Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5
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. Genesis 1:6–7
My wife asked me to write this post on the word firmament. I question my sanity in tackling this word. The Hebrew word raqia (רקיע) which is translated as “firmament” or “expanse”, appears only seventeen times in the Hebrew Bible. Genesis contains over half of this word’s appearances. However, raqia has been a topic of differing points of view in academic journals and podcasts.
“The opening chapters of Genesis and scriptures related thereto were never intended as a textbook of geology, archaeology, earth-science, [or man‑science] … We do not show reverence for the scriptures when we misapply them through faulty interpretation.”
Elder James E. Talmage
Days of Creation
If we are to make sense of the creation accounts, we could profit by thinking like the ancient scripture writers.
Victor H. Matthews in his book, Manners and Customs of the Bible, wrote: “One of the joys of studying the Bible is attempting to reconstruct the manners and customs of the peoples of ancient times. The gulf of thousands of years can be bridged, at least in part, by insights into their everyday life. These can be garnered through the close examination of the biblical narratives and through the use of comparative written and physical remains from other ancient civilizations.”
Step Logic versus Block Logic: Contemporary Western thought organizes events chronologically, whereas ancient Hebrews writers structured events based on action and purpose.
For example: Modern western writers would describe the steps in chronological order: I got up, ate breakfast, and perused the newspaper. Then I drove to my office. I read the reports while at work. I went for lunch across the street at noon. I read a magazine while I was there. I returned to my email once I got back to work. Finally, I went home and ate dinner after work.
Here’s a block logic form of this paragraph, which a Hebrews writer would use: My commute comprised driving to work, crossing a street, and driving back. I had three meals today: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I read the newspaper, reports, a magazine, and my email.
Anyone used to Western logic would see this paragraph as illogical, since it lacks chronological order. But this story will be clear to those familiar with block logic because they’ll grasp how I organized my actions. When studying the Bible, it’s helpful to set aside your current thinking and learn a different logic.
Western readers of the Bible read the creation account in Genesis chronologically, but that’s not how the ancients wrote it.
| First Three Days of Creation–Separating | Next Three Days of Creation–Filling |
| Day 1–Separating light from darkness | Day 4–Filling the light with the sun and the dark with the moon |
| Day 2–Separating the water from the sky | Day 5–Filling the water fish and the sky with birds |
| Day 3–Separating the land from the water | Day 6–Filling the land with animals and man |
The creation account is block logic. Days 1 and 4 are parallel to each other; days 2 and 5 parallel each other; days 3 and 6 are parallel.
So, what does this have to do with the firmament? We’ll see that if we are looking at block logic for purpose, then the firmament will make more sense. Otherwise, it can be confusing.
Latter-day Saints and the Firmament
There are some Latter-day Saints scholars who favor the idea that firmament represents a dome. Firmament is an “unusual English word comes from a Latin word meaning ‘a support or prop’ and is a translation of the rare Hebrew word . . . [which means] something beaten out, like a metal plate or dome, over the earth.” (Avram R. Shannon, Old Testament Cultural Insights).
LDS writer John S. Lewis adds, “Until the seventeenth century it was nearly universally accepted that the surface of the cosmic bubble, the black ‘dome of heaven,’ was close to Earth and enclosed all creation. This ‘firmament’ was a solid (firm) dome surrounding our little cosmos” (“The Scale of Creation in Space and Time”).
On the other hand, Ellis T. Rasmussen, who taught at BYU for many years, explained: “Firmament is used here to translate raqiya’, which means ‘expanse’ (Gen. 1:6a; Abr. 4:6). This expanse is all or any part of space. From the surface of the earth outward, this expanse includes the atmosphere in which the birds fly and in which the clouds float as ‘waters . . . above’ the earth, as well as all the space of the astral universe beyond (Gen. 1:7, 14-18, 20).
“Evidently the Septuagint translation of raqia as stereoma (Gr., ‘that which has been made firm or solid’) became the rationale for translating the Hebrew with the Latin-English word firmament. It implied that the sky was a ‘firm,’ or solid, dome. That is one of the items we believe only ‘as far as it is translated correctly’ (A of F 8).
“Our atmosphere includes water vapor and clouds floating a short space above the earth; but on parts of the surface of the earth is the fluid water of the oceans, rivers, lakes, and seas. Thus, the atmosphere permits a division of waters ‘above’ (in the air) from waters ‘below’ (on the surface).
“The marvelous evaporation-condensation cycle of water brings dew and rain to the land, making life possible on what would otherwise be a desolate planet” (A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament, 4–5).
