Gen 1:6-8 | NET2full | STEP | God said , “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water .”

‏ Genesis 1:6-8

6 God said, “Let there be an expanse ^{▼▼tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”} ^{▼▼sn An expanse. In the poetic texts the writers envision, among other things, something rather strong and shiny, no doubt influencing the traditional translation “firmament” (cf. NRSV “dome”). Job 37:18 refers to the skies poured out like a molten mirror. Dan 12:3 and Ezek 1:22 portray it as shiny. The sky or atmosphere may have seemed like a glass dome. For a detailed study of the Hebrew conception of the heavens and sky, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 37-60.} in the midst of the waters and let it separate water ^{▼▼tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”} from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. ^{▼▼tn Heb “the expanse.”} It was so. ^{▼▼tn This statement indicates that it happened the way God designed it, underscoring the connection between word and event.} 8 God called the expanse “sky.” ^{▼▼tn Though the Hebrew word can mean “heaven,” it refers in this context to “the sky.”} There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.