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  • From: "Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] sky
  • Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:23:45 -0200

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.

--------------

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.






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