Gen. 01 : 01 - 18 - Stars in the firmament?

[applecore]

Shalom to you all.

I've had this question itching away in my mind for some time now. I'm not one of these people who tries to bend Scripture into fitting in with science. However far fetched and fantastic the answer to the question might be, is good enough for me.


1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse (*firmament /vault) in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water. 1:7 So God made the expanse (*) and separated the water under the expanse (*) from the water above it. It was so. 1:8 God called the expanse (*) “sky.” (heavens) There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

1:16 God made two great lights – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. 1:17 God placed the lights in the expanse (*) of the sky (heavens)to shine on the earth, 1:18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

How I am reading this is that God placed the Sun, Moon and stars in the gap between the waters. Taken literally would mean that there is a sphere of water that surrounds the cosmos. If the waters above came down in Noah's flood it would mean either the universe was a lot smaller (the diameter of Earth`s atmosphere) or it rained through space!

Maybe someone with a good grasp of biblical Hebrew words and their root/non abstract meaning might see this passage clearer. Anyone's opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading,

Craig

[ken]

Shalom Craig,

Without going into what the firmament is and and the waters being separated (here is a good book that describes scientifically what may have happened: Starlight and Time: Solving the Puzzle of Distant Starlight in a Young Universe); the waters that flooded the earth may have mainly came out of the earth, people usually skim over this detail.

Genesis 7:11
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

Henry Morris, Ph.D wrote a lot on this subject; his work can be found here: ICR

For example: All The Fountains Of The Deep and Geology and the Flood

Grace and peace be with you,
Ken

[applecore]

Shalom Ken,

thanks for the reply and great link. Plenty of food there. Peace be to you friend,

Craig