Genesis 1:7

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
God	אֱלֹהִים֮ 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
made	וַיַּ֣עַשׂ vai.Ya.'as	H6213	to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
firmament	הָרָקִיעַ֒ ha.ra.ki.a'	H7549	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
divided	וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל vai.yav.Del	H914	to divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
waters	הַמַּ֙יִם֙ ha.Ma.yim	H4325	water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
which	אֲשֶׁר֙ 'a.Sher	H834	who · relative particle
under	מִתַּ֣חַת mi.Ta.chat	H8478	the bottom (as depressed) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
firmament	לָרָקִ֔יעַ la.ra.Ki.a'	H7549	properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
waters	הַמַּ֔יִם ha.Ma.yim	H4325	water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
which	אֲשֶׁ֖ר 'a.Sher	H834	who · relative particle
above	מֵעַ֣ל me.'Al	H5921	above · preposition + preposition
firmament	לָרָקִ֑יעַ la.ra.Ki.a'	H7549	properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
so	כֵֽן Khen	H3651	properly · adverb

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 148:4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Proverbs 8:28-29 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
Matthew 8:27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
Job 38:8-11 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kin…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 1:6-8

We have here an account of the second day's work, the creation of the firmament, in which observe, 1. The command of God concerning it: Let there be a firmament, an expansion, so the Hebrew word signifies, like a sheet spread, or a curtain drawn out. This includes all that is visible above the earth, between it and the third heavens: the air, its higher, middle, and lower, regions - the celestial globe, and all the spheres and orbs of light above: it reaches as high as the place where the stars are fixed, for that is called here the firmament of heaven (Gen 1:14, Gen 1:15), and as low as the place where the birds fly, for that also is called the firmament of heaven, Gen 1:20. When God had ma…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 1:6

SECOND DAY. (Gen 1:6-8) firmament--an expanse--a beating out as a plate of metal: a name given to the atmosphere from its appearing to an observer to be the vault of heaven, supporting the weight of the watery clouds. By the creation of an atmosphere, the lighter parts of the waters which overspread the earth's surface were drawn up and suspended in the visible heavens, while the larger and heavier mass remained below. The air was thus "in the midst of the waters," that is, separated them; and this being the apparent use of it, is the only one mentioned, although the atmosphere serves other uses, as a medium of life and light.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:6

And God said, Let there be a firmament - Our translators, by following the firmamentum of the Vulgate, which is a translation of the στερεωμα of the Septuagint, have deprived this passage of all sense and meaning. The Hebrew word רקיע rakia, from רקע raka, to spread out as the curtains of a tent or pavilion, simply signifies an expanse or space, and consequently that circumambient space or expansion separating the clouds, which are in the higher regions of it, from the seas, etc., which are below it. This we call the atmosphere, the orb of atoms or inconceivably small particles; but the word appears to have been used by Moses in a more extensive sense, and to include the whole of the planeta…

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The Church Fathers

The matter was separated by the interposition of the firmament so that the lower matter is that of bodies and the higher matter that of souls.
— Augustine of Hippo, ON THE LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF GENESIS 8.29

The waters were divided so that some were above the firmament and others below the firmament. Since we said that matter was called water, I believe that the firmament of heaven separated the corporeal matter of visible things from the incorporeal matter of invisible things.
— Augustine of Hippo, TWO BOOKS ON GENESIS AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 1.11.17

Someone may ask this: Why does the Scripture reduce to a command of the Creator that tendency to flow downward which belongs naturally to water?… If water has this tendency by nature, the command ordering the waters to be gathered together into one place would be superfluous.… To this inquiry we say this, that you recognized very well the movements of the water after the command of the Lord, both that it is unsteady and unstable and that it is borne naturally down slopes and into hollows; but how it had any power previous to that, before the motion was engendered in it from this command, you yourself neither know nor have you heard it from one who knew. Reflect that the voice of God makes nature, and the command given at that time to creation provided the future course of action for the creatures.
— Basil of Caesarea, HEXAEMERON 4.2

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

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.…
Genesis — The five books of Moses were collectively called the Pentateuch, a word of Greek origin meaning “the five-fold book.” The Jews called them the Torah, i.e., “the law.” It is probable that the division…
Clouds · Called the: Waters above the firmament — Called the: Waters above the firmament
Creation · Order of: Second day, making the firmament or atmosphere, and separating the waters — Order of: Second day, making the firmament or atmosphere, and separating the waters
Earth · Primitive condition of — Primitive condition of
Firmament · The expanse above the earth — The expanse above the earth
Water · God originally: Created the firmament to divide — God originally: Created the firmament to divide

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 1:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 1:6-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 1:6

Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 1:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 1:6-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 1:6

Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 1:7

John Calvin on Genesis 1:6-8

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 1:6-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 1:6-8

Rashi on Genesis 1:7