Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Jack, I believe the word you're after is "cloche".


GEORGE ATHAS
Dean of Research,
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)


On 02/09/2012, at 10:46 PM, "Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net> wrote:

> Hi George and Ishinan:
>   I have given thought in the past regarding the Iron Age conception of 
> cosmology and what  רָקִיעַ meant.  I took my clue from the term 
> וַֽאֲרֻבֹּת הַשָּׁמָיִם used at Gen 7:11, 8:2; 2 Ki 7:19; Isa 24:18; Mal 
> 3:10.  The best translation I can think of, less generic than "Windows" is 
> "shutters" because araboth are non-glazed windows but lattice-work windows 
> (which would not be found in a symbolic robe). Araboth are constructed in a 
> solid substrate.  The Cairo Geniza Targum, T. Pseudojonathan and T. Neofiti 
> use the Aramaic hrky, windows that would be constructed in a plank boat, 
> wall of a house as well as shemaya.  Have you ever had room service 
> breakfast at a Hotel (preferably King David)?  You have your plate of food 
> and a stainless steel domed covering to keep it warm.  Sometimes there is 
> even an arabah in the top through which you put your finger to lift the 
> cover.  The plate is the flat circular earth and the steel cover is the 
> raqiya. The finger hole is the arabah (except they are closed with a 
> lattice which had to  וַיַּבְדֵּל בֵּין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מִתַּחַת לָרָקִיעַ 
> וּבֵין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַ  to keep breakfast from getting wet. 
>  We now know there is no water above the heavens and our space walking 
> astronauts needed no scuba gear.  All of the stars, planets, the sun and 
> moon "hung" like lanterns from the inside of the metal dome.  This is also 
> pretty close to other Iron Age and Bronze Age cosmologies.  Mr, Ockham 
> informs me that רָקִיעַ  is hammered out metal.
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Jack
> 
> Jack Kilmon
> Houston, TX
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: George Athas
> Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2012 2:55 AM
> To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] MEANING AND SYMBOLISM OF CLOTHING IN REFERENCE TO 
> THE HEAVENS IN SEMITIC LANGUAGES
> 
> Ishinan,
> 
> Thanks for a fascinating post and all the digging you've done to bring out 
> those references. I have a couple of issues, however, with how you're 
> bringing the data together and reaching a conclusion about them.
> 
> Firstly, the Quranic references are, obviously, quite late. We are talking 
> at the very least a millennium later than the biblical texts we've been 
> tossing about. As such, I'm reticent to place too much weight on them in 
> terms of determining the conceptuality of the biblical writers.
> 
> Secondly, the Kabbalah is also quite late and, therefore, unreliable for 
> determining the ancient conceptuality. Paul evidently had a concept of 
> multiple heavens (cf. 2 Cor 12.2), but again this says nothing about, say, 
> how the writer of Genesis 1 understood the רקיע.
> 
> Thirdly, I follow your discussion about seeing celestial realia as divine 
> garments. Clothing is often used as a symbol of authority (cf. how robes 
> get used and misused in the books of Samuel and Kings), so I see the 
> symbolic value in the texts you mention. And I see how you're getting 
> 'patch' out of רקע. However, I really do not see how this relates 
> specifically to the issue of whether the רקיע is conceived as an actual 
> hard panel or not. As far as I can see, none of the texts you've mentioned 
> make use of this word. If I'm wrong on that, please correct me — I'm very 
> happy to change my opinion on this.
> 
> Finally, the concept of 'patch' as part of רקע does not mean this concept 
> exhausts the meaning of the trilateral root. We are dealing with a semantic 
> domain that is demonstrated ultimately by usage of specific forms (verbs, 
> nouns, etc.) in specific contexts. I fear that you may be imbibing a little 
