The word translated “firmament” can sound strange to modern readers because it carries imagery that doesn’t match how we usually describe the sky today. In the ancient context, the term referred to something like an expanse or spread-out space separating waters above from waters below.
Rather than reading it as a scientific description, I tend to see it as the language available to people observing the world around them. They described what they saw: the vast sky stretching overhead and the sense of order being established between different parts of creation.
For me, the point of the passage isn’t the mechanics of the atmosphere but the idea of structure and intentional design. Genesis portrays creation moving from chaos toward order, and the “firmament” is part of that ordering process.
Amen. You are touching on something that the “Flat Earthers” claim. That is, when we read “firmament,” we should picture a giant dome over the flat earth. I also heard that we are underwater in a dome. I prefer to go with what the Bible says.
“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:” Isaiah 40:22
Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”7Thus 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.8And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Gen 1
I read a theory about this verse that is quite interesting and probable. Where did all the water come from during the flood? Certainly God could have created it from nothing, but this water covered the whole earth and that’s a lot of water. He suggested that the waters above the firmament collapsed and this was the cause of the flood. These waters mentioned in Gen 1:7 are no longer there and yet this verse indicates that it once existed.
The other thing he pointed out is that the age of man began to decline after this protective water was gone. In fact, Shem outlived Abraham by 50 some years. We see the average age of man declining to less than 100 years today. He suggests that there was something about this water canopy (or however you want to describe it) that protected mankind and allowed the long life spans.
In Genesis 7:11 it says that “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” suggesting that the great expanse of water came in both directions - above and below.
I have heard many theories. Mars being the first earth, then there was a universal flood, where that water came from above the “Firmament.” Then I heard the simplest explanation. In the Ancient Near Eastern worldview, the universe was often envisioned as being surrounded by “the deep” or chaotic celestial waters. The firmament acted as a massive, solid dome that carved out a habitable space for life. This was believed to be the source of rain, held back by the dome.
In reality, the firmament is simply the space between our atmosphere and space, and the waters above simply rain. Seeing some major flooding in my days, this makes the most sense to me.
We don’t really know and this side of heaven, we likely will never know. I can’t believe it was just rain in the sense of the rain we have today. The water covered the earth in 40 days. To me, this had to be more than rain from clouds. The firmament is heaven but as also stated in Gen 1, this firmament divided the water that was above it from the water that was below it. Where is this water now? Looking at the near east worldview, if this firmament carved out the possibility of life on earth and is now gone, so how does life continue to exist? If it enabled people to live long lives and it is now being gone, that would account for the gradual decreasing of our life spans.
The firmament is the space between our atmosphere and space, but that doesn’t mean that’s all it is or was. Verse 7 speaks of two areas. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven opened. That suggests to me that the water that flooded the earth came from both above and below.
It’s not important what someone believes about this, but it sure is fun to think about it. I still hold that his view is probable.