Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FIRMAMENT

A thin sheet, similar to a piece of beaten metal, that stretched from horizon to horizon to form the vault of the sky. In Hebrew cosmology, the universe consisted of three parts: the waters above, the earth below, and the waters beneath the earth (cf. Exod. 20:4). Job 37:18 describes God as spreading out the heavens and making them “as hard as a mirror of cast bronze” (cf. LXX Gk. steréōma, suggesting an embossed or hammered-out bowl).

The firmament (Heb. rāqîâʿ; Lat. firmamentum) serves to separate the waters above from the waters below (Gen. 1:6-8), its primary function being to prevent the waters above from crashing down upon the earth below and flooding the world. However, small holes in the firmament permitted the occasional release of water in the form of rain (Gen. 7:11; Ps. 78:23-24). The moon, sun, and stars were placed along this fixed arch in the heavens (Gen. 1:14-18). In Ezekiel’s chariot vision the firmament appears as an expanse over the heads of the creatures which looked like sparkling ice; above the firmament is a throne of sapphire (Ezek. 1:22-26).

W. Dennis Tucker, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FIRMAMENT

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)