Heavenly Vault (Raqiaʿ)

Raqiaʿ / Firmament

The Hebrew raqiaʿ is presented as a solid, spread-out vault or dome separating the waters above from the waters below.

Functions

• Holds back the celestial ocean.
• Provides the setting for the sun, moon, and stars.
• Forms the visible sky, or one component of heaven.

The Latin firmamentum led to the traditional English term firmament. Related imagery appears in Genesis 1, Proverbs 8, Job 37, and Ezekiel 1.

Symbolic materials

The sky is variously described as crystalline, lapis-lazuli-like, bronze, or hard metal. The transcript compares these descriptions with Egyptian and Mesopotamian ideas of a solid heavenly structure.