Most people who look for an answer to the firmament in the Bible are only interested in what space the firmament occupies in the universe.
That is only 10% of what the firmament is in the Bible.
90% of the firmament in the Bible is understood by studying its meaning.
Rest assured, this article is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the firmament, covering both its spatial and symbolic significance, ensuring you have 100% of the information you need.
The first four sections give you the basics of the topic, and the rest of the article focuses on the meaning of the firmament in the Bible.
We recommend reading Key Firmament Bible verses with this article.
Contents
Firmament definition in the Bible
According to Strong’s definitions, firmament is translated from the Hebrew word “râqîya” (pronounced raw-kee’-ah). It means an expanse, i.e., the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky:—firmament.
Râqîya’s root word is rāqa: a primitive root; to pound the earth (as a sign of passion); by analogy to expand (by hammering); by implication, to overlay (with thin sheets of metal):—beat, make broad, spread abroad (forth, over, out, into plates), stamp, stretch.
From the above definition of ‘râqîya’ and its root word, ‘rāqa, ‘we can understand the firmament as something stretched and firm, beaten flat. A relatable analogy could be a balloon full of air with an extremely hard surface. We see something like this in Job 37:18 and Isaiah 40:22.
How the firmament is translated?
Different Bible translations translate râqîya in several different ways. The most popular ones are
- firmament
- expanse
but you can encounter words such as
- dome
- vaulted dome
- space
- wide space
- huge space
- air
The firmament in Genesis 1
Genesis 1 sets the stage for what the firmament is in the Bible.
In Genesis 1:2, the Bible mentions three problems with the earth. It was formless, empty, and dark. God answers these problems by illuminating, forming, and filling the creation. This happens in the verses describing the firmament in Genesis 1.
The Bible mentions firmament on three of the seven days of creation week.
- On day 2, God forms the earth by creating the firmament.
- On day 4, God fills the firmament with the sun, moon, and stars acting as lights on earth.
- On day 5, God creates birds to multiply on the land (Genesis 1:22) but “fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
Let’s read Genesis 1:6-8 and 14-20, which mention the firmament, and then see what happens in them in more detail.
Genesis 1:6-8 (KJV)
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Genesis 1:14-20 (KJV)
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
On day 2, God spoke into being a firmament between two sets of waters. The firmament separated the waters above the firmament from the waters below the firmament.
The waters below the firmament are the deep waters mentioned in Genesis 1:2. The waters above the firmament are the heavenly waters in the highest heaven (Psalm 148:4) where God is enthroned (Psalm 113:4-6, Psalm 11:4).
God called the firmament heaven because it is a symbol of the heavens of heaven.
God didn’t call the firmament or the separation of waters good. Note that Day 2 was the only day during the Creation Week when God didn’t see anything as good. Therefore, the separation of the waters by the firmament is something that He only wants to have in place for a while.
The firmament is a bridal veil to be removed when the creation is mature enough. The Temple veil acted similarly and was removed in Jesus’ death and resurrection, anticipating the firmament’s removal in the New Heavens and The New Earth (Revelation 21:1).
On day 4, God created lights in the firmament He made on day 2.
God created the lights to separate the day from the night. The same word, to separate, is used here as on day 1 when God illuminated the creation with His light and separated the light from the darkness.
The lights are for signs, which is a synonym for symbols. The lights symbolize
- Rulers on earth (Genesis 22:17-18, 37:9).
- Believing Christians (Matthew 5:14, Philippians 2:15).
- Angels (Job 38:7).
- God (Psalm 84:11) and Jesus Christ (Malachi 4:2, Revelation 1:16) as the sun.
The lights mark harvest and festival times, and time in general: “for seasons, and for days and years.”
The lights give light to the earth.
The lights rule over the day and night and act as symbols for the world’s political (“rule over”) and priestly (“separate the light from the darkness,” Philippians 2:15) rulers.
On day 5, God created the birds to fly “in the open face of the firmament of heaven.” Some translations use across the face of the firmament or even “above the earth and under the firmament.”
When we follow the creation narrative, it is clear that on Day 2 the waters are together and then separated by the firmament. Before the dry land appeared on day 3, there were only the waters below, the firmament, and the above.
Thus, the firmament is all there is above the sea level. A small part of it is the sky, where birds fly. A more significant part is the rest of the atmosphere above the sky, where birds fly. Above the atmosphere is the outer space where the sun, moon, and stars are. All three are the firmament, as seen in the images below.
Images of the firmament
What does the firmament mean in the Bible?
Creation week’s account gives us the basis for the firmament’s meaning. Still, it also gives us concepts that need further clarification.
In the following sections, we will go through the concepts listed below that will give you a good picture of what the firmament means in the Bible.
- The firmament is a symbol of the highest heaven
- The firmament is a barrier between heaven and earth
- The firmament is the Holy Place in the Biblical cosmology
- The firmament acts as a veil to be removed
The firmament symbolizes the highest heaven
The firmament symbolizes the highest heaven where God is enthroned with His angelic host.
The Bible refers to God the Father and Jesus as the sun and angels as stars.