> of the etymological fallacy with a dash of totality transfer. As I 
> mentioned, I'm happy to be corrected on this, but I don't think the data 
> quite get us to your conclusion.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> 
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Dean of Research,
> Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)
> Sydney, Australia
> 
> 
> From: Ishnian <ishinan AT comcast.net<mailto:ishinan AT comcast.net>>
> Date: Saturday, 1 September 2012 2:06 PM
> To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org<mailto:b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>>
> Subject: [b-hebrew] MEANING AND SYMBOLISM OF CLOTHING IN REFERENCE TO THE 
> HEAVENS IN SEMITIC LANGUAGES
> 
> MEANING AND SYMBOLISM OF CLOTHING IN REFERENCE TO THE HEAVENS IN SEMITIC 
> LANGUAGES
> 
> 
> The trilateral root of _rq`_ in Hebrew actually means "patch", ( parallel 
> meaning is also found in many Semitic languages such as in Ugaritic, 
> Classical Arabic etc. All of them are, invariably, describing the sky 
> region with the exact same terminology.  Parallel to Hebrew_ rq`_ Arabic 
> has al-raqiy` or  the first heaven
> and  al-'Arqa` for each  layer or patch  of the seven heavens . This is a 
> clear reference to each one of the seven heavens.  The Qur'an (Fussilat 41: 
> 12)    "And He created seven skies (heavens)  in two days, and taught each 
> sky its duties. And He adorned the nearest sky (or: the sky of this world) 
> with  stars...etc."  and
> "Allah is He Who created seven Firmaments and of the earth a similar 
> number."   (Qur'an 65:120)
> 
> Further Islamic texts refer to several levels of heavens: known as 
> al-Firdaws, `Adn, Na`iym, Na'wa, DAr al-salAm, dAr al-MuaqAmah, Al-MaqqAm 
> al-'Amiyn.
> 
> Each of these heavens being a cover to what is next to it as though it was 
> 'patched' over by the next one above it.  The highest celestial 'region' 
> being portrayed as 'patched' garment.
> 
> The same idea of the seven heavens is  expressed in the Jewish Kabbalah: 
> Shamayim, the first Heaven Raqy`, the second Heaven Shehaqim, the third 
> Heaven Machen, the fourth Heaven Machon, the fifth Heaven Zebul, the sixth 
> Heaven, and Araboth the seventh Heaven.
> 
> Ugaritic, equally has a rich vocabulary in describing heaven as a divine 
> clothing.  For example: when Motu  sarcastically  refers back to Ba`lu's 
> victory over Yammu and his monsters, he asserts that Ba`lu was uncovered ( 
> i.e. suffered a terrible  humiliation)  But then he goes on to state that, 
> the heavens came loose  like the girdle (rks) of his cloak (`ipd) {see KTU 
> 1.5:1.4-5}. Thus it would seem that Motu takes the heavens to be the 
> "clothing" of the weather -god Ba`lu ( here it could just as well become an 
> obvious metaphor for the clouded sky.) In fact, in Ugaritic, once the 
> heavens are depicted as Ba`lu cloak.
> 
> Similarly, the Bible frequently uses the concept of the heavens covering 
> YHWH like a tent ( which incidentally is made of patches sowed together). 
> In fact the idea that the heavens are YHWH 's garment finds an echo in Ps. 
> 102:25-26
> 
> "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens 
> (shamamym) [are] the work of thy hands.
> 
> They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old 
> like a garment (bgd); as a vesture ( lbwsh) shalt thou change them, and 
> they shall be changed:"
> 
> In addition, natural phenomena also may be clothed by YHWH. Indeed, in 
> anger, God clothes the heavens with blackness, and he makes sackcloth (sq) 
> their covering ( ksw-t) Isa. 50:3 "I clothe the heavens with blackness, and 
> I make sackcloth their covering."
> 
> I hope that the above examples are sufficiently convincing to convey the 
> true meaning and symbolism of "clothing/patched garment:"  in reference to 
> the sky or heaven(s) in the Semitic languages.
> 
> Best regards to all
> 
> Ishinan Ishibashi
> 
> 
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