Firmament

Biblical Text

The firmament first appears in the account of Creation. In Genesis 1:6-8, on the second day God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." He divided the waters under the firmament from the waters above it and called the firmament "Heaven." On the fourth day He set lights such as the sun, moon, and stars "in the firmament of the heaven" (Genesis 1:14-17), and on the fifth day He caused birds to fly "in the open firmament of heaven" (Genesis 1:20).

In the Psalms the word appears in praise of the Creator, as in "the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1) and "praise him in the firmament of his power" (Psalm 150:1). In Ezekiel 1:22-26 and 10:1, a firmament like crystal is spread out above the heads of the living creatures, and above it is the likeness of a throne. Daniel 12:3 says that the wise "shall shine as the brightness of the firmament."

Terminology and Background

The Korean term gungchang is a Sino-Korean word (穹蒼) meaning "the blue sky, arched like a bow." The Hebrew raqia is thought to be related to the verb raqa, meaning "to beat out" or "to spread out by hammering." This verb is used of beating gold into thin plates (Exodus 39:3) and of "spreading out" the sky (Job 37:18). The Septuagint rendered the word as stereoma, meaning "something solid," and the Vulgate as firmamentum. The English word "firmament" in the King James Version derives from this Latin rendering. Among Korean Bibles, the New Korean Revised Version uses gungchang, while the Revised New Korean Standard Version renders it changgong ("the open sky").

Significance Across Scripture

In Genesis 1, the firmament is part of the scene in which God divides the waters and establishes order amid chaos. The Psalms celebrate the firmament as a witness to the glory of the Creator, and Ezekiel uses the word to describe the place where God's throne is located. The word "firmament" does not appear in the New Testament. Some interpreters, however, see the "sea of glass like unto crystal" in Revelation 4:6 as drawing on Ezekiel's vision of the firmament. Others connect Daniel 12:3 with Matthew 13:43: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun."

Interpretations and Debates

Understandings of what the firmament refers to vary according to one's view of Scripture and interpretive method.

• An expression of ancient cosmology: Many biblical scholars regard the firmament as reflecting an ancient Near Eastern worldview that conceived of the sky as a solid covering holding up the waters above. They cite "the windows of heaven" (Genesis 7:11) in support. Many who hold this view explain that God spoke in language the people of that time could understand.
• Phenomenological description: Some evangelical interpreters who emphasize biblical inerrancy regard the firmament as the atmosphere or sky described as it appears to the human eye, and read the waters above the firmament as clouds.
• Vapor canopy theory: In the twentieth-century American creation science movement, the idea was widely promoted that before the Flood a layer of water covered the sky and then poured down at the time of Noah's Flood. Within the creation science movement itself, however, a growing number are reported to have since abandoned this theory. Some have also attributed the long lifespans of people before the Flood to this water layer, but the text does not state this directly.

In addition, the Masoretic Text lacks the phrase "God saw that it was good" on the second day. A common explanation is that the work of dividing the waters is not completed until the third day. The Septuagint includes the phrase.

In the Korean Church

Because Bibles in the Korean Revised Version tradition have long been in use, gungchang is a biblical term familiar to Korean believers. Psalm 19:1 in particular is frequently quoted in sermons on creation. Because the Sino-Korean word is rarely used in everyday speech, sermons and Bible studies often explain it as haneul ("sky" or "heaven") or changgong ("the open sky"). The interpretation of the firmament also figures in discussions of creation and evolution.