Main Idea
This passage continues the pattern established in the previous set of verses, furthering creation. We see the Lord ordering His creation and continuing to establish boundaries throughout it. He establishes the “expanse”, or as some translations render it, the “firmament,” and separates the waters below from the waters above. Throughout the Creation Account, we will see many attributes of God: His absolute sovereignty, His power, and His wisdom in Creation.
The concept of the expanse/firmament is handled in detail here, but there are many who utilize the understanding of firmament to point towards different theories that exist in our world today. At some point soon, I will be dealing with the topic of these theories in standalone topical blog posts- so be on the lookout for that!
Genesis 1:6
English: “And God says, “Let an expanse be in the midst of the waters, and let it be separating between waters and waters.”
Hebrew: “way-yō-mer ’ĕ-lō-hîm yə-hî rā-qî-a‘ bə-ṯō-wḵ ham-mā-yim wî-hî maḇ-dîl bên ma-yim lā-mā-yim.”
Way-yō-mer ’ĕ-lō-hîm: we see the pattern begins anew after one day, signaling the start of the second day of creation, where God now speaks and Creation obeys. This is the same narrative formula introduced in verse 3, and once again the Lord’s speech initiates the next stage of ordering His creation.
Yə-hî something we can note about this word is that it is only used, in the creation account, three times: once with light in verse 3, here in verse 6, and again in verse 14 referring to the stars. It is the same jussive form from hayah that we discussed previously, carrying the sense of “Let there be.”
Rā-qî-a‘ now this word right here is very interesting, and is the subject of much debate in this modern age. The two biggest contenders as definitions for this Hebrew word are “expanse” and “firmament.” We get the term “firmament” from a long line of translations dating back to the Septuagint—that is, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. When the translators rendered raqia, they used the Greek word stereōma, carrying the sense of something firm or established. When Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate, he chose the word firmamentum, from which our English word “firmament” developed. Wycliffe later translated from the Vulgate into English and likewise used “firmament.” However, the question of what rā-qî-a‘ physically describes is more complicated than simply choosing between “firmament” and “expanse.” The noun is related to the Hebrew verb rāqa‘, which can carry the idea of spreading, stretching, or beating something out. Because of this, some interpreters understand the rā-qî-a‘ as a solid or vault-like structure, while others understand it more generally as something spread out—the sky or heavens above the earth. The Septuagint’s translation shows that ancient interpreters could understand it as something firm, while many modern translations emphasize the sense of an “expanse.”
In our modern context, we might be tempted to identify this expanse simply as outer space; however, the text itself requires us to be more careful. In Genesis 1:20 we will see birds flying “across the face of the expanse,” and in verse 8 God names this expanse “Heavens,” or, as the NET renders it according to the context, “Sky.” Therefore, the rā-qî-a‘ at minimum includes what we would call the visible sky or atmosphere, although some interpreters understand it more broadly as encompassing the heavens above. Rather than forcing Genesis into a modern scientific model, the safest conclusion is that God spreads out an expanse above the earth that functions as a boundary between the waters below and the waters above.
It is also important not to conclude that the grammatical form of shamayim itself proves that Genesis is referring to two distinct heavens. Although the word has a dual-like form and can refer broadly to the sky or heavens depending upon context, its morphology alone does not establish a two-layer cosmology. Context must determine how the word functions in each passage. As is the main mantra of this blog: “Context is King.”
Bə-ṯō-wḵ ham-mā-yim translates to “in the midst of the waters.” This connects Day 2 directly back to the watery scene of verse 2. The Lord is not beginning with an entirely different creation; He is continuing to organize the same waters over which His Spirit was previously hovering. What had been undivided is now receiving structure and boundaries.
Maḇ-dîl translates to “dividing/separating”, which we discussed in the last blog concerning the First Day of Creation. Whereas on the First Day God separated the beneficial light from the darkness, He is now separating two sets of waters: those below and those above. Grammatically, maḇ-dîl is a Hiphil participle from the same root bādal that we saw in verse 4. The participial form emphasizes the continuing function of the expanse: it exists as the divider between these two domains of water.
Ma-yim lā-mā-yim is the final phrase of verse 6 and refers literally to “waters and waters.” At this point, the verse establishes the purpose of the expanse- to separate one body or domain of water from another. Verse 7 will clarify the relationship further by identifying waters beneath the expanse and waters above it. Once again, we see God bringing order by establishing distinction where there had previously been none.
Genesis 1:7
English: “And God makes the expanse, and it separates between the waters which [are] under the expanse, and the waters which [are] above the expanse: and it is so.”
Hebrew: “way-ya-‘aś ’ĕ-lō-hîm ’eṯ- hā-rā-qî-a‘ way-yaḇ-dêl bên ham-ma-yim ’ă-šer mit-ta-ḥaṯ lā-rā-qî-a‘ ū-ḇên ham-ma-yim ’ă-šer mê-‘al lā-rā-qî-a‘ way-hî- ḵên.”
