An Original Hebrew Bible Study
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What is the Firmament?
Genesis 1:6 says “And GOD said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
In Day 1, we saw that ELOHIM created the waters, and that the waters contained elements of the heavens and the earth. Earth was tohu and bohu – an uninhabitable, empty place – and all of His creation was described as a tehom – an uninhabitable place covered with water.
In Day 2, Father separated the waters of creation, and HE created a firmament between the waters.
The Hebrew word for firmament is raqia רקיע, and it comes from the word raqa רקע which means to stretch out.
Raqa is to stretch out, and a raqia is something that has been stretched out. Father later calls the raqia heavens. So the creation of the firmament is Father beginning to stretch out the heavens as it’s written.
“(HE) stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in”
– Isaiah 40:22 (see also Ps 104:2 and Isa 44:24)
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A few observations here:
- The raqia is what we today call space – only there were no stars or planets yet on Day 2.
- At the outermost edges of space, we can expect to find part of the creation waters, since the raqia (heavens) were made to separate the waters on earth from other waters that were part of creation.
- In the Book of Enoch, he says the circumference of the sun and moon are like the circumference of the heaven. In one translation, the word circumference is roundness. So, we would expect that if one could see the entire universe, there would be a roundness to it.
- The Hebrew letter quf ק in the word raqia could speak to this roundness. Quf is a picture of the sun at the horizon, and it’s drawn as a circle with a line through it (it’s where we get our English letter Q). The letter quf comes from the Hebrew word tequphah, which describes the round, arch-like path the sun travels across the daytime sky. It’s translated as “circuit” in the Bible and could easily be used to mean orbit as well when speaking of the bodies in the heavens.
Continuing in Genesis, we read “And GOD made the raqia,and divided the waters which were under the raqia from the waters which were above the raqia: and it was so. And GOD called the raqia Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”
The Hebrew Word for Earth
“And GOD said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And GOD called the dry land Earth”
The earth was already made in the beginning (Genesis 1:1), but here we see that HE caused the earth to appear, which in Hebrew is literally “to be seen.” The root word for appear is raah ראה, to see.
The word for earth is aretz ארץ, spelled alef-resh-tsade. One meaning that the letters alef and resh share is they can both be used to mean strong. The last letter tsade ץ is a picture of a man lying down. Putting it together, the Hebrew word aretz is a picture of something incredibly strong that Father laid down for us. The earth, as we know, is strong enough for us to build on, to dig through, to drive trucks and trains over, and it’s made to withstand the weight of more than eight billion people.
Alef, strong. Resh, strong and beginning. Tsade, laid down.
The aretz is something very strong that Father laid down for us b’resheet, in the beginning.
More on Day 3
“and the gathering together of the waters HE called seas”
No surprise here that the word for seas – yammim ימים– has the Hebrew letter mem מ which is a picture of waters.
Also on Day 3, Father made the earth bring forth grass and herbs and trees.
Lights in the Raqia
Continuing with Genesis 1:14, we read “And GOD said, Let there be lights in the firmament (raqia) of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the raqia of the heaven to give light upon the earth”
The Bible tells us here that every star you see in the heavens is there to give light upon the earth, meaning it was all made for us! Some people believe that earth is just a tiny blip in a massive universe, but that’s not how Father sees it. HE made all of His beautiful heavens for us, to be light for us and, in part, to be a great sign to us.
Signs in the Heavens for Father’s Children
Just as the sun, moon, and stars were created to be lights for the earth, YASHUA told His followers that we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
And in Daniel we read that “those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the raqia; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)
In both of those verses, our Creator is comparing us to the lights in the heavens.
And, as you’ll see shortly, the entire heavens speak of Father’s children.
In Hebrew, heavens is shamayim. If you research this word in a concordance or Bible dictionary, you’ll read that shamayim is derived from a Hebrew root word that’s been lost and that it’s the plural form of this lost word which no one knows. But shamayim has a very obvious singular form.
