v. Darling
Psa 19:1 and the f announces the work of his hands
Psa 150:1 praise him in the magnificence of his f
Dan 12:3 they will shine like the brightness of the f
Firmament (Heb. râqîa, “forged”, “solid vault”, “firmament”). Common OT word for the vault of the sky as seen from any point on the Earth, bounded on all sides by the horizon. The firmament appeared on the 2nd day of the creation week (Gen 1:6-8), and God gave it the name “heavens”. Here it refers to the atmospheric sky, which offers the appearance of a dome or dome above us. In these skies clouds move and birds fly; the sun, moon, and stars seem to move through the vault of heaven each day (vs 14, 17). The psalmist (Psa 19:1) speaks of the firmament as evidence of God’s creative power. In his vision of the heavenly throne, Ezekiel saw a firmament supporting the throne and the divine Being sitting on it (1:22-26). 458 Flute. One of the oldest wind musical instruments, often drawn or engraved on Egyptian monuments (fig 224). It was a simple hollow reed with a mouthpiece at one end and, along it, holes that were covered with the fingers to vary the pitch. It is a translation of: 1. Heb. ûgâb. Perhaps it is the real flute (Job 21:12; 30:31; Psa 150:4). In Gen 4:21 it is mentioned as an instrument invented very early in the history of our world. 2. Heb. jâlîl. Perhaps it refers to the double flute or oboe (1Sa 10:5; 1Ki 1:40; Isa 5:12; 30:29; Jer 48:36). It consisted of 2 tubes, which, judging by ancient Egyptian and Assyrian drawings, had a single mouth and one was played with each hand; some tubes were cylindrical, others conical (fig 225). As one hand appears higher than the other, it was concluded that they emitted 2 tones. It was an instrument of joy, but apparently it was not used for temple music. 3. Heb. neqeb (Eze 28:13), a word of uncertain meaning. 4. Aram. mashrôqîtha’. It comes from the Greek and, according to similar words, would have the meaning of a reed flute of Greek origin (Dan 3:5, 7, 10, 15). 5. Gr. aulós, “flute” (1Co 14:7). 6. Gr. aul’tes. Those used by flute players who played both for occasions of mourning (Mat 9:23) and joy (Mat 11:17; Luk 7:32; Rev 18:22; see CBA 3:39-41). 224. Egyptian playing a flute. Bib.: OR Sellers, BA 4 (1941)1:40, 41. 225. Egyptian woman (left) and Assyrian man (right) playing the double flute or oboe. Fringe. See strip. Arrow. See Arrow.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
see Vault
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
See EXPANSION.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Astronomical reference to the sky, to the universe, to space, as soon as the cosmos (order) remains firm (stable, strong)
In Sacred Scripture this term is frequently used (Ex. 39. 3; Num. 17. 4; Jer. 10. 9), alluding to the firm and strong space in which the divinity dwells, where Yaweh resides. The Hebrew word “rachia” is translated in the LXX by “stereoma”. Underlying both is the idea of a firm area or place where the throne of God rests.
The Israelite cosmology is tributary to the Babylonian, rather than the Egyptian. It presupposes a great celestial vault in which there is room for the stars and under which the sun moves by day and the moon by night. That cosmic world was created by God on the second day of creation (Gen. 1.7 and 14. 18) and the other biblical writings echo it: Is. 40.22; Jer. 10.12 and 51.15; Zac. 12.1; Psalm. 104. 2; Job. 37. 18.
As a divine workmanship, it alludes to a strong building, on which a throne of glory and majesty rests (Ps. 8. 19. Eccl. 43.1). It is a mystery to men: Dan 12.3. Over time it will become the destiny of the chosen ones, although the most frequent is to allude to a divine center of reference, rather than to a human destiny of reward or benefit.
The concepts of “heights”, heaven, universe, are analogous in Scripture. And of course distant from those of earth, world, soil, even paradise and Eden that are understood to be closer to the place where men live, lived or can live.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
(Set. stereoma; Vulg. firmamentum).
The notion that the sky was a vast, solid dome seems to have been common among the ancient peoples whose ideas of cosmology have come down to us. Thus the Egyptians conceived of the heavens as a vaulted iron ceiling from which the stars were suspended by cables (Chabas, L’Antiquite historique, Paris, 183, pp. 64-67). Likewise in the mind of the Babylonians the sky was an immense dome, forged of the hardest metal by the hand of Merodach (Marduk) and resting on a wall that surrounded the earth (Jensen, Die Kosmologie der Babylonier, Strasbourg, 1890, pp. 253-260). According to the prevailing notion among the Greeks and Romans, the sky was a great glass dome with the stars attached, although some claimed it was made of iron or brass.
It is clear from numerous biblical passages that the Hebrews entertained similar ideas. In the first creation account (Genesis 1) we read that God created a firmament to divide the upper or heavenly waters from the lower or earthly ones. The Hebrew means something beaten or hammered, and thus spread out; the Vulgate translation, firmamentum, corresponds more closely to the Greek stereoma (Seventy, Aquila, and Symmachus), something made firm or solid. The notion of the solidity of the firmament is further expressed in such passages as Job 37:18, where the heavens are incidentally referred to, “Can you stretch out the vault of heaven with it, solid as a mirror of molten metal?” The same is denoted in the purpose attributed to God in creating the firmament, that is, to serve as a partition wall between the upper and lower waters, being conceived as supporting a vast heavenly reserve. Also in the story of the Deluge (Gen. 7), where we read that “all the fountains of the great deep jumped up and the floodgates of heaven were opened” (7,11) (Cf. also 2 Kings 7,19; Isaiah 24,18 ; Mal. 3,10; Prov. 8,28 ss.). Other passages, for example, Is. 42,5, rather emphasize the idea of something extensive: “Thus says the God Yahweh, who creates the heavens and stretches them out” (cf. Is. 44,24 and 40, 22).
In accordance with these ideas, the writer of Genesis 1,14-17.20, represents God as establishing the stars in the firmament of the heavens, and the birds are below it, that is, in the air, unlike the firmament . On this point, as on many others, the Bible simply reflects current cosmological ideas and the language of the day.
Bibliography: Leseætre en Vig., Dict. de la Bible, sv: Whitehouse in Hastings, Dict. of the Bible. sv Cosmogony, I, 502.
Source: Driscoll, James F. “Firmament.” The Catholic Encyclopaedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06079b.htm
Translated by Luz María Hernández Medina.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia