In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood

This is the online edition of In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood
(7th Edition) by Dr. Walt Brown. The online version of the book is designed to be read online.
A PDF version or hardbound print version may be ordered.
Copyright © 1995–2008, Center for Scientific Creation. All rights reserved.

Click here to order the hardbound print edition of this online book.

[ Frequently Asked Questions > Did a Water Canopy Surround the Earth and Contribute to the Flood? > Questions Raised by Genesis 1: 8a ]

Questions Raised by Genesis 1: 8a

Why then, does Genesis 1:8a state, “And God called the expanse heaven”? Perhaps “heaven” (thought of today as atmosphere or outer space) is always the proper translation for raqia, and the Septuagint and Vulgate translators incorrectly associated solidness with it. However, the similarities of raqia ((ayqirf) with baqia ((ayqib@f) and raqa ((qarf) argue against this. [See page 365.] If raqia always means “heaven,” 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 1:8a 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. Furthermore, Genesis 1:1 says that the heavens were created on the first day.¹⁹ However, if raqia always means “heaven,” then Genesis 1:8a says heaven was created on the second day.

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” and “raqia” are identical, as canopy theorists believe, why did 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. It would also make clear that the 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” had to be added to specify that surface waters were gathered into one place. To refer to “the waters below” (without “of the heavens” added) would point to subterranean waters.

Question 5: If raqia means “heaven,” was liquid water placed above “heaven,” as Genesis 1:7 states? Because the Sun, Moon, and stars were placed in the raqia (of the heavens) and liquid water was placed above the raqia, were all heavenly bodies inside the canopy?²⁰

Genesis 1:8a, as typically translated and understood, seems inconsistent with many verses. Either we do not understand the true meaning of raqia and shamayim, or something is mistranslated or inserted.

What Does “Raqia” Mean?

The Hebrew word raqia is usually translated “expanse” or “firmament.” When it is immediately 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 are raqa its root, baqia, and baqa. Each describes a deformed solid.

In 1890, James Strong catalogued all usages of every word in the Old and New Testaments. He counted the frequency of each Hebrew and Greek word’s specific English translation. For example, the Hebrew word baqa, the 1234th word in Strong’s Hebrew dictionary, is translated in the New American Standard Bible as “breached” three times, “split” seven 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 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 and important words in the Bible.

By carefully studying English meanings of raqa, baqa, and baqia in Table 21, 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 solid being pressed out. How can a solid be breakable but malleable or moldable? 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 would be squeezed like a tall stick of butter trying to support a 10-ton truck.

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 immediately above the subterranean water chamber, which I estimate was almost 10 miles below the earth’s surface. [See pages 104–135.]

This 10-mile-thick crust above the subterranean chamber would be a potentially breakable, pressed out solid—a raqia. How could it 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 102–310.

Table 21. 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 pressed out solid, such as the earth's crust

After struggling to understand Genesis 1:8a for 30 years, I described several possible interpretations of Genesis 1:8a in the 7th edition of this book, 2001. (One of these is discussed in “Something to Think About: ‘Fire in Waters’ ” on page 372.) 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. 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.”

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 that 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 destroyed 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 alternatives shown in Table 22.

Table 22. Two Interpretations
Interpretation	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	Understanding earth before the fall