Here are a few examples of how Hebrew plurals work:
The word for sea is yam ים
Seas (plural) is yammim ימים
The word for people is am עמ
Peoples (plural) is ammim עמים
As you can see, the letters yod-mem (im) ים can be added to the end of a Hebrew word to make it plural.
Now let’s look at the word for heavens:
שמים
That’s the word shamayim. If you take away the “im” you’re left with the singular root:
שמ
This is a well know Hebrew word!
It’s shem, which means name.
If the singular form for the plural word heavens is name, then the heavens are the names.
But why would Creator call the heavens the names?
There’s a hint in Isaiah 40:26 which says “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? HE who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name.”
Isaiah is telling us here that Father calls the stars by their shem, their name.
That’s a hint. And the fuller understanding is in the Book of Enoch.
From Enoch chapter 43: “And I saw other lightnings and stars of heaven, and I saw how HE called them all by their names and they listened to Him… And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me what was hidden, “What are these?” And he said to me “THE LORD OF SPIRITS has shown you a parable concerning them: these are the names of the holy who dwell on the earth and believe in the name of THE LORD OF SPIRITS forever and ever.”
The Name of THE LORD of Spirits is YASHUA. And those who believe in His name have their names represented by the lights in the heavens!
Shem is one name.
Shamayim = many names.
You, descendants of Abraham by your faith in YASHUA, who were promised to be as numerous as the stars in the shamayim, have your names represented in the shamayim as a sign to you, just as the lights in the shamayim were made to be a sign to you.
And now, let me show you another word in the heavens that talks about GOD’s children.
Like the Stars Forever and Ever
The ancient Hebrew word for star is kokab ככב, spelled kaph-kaph-beyt.
The letter kaph in the original Hebrew script is a picture of the palm of the hand (the Hebrew word kaph means palm of hand as well).
The letter beyt as discussed before is a picture of a house, and it’s used in Hebrew words to mean “in.”
So, by the letters, the word kokab – star – literally means in His hands.
As mentioned earlier, the Scriptures compare us to the stars and Enoch says the stars are a parable about believers in YASHUA. It’s no surprise then that the meaning of the word star in Hebrew speaks of believers as well. YASHUA told us no one can snatch us from His Hand (John 10:28), which means we’re secure in His kaph.
Revelation tells us that the angels are also in YASHUA’S hands, and that they are also referred to as kokabim – as stars (Rev. 1:16-20).
We saw earlier in Isaiah and in Enoch that GOD calls the stars by their name. HE also says of His people on earth “Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.”
So, for the people on earth who believe in His Name, and for His angels who listen to Him, HE calls us all by our name – our shem – and our names are represented in the shamayim. And the lights that HE made to be a sign to us HE calls “kokab,” which means in His hands.
It’s just as David says in Psalm 8: When I consider His shamayim, His heavens – the work of His fingers – the moon and the kokabim which HE has established – what is man that you are mindful of him?
The Heavens Declare the Glory of GOD
The Scriptures say the heavens declare the glory of GOD and you – Father’s children – are part of His glory. Glory and wealth in Hebrew are the same word: kabod כבד. By the letters, the word kabod is a picture of what’s in your hand within your gates. In other words, your glory and your wealth is that which is in your House.
If you’re a parent, what’s one of the first things you think of when someone asks you what’s in your house? Your kids! We’re in His house, so we’re part of His wealth and glory. And one way that the heavens (shamayim) declare our Father’s glory is they’re a sign of the names of His children.
The next time you look up at night, please remember this: Your Creator has been thinking of you since the beginning of creation. And HE holds you in His hand. And your name – your shem – is in His Book of Life. HE calls you by your shem, and part of the reason that HE made the lights in the night sky was so they could be a sign to us of all these things.
“And GOD said, Let there be lights in the firmament (raqia) of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”
Shalom to all of Father’s children, and shalom unto Jerusalem.
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This document is free and dedicated to the Public Domain (copyright waived) | By M. Dawson, March 2025
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