Way-ya-‘aś ’ĕ-lō-hîm translates to “And God makes”, which is a fascinating shift in the verbiage. Earlier we discussed the verb bara, which is used with God as its subject and emphasizes divine creative activity. Here, however, the root is asah, which means “to do,” “to make,” or “to fashion.” We should be careful not to create too rigid a distinction between bara and asah, because the two verbs can overlap in meaning throughout the creation account. Bara does not by itself lexically mean “create from nothing,” nor does asah necessarily describe a more intimate kind of creation. Instead, here asah emphasizes that God makes or fashions the expanse He had just commanded to exist. We see the word for “expanse,” rā-qî-a‘, now as something that God Himself makes and establishes. The text emphasizes that His command is carried out exactly as intended: waters are placed beneath the expanse and waters remain above it. The passage itself does not explicitly identify the upper waters as clouds, vapor, or some other particular physical substance, so those explanations should be treated as interpretations rather than as statements directly made by Genesis. What the text unquestionably tells us is that God establishes a boundary between waters below and waters above.
After He makes the expanse, we see there is now a distinction between “waters below” and “waters above.” The common consensus amongst scholarship is that waters below refers to the main sea of water that was the earth at this point. Reminder: He hasn’t made land yet- that comes up soon- so at this point it’s completely a water world. Waters above, however, is where interpretation of the text can become tricky- and something that, when I post my first topical blog, I will be covering more in-depth.
Way-hî- ḵên translates into “and it was so.” Once again, we see that the Lord’s creation is not contested, requires no struggle or divine war, and merely happens because He speaks it and wills it so.
Genesis 1:8
English: “And God calls the expanse “Heavens”; and there is an evening, and there is a morning—[the] second day.”
Hebrew: “way-yiq-rā ’ĕ-lō-hîm lā-rā-qî-a‘ šā-mā-yim way-hî- ‘e-reḇ way-hî- ḇō-qer yō-wm šê-nî.”
Way-yiq-rā ’ĕ-lō-hîm now the Lord properly names what He has made- “Heavens”, or as the NET renders it due to the context, “Sky.” As we discussed with the naming of Day and Night, God’s naming displays His sovereignty and authority to define and assign function within His creation.
Then the rest of verse 8 concludes the pattern we’ve seen and will continue to see concerning the creation days. Although “And God said” repeatedly begins new acts of creation and “and it was so” frequently marks the fulfillment of His commands, the most consistent marker closing each of the first six creation days is the repeated formula: “and there was evening, and there was morning.” The Second Day therefore ends with the same ordered rhythm of time God established on the First Day.
Extended Study
Note 1.7a. In Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible (accessed via studylight.org– listed in the sources page), he spends a great deal of time distinguishing “waters and waters” mentioned in both verse 6 and 7. He correctly notes that there isn’t much we do know about the state of the Earth at this point, and exactly how far the disorder extended for Creation, but he identifies what we do know through this process. He identifies the expanse as “the interval between us and the various bodies that float above and hang upon nothing, or nothing perceptible to the eye.” He writes, as I similarly believe, that the waters above refer to the mists and vapors that- when they are cold- condense to form what we call clouds. He argues that, in fact, the waters that were above the main sea were a different kind of water- a heavy, leaden mass of mist that prevented any breathable atmosphere from being made. This was why the Lord created the expanse- to push the mist up and out, creating a breathable space for vegetation and animals alike. This is an interesting attempt to understand the passage in terms of atmospheric processes, and it fits one possible interpretation of the waters above. However, it is important to distinguish Barnes’ reconstruction from what Genesis itself explicitly states. The text tells us that God separates waters below from waters above by means of the expanse, but it does not explain the physical composition, density, or precise location of those upper waters. Thus, identifying them specifically with clouds, mist, or atmospheric vapor remains an interpretive proposal rather than something demanded by the Hebrew text.
Note 1.7b. One of the largest debates surrounding Genesis 1:6-8 concerns the meaning and physical nature of the Hebrew word rā-qî-a‘. Some interpreters argue that the word describes a solid or vault-like structure over the earth. This interpretation is partly based on the relationship between rā-qî-a‘ and the Hebrew verb rāqa‘, which can carry the idea of spreading or beating something out, as well as the Septuagint’s translation of the word as stereōma, something firm or established. From this perspective, Genesis is understood as describing a firm heavenly structure separating the waters below from the waters above. Other interpreters argue that rā-qî-a‘ is better understood more generally as an “expanse,” referring to the sky, atmosphere, or broader heavens rather than necessarily to a solid dome. Genesis 1:8 identifies the rā-qî-a‘ with shamayim, “Heavens/Sky,” and Genesis 1:20 later speaks of birds flying across the face of the expanse. Because of this, the exact physical nature of the rā-qî-a‘ remains debated. However, regardless of which interpretation one finds most convincing, the theological emphasis of the passage remains clear: God alone creates the expanse, establishes the boundary between the waters, names the heavens, and exercises complete sovereignty over them. The heavens and waters are not divine powers or rival gods; they are parts of Creation ordered and governed by Elohim.
