Genesis 1:7

And God made the firmament,.... By a word speaking, commanding it into being, producing it out of the chaos, and spreading it in that vast space between the heaven of heavens and our earth (z).

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Let there be a firmament , [ raaqiya` (H7549)] - expansion.

The firmament here is either, 1. The starry heaven; so called, not from its solidity, but from its fixed, durable, and, in a sort, incorruptible and unchangeable nature. Or, 2. The air; called here, the expansion, or extension, because it is extended far and wide, even from the earth to the third heaven; called also the firmament, because it is fixed in its proper place, from whence it cannot be moved, unless by force. The waters under the firmament are seas, rivers, lakes, fountains, and other waters in the bowels of the earth. The waters above the firmament, or above the heavens, as they are called, Psalms 148:4, are either, 1. A collection or sea of waters placed by God above all the visible heavens, and there reserved for ends known to himself. Or rather, 2. The waters in the clouds; for the clouds are called waters, Psalms 18:11 Psalms 104:3, and are said to be in heaven, 2 Samuel 21:10 Matthew 24:30, and the production thereof is mentioned as an eminent work of God's creation, Job 35:5 Job 36:29 Psalms 147:8 Proverbs 8:28; which therefore it is not credible that Moses in his history of the creation would admit, which he doth, if they be not here meant; and these are rightly said to be above the firmament, i.e. the air, because they are above a considerable part of it. As God commanded and ordered it, so it was done and settled.

Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so.Ver. 7. Waters which were above the firmament.] That is the clouds, and watery meteors above the lower region of the air, where God’ s "pavilion round about him is dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies". These he "weighs by measure"; not a drop falls in vain, or in a wrong place. And this is the first heaven: as the second is the starry sky, which is firm and fast, "as a molten looking-glass". To this heaven, some that have calculated curiously, have found it five hundred years’ journey. Others say, that if a stone should fall from the eighth sphere, and should pass every hour a hundred miles, it would be sixty-five years or more, before it would come to ground. Beyond this second heaven, Aristotle acknowledgeth none other. Beyond the movable heavens, saith he, there is neither body, nor time, nor place, nor vacuum. But "we have a more sure word of prophecy." God’ s blessed book assures us of a "third heaven," called elsewhere "the heaven of heavens," the "Paradise" of God, the "bosom of Abraham," the "Father’ s house," the "city of the living God," the "country" of his pilgrims. A body it is, for bodies are in it; but a subtile, fine, spiritual body; next in purity to the substance of angels and men’ s souls. It is also, say some, solid as stone, but "clear as crystal" A true firmament, indeed, not penetrable by any, no, not by angels, spirits, and bodies of just men made perfect; but by a miracle, God making way by His power, where there is no natural passage. It opens to the very angels, who yet are able to penetrate all under it. The other two heavens are to be passed through by the grossest bodies. Burton. Of Melancholy ουδετοποςουδεκενονουδεχρονοςεστινεξωτουουπονου - Arist. De Caelo, c. ix. Yates’ s Model

(7) God made the firmament.—This wide open expanse upon earth’s surface, supplied by the chemistry of nature—that is, of God—with that marvellous mixture of gases which form atmospheric air, was a primary necessity for man’s existence and activity. In each step of the narrative it is ever man that is in view; and even the weight of the superincumbent atmosphere is indispensable for the health and comfort of the human body, and for the keeping of all things in their place on earth. (See Note, Genesis 1:8.) And in this secondary sense it may still rightly be called the firmament. The waters which were under the firmament . . . the waters which were above the firmament.—While this is a popular description of what we daily see—namely, masses of running water congregated upon earth’s surface, and above a cloudland, into which the waters rise and float—it is not contrary to, but in accordance with, science. The atmosphere is the receptacle of the waters evaporated from the earth and ocean, and by means of electrical action it keeps these aqueous particles in a state of repulsion, and forms clouds, which the winds carry in their bosom. So full of thoughtful contrivance and arrangement are the laws by which rain is formed and the earth watered, that they are constantly referred to in the Bible as the chief natural proof of God’s wisdom and goodness. (See Acts 14:17.) Moreover, were there not an open expanse next the earth, it would be wrapped in a perpetual mist, unvisited by sunshine. and the result would be such as is described in Genesis 2:5, that man could not exist on earth to till the ground. The use, however, of popular language and ideas is confessedly the method of Holy Scripture, and we must not force upon the writer knowledge which man was to gain for himself. Even if the writer supposed that the rains were poured down from an upper reservoir, it would be no more an argument against his being inspired than St. Mark’s expression, “The sun did set” (Mark 1:32), disproves the inspiration of the Gospels. For the attainment of all such knowledge God has provided another way.

7. and it was so] This formula is here out of place. See previous note.

7. God made the firmament — By his almighty fiat the dense mist that hung over the face of the deep, and was itself a vast expanse of waters, was lifted up to find a local habitation on high.