![]() ![]() Unless the solar constant was reduced to 1/4 th of its current value, water on the Earth would boil and life would be exterminated. While the theory has strengths, its weaknesses have caused it to fall on hard times-namely, that simulations indicate the greenhouse effect caused by the canopy would be too severe. ![]() The idea is attractive, as the greenhouse effect that would be generated helps theoretically to explain, for example, the long lifespans of the patriarchs of Genesis five. Various Creation scientists have theorized that the waters above the firmament were not the sky, but rather, formed a water canopy like a bubble that burst at the Flood. Most commentators and translators support this interpretation. The typical interpretation of raqia and “heaven” in Genesis 1:6 is that God created the sky on day two, separating water vapor in the sky (clouds) from liquid water. In this case, the heaven identified would affect one’s identification of the water that God separated. Context must be used to determine which heaven is referenced. It could mean outer space where the stars are situated (Genesis 1:14-15 Psalm 19:4,6 Isaiah 13:10), and it could also mean the place where God dwells (Psalm 2:4 Hebrews 9:24). It could mean the sky or atmosphere where the birds fly and the clouds gather (Jeremiah 4:25 Matthew 6:26). Shamayim, however, was used in three distinct ways by the Hebrews (and by God through His inspired spokesmen). God then defined the raqia as “heaven(s)” ( shamayim). 4 The idea is that on day two, God divided the waters of Earth, spreading them out from one another and moving some above the Earth, and creating that which holds those waters apart-much like what a solid would do. Rather, it refers to something that has been stretched, spread, or beaten out-like metal. 3 The Hebrew term raqia, however, does not suggest such a meaning. The uninspired translators of the Septuagint, who were translating for an Egyptian pharaoh in Egypt, 2 were apparently influenced by the then conventional belief in Egypt that the heavens are a stone vault. The translation “firmament,” however, is not so much a translation of the original Hebrew term as it is a transliteration of a term used in the Latin Vulgate (i.e., firmamentum) which was translated from the Greek Septuagint term ( stereoma) that was used for the Hebrew raqia. 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. 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. ![]()
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