In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood - Genesis 1: 8a

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Genesis 1: 8a — Two Interpretations

Why then, does Genesis 1:8a state, “And God called the expanse heaven”? Here are two interpretations:

a. “The expanse” meant the atmosphere or outer space.

b. “The expanse” meant “heaven”—where God dwelt—the original paradise. Recall that God “walked” and “talked” with Adam (Genesis 3:8–9), so heaven was originally on the earth—or the earth’s crust.

If “heaven” meant atmosphere or outer space, then the Septuagint and Vulgate translators incorrectly associated solidness with it. Notice also that the similarities of raqia ((ayqirf) with baqia ((ayqib@f) and raqa ((qarf) support the second interpretation. [See page 447.] If raqia (expanse or firmament) always means atmosphere or outer space, five questions, or apparent textual contradictions, arise.

Question 1: Why was the word raqia followed by the phrase “of the heavens” in Genesis 1:14, 15, 17, and 20? That would be redundant.

Question 2: If raqia implies a canopy, why wasn’t one of the three Hebrew words that clearly means “canopy” used?

Question 3: Genesis 1:1 says that the heavens were created on the first day.¹⁹ However, if raqia always means “heaven” (atmosphere or outer space), then Genesis 1:8a says heaven was created on the second day. Also, Genesis 1:8a defines heaven after the word “heavens” was first used in Genesis 1:1. Normally a word’s meaning is understood from the context of its first usage.

Question 4: Genesis 1:9 states, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” Obviously, these are earth’s surface waters. If “heaven” meant atmosphere or outer space and if “expanse” meant a canopy surrounding the earth, why would Genesis 1:9 not read, “Let the waters below be gathered into one place”? That would have been sufficient, clear, and consistent with the phrasing of Genesis 1:7, which relates the water’s two locations to the expanse. It would also make clear that the expanse (raqia) is above—not below—the surface waters. Instead, the text reads, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place.” The words “the heavens” apparently were added to make clear that surface waters were gathered into one place.

Question 5: Genesis 1:14 says the Sun, Moon, and stars (which fill the universe) were placed in the raqia of the heavens, and Genesis 1:7 says liquid water was placed above the raqia (as opposed to the raqia of the heavens). Does this mean that the raqia is the universe, and liquid water surrounded the universe?²⁰

After struggling to understand Genesis 1:8a for 30 years, I described several possible interpretations of Genesis 1:8a in the 7th edition (2001) of this book. In 2005, I received independent letters from two pastors proposing an explanation.²¹ Before Adam’s fall, the earth was a paradise; in a sense, it was “heaven on earth.” Therefore, God called the firmament (earth’s crust) heaven. (Notice: God did not call heaven “the firmament.”) Each pastor provided different biblical reasons for his view, but both maintain that our difficulty in understanding Genesis 1:8a results largely from our inability to imagine the original paradise. If man had not fallen, no one would have difficulty with the fact that God called the earth, “heaven.”

What Does “Raqia” Mean?

The Hebrew word raqia is usually translated “expanse” or “firmament.” When it is directly followed by “of the heavens” it means atmosphere, sky, outer space, or heaven. However, what does raqia standing alone mean? The Hebrew words most similar to raqia ((ayqirf) are raqa ((qarf) its root, baqia ((ayqib@f), and baqa ((qab@f). Each describes a deformed solid.

In 1890, James Strong published a catalogue of all meanings of every word in the Bible. He counted the frequency of each Hebrew and Greek word’s specific English translation. For example, the Hebrew word raqa, the 7554th word in Strong’s Hebrew dictionary, is translated in the New American Standard Bible as “hammered out” twice, “spread out” three times, etc. By studying all usages and contexts of a word and similar words, a difficult-to-translate word can be better understood.

The King James translators translated raqia as firmament, because they thought that it involved something firm. However, its specific meaning when Genesis was written is unknown. Raqia is obviously important, because the second creation day centered around it, just as the third day dealt with plants, and the fourth day with heavenly bodies. What was the raqia? Certainly, raqia is one of the most mysterious words in the Bible.

