The Concept of the Firmament in Ancient and Biblical Cosmology
In ancient near eastern cosmology, the firmament was a celestial barrier that separated the heavenly waters above from the Earth below. In biblical cosmology, the firmament (Hebrew: רָקִ֫יעַ rāqīaʿ) was the vast solid dome created by God during the Genesis creation narrative to separate the primal sea into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear. The concept was adopted into the subsequent Classical and Medieval models of heavenly spheres, but was dropped with advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today the word is sometimes used as a synonym for the sky or for heaven.
Linguistic Origins and Etymology
In English, the word "firmament" is recorded as early as 1250, in the Middle English Story of Genesis and Exodus. The word is found from the Latin firmamentum (a firm object), used in the Vulgate (4th century). This in turn is a calque of the Greek στερέωμᾰ (steréōma), also meaning a solid or firm structure (Greek στερεός = rigid), which appears in the Septuagint, the Greek translation made by Jewish scholars around 200 BC.
These words all translate the Biblical Hebrew word rāqīaʿ ( רָקִ֫יעַ), used for example in Genesis 1.6. Rāqīaʿ derives from the root rqʿ ( רָקַע), meaning "to beat or spread out thinly". The Hebrew lexicographers Brown, Driver and Briggs gloss the noun with "extended surface, (solid) expanse (as if beaten out)". Furthermore, Gerhard von Rad explains: Rāqīaʿ means that which is firmly hammered, stamped. The meaning of the verb rqʿ concerns the hammering of the vault of heaven into firmness.
| Term | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| rāqīaʿ | Hebrew | Extended surface, expanse (as if beaten out) |
| steréōma | Greek | A solid or firm structure |
| firmamentum | Latin | A firm object |
Cosmological Models Across Cultures
Ancient Near Eastern and Hebrew Models
In the Hebrew Bible, the firmament is mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative, the Psalms, and the Book of Isaiah. There is a fundamental agreement in the cosmological models pronounced: this included a flat and likely disk-shaped world with a solid firmament. The two prominent representations of the firmament were that it was either flat and hovering over the Earth, or that it was a dome and entirely enclosed the Earth's surface. Beyond the firmament is the upper waters, above which further still is the divine abode.
Similarly, a firmament is created according to the Enūma Eliš Babylonian creation myth. In these systems, the gap between heaven and Earth was bridged by ziggurats and these supported stairways that allowed gods to descend into the Earth from the heavenly realm.
Egyptian Perspectives
In ancient Egyptian texts, and from texts across the near east generally, the firmament was described as having special doors or gateways on the eastern and western horizons to allow for the passage of heavenly bodies during their daily journeys. These were known as the windows of heaven or the gates of heaven. In Egyptian texts particularly, these gates also served as conduits between the earthly and heavenly realms for which righteous people could ascend. Four different Egyptian models of the firmament and/or the heavenly realm are known:
- The Bird Model: The firmament above represented the underside of a flying falcon, with the sun and moon representing its eyes.
- The Celestial Cow: The cosmos is a giant celestial cow represented by the goddess Nut or Hathor.
- The Celestial Ladder: Ascent to the celestial realm could be done by a celestial ladder made by the gods.
- The Gateway System: Funerary texts included prayers enlisting the help of the gods to enable the safe ascent of the dead through blocked gates.