Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>]

karl,

> This is a mistranslation, otherwise known as medieval cosmology. רקיע RQY(
is not a “solid vault-like structure” rather it’s from a root that referred
also to expanding out unsolid things like mist and dust wafting in the wind.

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what is the evidence for "expanding out unsolid things like 
mist and dust wafting in the wind"? as far as i know, the 
root RQ( means specifically to strike a flat 
surface repeatedly, and is restricted to solid surfaces. RQ( BRGLYW 
means stamped his feet (on the ground), RYQU( means normally ornamental 
work of metal sheets done by hammering with a blunt object. so, RQY( is
specifically a flat sheet "hammered out" so as to form a thin separating
layer. then, by generalization, "sky".

the product of RYQU( is RQ(, which is the sheet itself. i dont 
know whether this word is biblical; nowadays, though, it means 
"background". this connection is interesting since in english 
"background" too contains a solid flat surface element (ground).


nir cohen

> On this
> understanding then, the "heavens" of v. 8, i.e., the sky, the solid
> vault-like structure that separates the waters above from the waters below,
> is not different from the "heavens" of v. 1; they are the same.