Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Ian Hutchesson <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

At 13.50 30/08/00 +0100, Ben Crick wrote:
>On Tue 29 Aug 2000 (18:45:49), lizfried AT umich.edu wrote:
>> What do people who believe in the inerrancy of the
>> biblical text do with the word raqi(a in vs 1:6-8? Do
>> they think the sky is a rolled out sheet of metal
>> strong enough to hold the rain waters?
>
> We have discussed this before, Liz. The most satisfactory rendering of
> Raqi(a for me is "atmosphere".

Why?

> It is the medium in which the (oP Y:(oWPeP  in verse 20.

I don't see this in the text.

`l pny rqy` h$mym

paniym doesn't support your interpretation, Ben.

> The (oP could be flying insects or birds or bats or pterodactyls
> or anything else that "flaps" and flies, *in the air*.

They flap between the earth and the heavens. The heavens are what the rqy`
is called. They fly across its face.

> The Clouds hold the rainwaters. They were so thick at first that the sun and
> the moon were not visible from the surface until the Fourth 'Day'.

Ben, what makes you think that clouds were involved? The author doesn't
mention any.

I fear that you are making a modern rationalisation of the text.

> Raqi(a can mean a firmament, or a platform or a foundation upon which one
> may stand: as in Ezekiel 1:22-26, 10:1. But birds do not fly on a platform,
> so I prefer the usage of Genesis 1:8, Psalms 19:1, 150:1, and Daniel 12:3,
> where it seems to be a synonym for the sky. Birds surely fly in the "sky",
> don't they?

Between the heavens and the earth.


Cheers,


Ian