So What Now?
We have a lot of information that has been gathered and dispersed throughout this blog, but what do we do with this information, and how can studying it help us in our current context?
1) We see God is a God of boundaries.
This principle is built upon more than just this passage. We saw it in verses 2-5 when God established a boundary between the Light and the Dark, and here we see Him establish a boundary between the waters below and the waters above. We will see this principle again in verse 14 concerning the luminaries and their function in separating Day from Night. God establishes boundaries, distinctions, and structure within His Creation. These boundaries are not presented as arbitrary restrictions, but as part of the process through which He transforms what was tohu wabohu into an ordered world capable of sustaining life.
This gives us an important perspective concerning the boundaries God establishes elsewhere in Scripture. We often look at boundaries as restrictions upon what we want to do, but Genesis presents God’s boundaries as something that produces order, function, and ultimately flourishing. The God who understands His Creation better than anyone else also understands where its boundaries belong.
2) God is an intimate God.
We also see that God is personally involved with what He has made. Verse 7 does not merely tell us that the expanse somehow appeared after God spoke; it tells us that “God makes the expanse.” We should not make asah itself mean something more intimate than the Hebrew allows, but the picture presented throughout Genesis 1 is nevertheless one of a Creator directly and intentionally involved in ordering His Creation. He speaks, separates, makes, evaluates, and names.
We see similar intimate language concerning the heavens in Psalm 8:3, where David refers to them as “the work of Your fingers.” The universe is immeasurably enormous from our perspective, yet Scripture can describe it as the craftsmanship of God’s fingers. The God who governs something as vast as the heavens is not distant from what He has made; He is intentionally involved with it.
3) God is an intelligible God.
Genesis 1 does not present creation as random or unintelligible. God creates with order. He establishes distinctions, gives things names, assigns functions, establishes rhythms, and places boundaries between different parts of Creation. There is consistency and structure to what He makes because the One who made it is Himself purposeful and orderly. This also helps explain why mankind is capable of studying Creation at all. We can observe patterns, identify laws, make predictions, and investigate how the world functions because we inhabit a universe characterized by order rather than complete disorder. Science and the study of Creation do not have to be viewed as enemies of belief in God; studying the order of Creation can cause us to marvel even more at the intelligence and power of the One who established that order.
One of the biggest evidences of this established order is the existence of mathematics and science—both of these are logical, structured processes that we can observe in and through Creation. Throughout history, many scientists and philosophers have recognized that the deeper we investigate the natural world, the more we discover remarkable patterns, laws, structures, and consistency. This does not mean that science itself can prove every theological claim, but it does mean that the universe is intelligible: it behaves in ways that can be studied, understood, tested, and even expressed mathematically.
I heard it explained one time by asking which makes more sense: that your phone was manufactured in a factory according to an intentional design, or that all of its individual parts were thrown from an airplane at 30,000 feet and happened to assemble themselves perfectly before reaching the ground? The analogy is obviously simplified, but the point remains: when we encounter intricate order, structure, and intelligibility, it is reasonable to ask where that order came from. Genesis gives us an answer. Creation is intelligible because its Creator is intelligent; it possesses order because its Creator established order. The more we learn about His Creation, the more reasons we have to marvel at the wisdom of the One who made it.
4) Therefore, we should learn to trust the order God establishes.
This is where the passage becomes personal. If God possesses the wisdom to establish the boundaries of the seas and heavens, then we should be cautious about assuming that every boundary He places upon our own lives is meaningless or oppressive. We will not always immediately understand why God commands what He commands, but Genesis introduces us to a God whose boundaries have purpose.
Creation does not argue when God establishes its limits; it functions according to the order He gives it. Humanity, however, will eventually attempt to step outside of the boundaries God establishes- and Genesis will show us the consequences of doing so. The question for us, then, is whether we trust that the Creator understands His Creation better than the Creation understands itself. If He does, then obedience to His boundaries is not merely restriction; it is submission to the wisdom of the One who knows what His Creation was made to be. Proverbs 3:5-6 is the verse that best puts forth this idea, saying “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” We are created beings, made in His image to reflect His glory; as such, who are we to elevate ourselves above our Creator? We are infinitely small in comparison to Him, yet He loves us. He cares for us. He has sacrificed His Son for us- one time, for all time.
Conclusion
As the study of Genesis 1:6-8 concludes, I hope and encourage you to explore it for yourself! Read the Word prayerfully, look online at free resources concerning the different Hebrew words and contexts- but use discernment. While the Internet can be a good place to get information, it can also be a good place to be led astray. Always seek your sources prayerfully, but always analyze their fruitfulness. God bless, and stand firm in the faith.
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