By studying English meanings of raqa, baqa, and baqia in Table 24, one can see that atmosphere, sky, outer space, and heaven do not relate to what we might guess raqia means. Instead, we get a picture of a breakable, hammered out, or pressed-out solid. How can a solid be breakable but malleable? Answer: extreme compression.

Few realize that all rock 5 miles or more below the earth’s surface is “pressed out.” Imagine a perfectly vertical column of a typical rock 5 miles high. If the rock were “somewhat confined,” as explained in the next paragraph, the pressure at the column’s base would be so great that it would slowly flow—like tar. Stacking more rock on top would cause even more flow at the bottom. If the column were 10 miles high, all the rock in the bottom half would try to flow. The rock at the bottom—especially the pillars—would be squeezed like a tall stick of butter trying to support a 10-ton truck. [To understand why, how, and when pillars formed, see pages 451–455.]

If our column were pressed in from all sides by similar columns, the flow in the central column could go nowhere. The central column would have lateral support. Furthermore, if all columns were given lateral support by other columns, we would have the situation that actually exists in the top 10 miles of the earth’s crust. At depths of 5 miles or greater, the rock wants to flow but can’t, because the forces on all particles are balanced in all directions. So, below 5 miles, the rock is sealed like highly compressed putty. Cracks could not normally open up directly above the subterranean water chamber, which I estimate was almost 10 miles below the earth’s surface.

This 10-mile-thick crust above the subterranean chamber, and especially the pillars in the subterranean water, were a hammered-out, stamped-out, pressed-out solid—a raqia. [For important details, see Figure 221 on page 506.] How could the crust break? A crack could not begin in the sealed, extremely compressed lower half. However, if a vertical crack formed at the earth’s surface, steadily increasing pressure in the subterranean water would cause the crack to grow downward. Once the crack penetrated halfway down, it would then become unstable and, in a few seconds, rip catastrophically to the bottom of the crust. What would follow is the subject of Part II of this book, pages 108–333.

Table 24. All Biblical Meanings of Words Related to Raqia
		PREFIX
		baq	raq
SUFFIX	a	baqa (Strong's #1234): breached (3), break forth (1), break into (1), break open (1), break out (3), break through (1), breaks forth (1), broke through (2), broken into (2), breaks open (1), broken up (1), burst (2), burst open (1), cleave (1), dashed to pieces (1), divide (2), divided (3), hatch (2), hews (1), invaded (1), make a breach (1), rip up (1), ripped open (2), ripped up (1), shook (1), split (7), split open (1), splits (1), tear (1), tore (2), torn (2)	raqa (Strong's #7554): beaten (1), hammered out (2), plates (1), spread out (3), spreading out (1), stamp (1), stamped (2) For usage and context see Ex 39:3; Num 16:39; II Sam 22:43; Job 37:18; Ps 136:6; Is 40:19, 42:5, 44:24; Jer 10:9; and Ezek 6:11, 25:6.
SUFFIX	ia	baqia (Strong's #1233): breaches (1), fragments (1) For usage and context see Is 22:9 and Amos 6:11.	raqia (when not followed by “of the heavens ”): Traditional Interpretation: atmosphere, outer space, sky, heaven Proposed Interpretation: a hammered-out solid, such pillars

Confirmation of this is in Randy Alcorn’s outstanding book, Heaven (2004).²² His case is so detailed, voluminous, and strong that any attempt to summarize it here would not do justice to his work. As Alcorn points out, nonbiblical stereotypes of heaven have crept into our Christian culture. I believe this accounts for much of our confusion over Genesis 1:8a. (Every Christian should study what the Bible actually says.) The earth was created with the intention that it would be heaven. The fall temporarily delayed that plan, and the earth was cursed. Alcorn also discusses the future “new earth.”

Those who reject this proposed understanding of expanse and Genesis 1:8a should carefully weigh the two choices shown in Table 25.

Table 25. Two Interpretations
Interpre-tation	Translation	Problems
Traditional	expanse = atmosphere, outer space, heavens	Questions 1–5 Seven Scientific Issues Key Hebrew Words
Proposed	expanse of the heavens = space, etc. expanse [only] = earth’s crust	Visualizing earth before the fall