ the firmament, as one looked through the clear atmosphere. Long-story-short, if the ancient Jews believed the word of God, they never believed the firmament/heaven (H7549) was a solid dome that rested on the ends of the earth.