President Joseph Fielding Smith defines the firmament primarily as an “expanse.”, He argues that through usage and proper scriptural understanding, the term refers to the expanse of heaven, which includes both the atmosphere where birds fly and the heavens where stars reside, depending on the specific context of the verse. He used Joseph Smith’s translation of the book of Abraham to back up his point.
| Key Contrasts Between the Two Views | ||
| Feature | Solid Dome Interpretation | Expanse Interpretation |
| Material | A hard, hammered-out sheet (like metal or ice). | Immaterial air, gas, or outer space. |
| Waters Above | A literal celestial ocean held up by the dome. | Clouds, water vapor, or water at the edge of the universe. |
| Visual Basis | What they actually believed was there physically. | What they perceived (phenomenology) or a scientific reality. |
| Stars/Sun | Fixed to the inner surface of the dome. | Placed within the volume of the space. |
| Perspective | Historical-Critical: Views prophets as influenced by culture. | Harmonizing: Aligns ancient views to match modern knowledge. |
Analogy: In trying to understand the intent of the ancients, we can think of the sky as a tent. The Solid Dome Interpretation sees the firmament as the literal heavy canvas and poles that hold the weight of the rain above it. On the other hand, the Expanse Interpretation sees the firmament as the open space inside the tent where people breathe and move, or perhaps just our visual “arch” which we see is created by the way the light hits the air.
The Firmament as a Type
There is another way to view the firmament by looking for its purpose. Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew reads: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” (רֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ). Heavens are plural.
There are some Hebrew scholars who noted that heavens can refer to three divisions or layers. The first layer is the world in which we now live, our atmosphere or air where birds fly, Gen 1:20, 2:19, Deut 4:17, etc. The second layer is the starry heavens (outer space), Gen 15:5, Deut 4:19, etc.. The third layer is the abode of God, 1 Kings 8:30, Ps 2:4, etc..
But what if Genesis 1:1 is teaching us about the plan of salvation? What if it wants us to understand that God organized the “heavens” or three degrees of glory for His children? For example, if the third heaven is God’s abode i.e. the Celestial Kingdom, then Paul’s statement about “one caught up to the third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2) makes sense.
After creating the degrees of glory, God organized the earth for His children to “prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). To make this testing complete, He placed a veil or firmament. Notice that unlike other creations, He doesn’t declare the firmament as “good”. It’s not meant to be permanent like other parts of creation. It’s temporary or tied to time.
Elder Bruce C. Hafen wrote: “One of the clearest—yet at times most perplexing—themes in the history of God’s dealings with mankind involves his decision to draw a veil between our world of mortality and his world of the eternities. . . He has placed it there to help us learn how we must live, what we must become, to live with Him some day” (“The Value of the Veil,” Ensign, June 1977).
There’s another interesting detail about the firmament. Genesis1:7: “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”. The firmament divides the heavenly waters from the earthly waters. We have a choice of drinking from earthly waters or heavenly waters. Does this help us better understand the story of the Savior and the woman at the well in John 4?
Could this be what Moses meant when he contrasted the old land of Egypt, watered from the ground through the Nile, with the promised land, which is watered by rain? “The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven” (Deut. 11:10–11 NIV).
The sacred water of the Tabernacle’s laver and the Temple’s bronze ocean were elevated off the ground and symbolized heavenly water. The scriptures mention other heavenly waters in Ezekiel 47, Zechariah 14, and Revelation 22.
The Firmament and the Temple
The Temenos Wall: Just as ancient cities like Uruk or Jerusalem were surrounded by massive walls to demarcate sacred ground, the firmament is the “temenos wall” or veil of the entire cosmos. Temenos (τέμενος) is an ancient Greek word meaning a “cut-off” or sacred, protected space set apart from ordinary life.
Tabernacle: There is a direct chronological link between the construction of the Tabernacle and the seven days of creation. Specifically, the second day of creation, when God made the firmament to divide the waters, corresponds to the second day of setting up the Tabernacle, when Moses hung the veil to screen the ark. Thus, the veil is the ritualistic equivalent of the firmament.
Temple Layout: The Temple mirrors this: the Outer Court represents the earth/atmosphere, the Holy Place represents the visible cosmos (sun, moon, and stars), and the Holy of Holies represents the highest heaven/God’s throne.
The Veil: Just as the “waters above the firmament” are separate, the temple veil acts as the partition between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
Tearing the Veil: The tearing of the temple veil at the death of Jesus is viewed as a sign that the barrier between God and man has been breached, anticipating the eventual removal of the firmament itself when the “New Heavens and New Earth” are established and heavenly waters and earthly waters merge. The firmament, once a dividing line, is opened because of His atoning sacrifice.
Conclusion
Interpreting the firmament as a veil or curtain is a central theme in biblical typology, suggesting that in the creation there is a covering over the earth. This firmament is portrayed in the sacred architecture found in the Tabernacle and Temple. Because of the veil, we enter mortality having forgotten our premortal existence, allowing us to learn, grow, and exercise agency without the overwhelming knowledge of our divine past, making mortality a true proving ground.