Clouds in the sky remind us of God’s glory cloud (Ezekiel 10:4). The rainbow reminds us of the rainbow around His throne (Revelation 4:3).
The sky’s blue refers to the heavenly sea before God’s throne, as if under His feet. Presumably, this is what Moses and the elders saw at Sinai when they saw God in Exodus 24:10.
Thus, it’s not surprising that the Bible speaks of heaven being God’s throne and earth His footstool (Isaiah 66:1). His feet are resting on the firmament, the blue sky, as His feet are resting on the sea of glass in the highest heaven.
This is why the Bible describes the firmament with the exact words as the heavenly sea in the highest heaven.
- In Ezekiel 1:22, the firmament is like a crystal.
- In Revelation 4:6, the sea of glass is similar to crystal.
- In Revelation 22:1, the water of life is like a crystal. However, in Rev 22:1, the river is bright as crystal since the water is not solid anymore.
In Daniel 12:3, the firmament is bright (clear in some translations), like the water of life (bright or clear) in Revelation 22:1.
All the above complete an image from the highest heaven where God sits on His throne. Before the throne is the sky-like sea of glass and around the throne the angels as members of God’s divine council.
Ezekiel 1:22
Over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of an expanse, like an awesome crystal to look at, stretched out over their heads above.
Revelation 4:6
Before the throne was something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal.
Daniel 12:3
Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever.
Revelation 22:1
He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
The firmament is a barrier between heaven and the earth
On day 2 of the Creation Week, the firmament separated the waters above and the waters below. The heavenly waters were cut off from the earth by the firmament.
God didn’t see this as good, so we can conclude that when all things are turned to good, the waters from above will flow freely in the new creation. This is indeed what we see in Revelation 22 when a river of water of life from the throne of God flows through the City of God.
The barrier will be removed like a wedding veil when the appropriate time has come. We will explore this idea in the following two sections.
The firmament in the Bible’s mini-cosmos
Biblical cosmology divides the creation into three tiers: above, below, and something between them.
We see the above-below distinction, e.g., in Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees. When the Pharisees confronted Jesus about Him going away to a place where the Pharisees couldn’t come, Jesus said to them: “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” (John 8:23)
The priestly class, and especially the prophets, were the people who mediated between the above and below, heaven and earth. They took God’s word from above and distributed it to the people below.
The people from below who followed what God said through the prophets would “shine as the brightness of the firmament (Daniel 12:3 below).”
Daniel 12:3 (KJV)
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
The basic 3-tier Biblical cosmos repeats often in the Scripture.
- Eden was divided into the Garden, the Land of Eden, and the rest of the world.
- Noah’s Ark had three floors.
- Moses, the elders, and the rest of the Israelites were divided into three groups at Mt. Sinai.
- The Tabernacle and the Temple had three sections: the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place, and the courtyard.
The firmament is located in the middle space between the highest heaven and earth. Thus, it corresponds to the Holy Place in the Tabernacle, where we encounter the golden lampstand with seven lights representing the sun, moon, and the five planets seen with the naked eye.
In the Holy Place, we also encounter the 12 loaves of showbread, which represent the 12 tribes of Israel who were supposed to spread God’s Word to the rest of the world.
The Holy of Holies is where God is enthroned on top of the Ark of the Covenant and thus represents the highest heaven.
The veil in the Holy Place is the firmament’s barrier part that separates heaven and earth.
Outside in the courtyard, we find the altar corresponding to a mountain as a ladder to heaven and a water laver corresponding to the blue sky. The blue sky part of the firmament is the first heaven of the three heavens in the Bible (see below image). The second heaven is outer space, and the third heaven, which Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 12:2, is the highest heaven.
The firmament is a veil to be removed
The firmament is a veil God placed on earth to wait for the Lamb’s wedding when the veil is finally removed.
The Temple veil was torn in two at Jesus’ death on the cross as a sign that “we are already there but not quite yet,” as the firmament also must be removed still.
The reason why God flooded the world was to renew the world. Therefore, the Flood narrative is an excellent place to see similarities with the end times. Once the world was purified with the floodwaters and ready to be lived again, Noah removed the 3-tiered Ark’s covering as an eschatological sign for the firmament’s removal.
Genesis 8:13
In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ship, and looked. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry.
In Exodus 34, after seeing God, Moses’ face was shining God’s glory so brightly that he had to cover it with a veil because the Israelites couldn’t bear to see Moses’ face.
Believers’ temples of the Holy Spirit don’t have the veil over their hearts anymore because, in Christ, it is removed. Yet, the veil of the creation waits for its removal.
2 Corinthians 3:13-16
not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
Summary of the firmament in the Bible
The firmament occupies a space from the sea level to the edge of the outer space.
The firmament is a barrier between heaven and earth, separating the waters above from the waters below.
When God created the firmament on Day 2 of the Creation Week, He did not see it as good. Thus, the firmament is something that God will do away with in the renewal of this world.
So, the firmament is a veil lifted when the creation is ready. In Paul’s words: “for the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:19)