Timeline

Solid Firmament

In the ancient Near East, many cultures imagined the sky as a solid dome or firmament that separated the heavens above from the earth below. This idea appears across Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Israelite thought, reflecting a common cosmological worldview. In the Hebrew Bible, starting in Genesis 1, the word “raqia” is used to describe this firmament, which is described as dividing the “waters above” from the “waters below.” This conception of the sky as a physical barrier reveals how ancient peoples interpreted their environment using the observable features of the natural world.

Timeline

Enuma Elish IV / Psalm 104:3
1. 1800–1750 BCE
  
  Enuma Elish IV
  
  Ancient Near East, Babylonian
  
  And had attained the purpose of Nudimmud, Over the captive gods he strengthened his custody, And to Tiamat, whom he had conquered, he returned. And the lord stood upon Tiamat’s hindquarters, And with his merciless club he smashed her skull. He cut through the channels of her blood, And he made the North wind bear it away into secret places. His fathers saw, and they rejoiced and were glad; Presents and gifts they brought to him. Then the lord rested, gazing upon her dead body, In order to divide the lump by a clever scheme. He split her up like a flat fish into two halves; One half of her he set up and stretched out as the heavens. He stretched the skin and appointed a watch And ordered them not to let her waters come forth. He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions (of it), And opposite the Deep he set the dwelling of Nudimmud. And the lord measured the structure of the Deep, And he founded Esharra, a mansion like it. The mansion Esharra which he created as heaven, He caused Anu, Enlil, and Ea in their districts to inhabit.
2. 600–201 BCE
  
  Psalm 104:3
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are magnificent. You are robed in splendor and majesty. 2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain 3 and lays the beams on water in his upper rooms³. He makes the clouds his chariot and travels on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes the winds his messengers and the flaming fire his attendant. 5 He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be moved.
Enuma Elish IV / Psalm 148:4
1. 1800–1750 BCE
  
  Enuma Elish IV
  
  Ancient Near East, Babylonian
  
  And had attained the purpose of Nudimmud, Over the captive gods he strengthened his custody, And to Tiamat, whom he had conquered, he returned. And the lord stood upon Tiamat’s hindquarters, And with his merciless club he smashed her skull. He cut through the channels of her blood, And he made the North wind bear it away into secret places. His fathers saw, and they rejoiced and were glad; Presents and gifts they brought to him. Then the lord rested, gazing upon her dead body, In order to divide the lump by a clever scheme. He split her up like a flat fish into two halves; One half of her he set up and stretched out as the heavens. He stretched the skin and appointed a watch And ordered them not to let her waters come forth. He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions (of it), And opposite the Deep he set the dwelling of Nudimmud. And the lord measured the structure of the Deep, And he founded Esharra, a mansion like it. The mansion Esharra which he created as heaven, He caused Anu, Enlil, and Ea in their districts to inhabit.
2. 600–201 BCE
  
  Psalm 148:4
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the sky. Praise him in the heavens. 2 Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his heavenly assembly. 3 Praise him, O sun and moon. Praise him, all you shiny stars. 4 Praise him, O highest heaven and you waters above the sky. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he gave the command and they came into existence. 6 He established them so they would endure; he issued a decree that will not be revoked.
Enuma Elish IV / Genesis 1:6
1. 1800–1750 BCE
  
  Enuma Elish IV
  
  Ancient Near East, Babylonian
  
  And had attained the purpose of Nudimmud, Over the captive gods he strengthened his custody, And to Tiamat, whom he had conquered, he returned. And the lord stood upon Tiamat’s hindquarters, And with his merciless club he smashed her skull. He cut through the channels of her blood, And he made the North wind bear it away into secret places. His fathers saw, and they rejoiced and were glad; Presents and gifts they brought to him. Then the lord rested, gazing upon her dead body, In order to divide the lump by a clever scheme. He split her up like a flat fish into two halves; One half of her he set up and stretched out as the heavens. He stretched the skin and appointed a watch And ordered them not to let her waters come forth. He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions (of it), And opposite the Deep he set the dwelling of Nudimmud. And the lord measured the structure of the Deep, And he founded Esharra, a mansion like it. The mansion Esharra which he created as heaven, He caused Anu, Enlil, and Ea in their districts to inhabit.
2. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 1:6
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day. 9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” It was so.
Enuma Elish V / 1 Enoch 72:2
1. 1800–1750 BCE
  
  Enuma Elish V
  
  Ancient Near East, Babylonian
  
  He (i.e. Marduk) made the stations for the great gods; The stars, their images, as the stars of the Zodiac, he fixed. He ordained the year and into sections he divided it; For the twelve months he fixed three stars. After he had organized the year, He founded the station of Neberu to determine their bounds; That none might err or go astray, He set the station of Enlil and Ea along with him. He opened great gates on both sides, He made strong the bolt on the left and on the right. In the midst of it he fixed the zenith; The Moon-god he caused to shine forth, the night he entrusted to him.
2. 300 BCE – 100 CE
  
  1 Enoch 72:2
  
  Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
  
  2 The first rule of the lights: the Sun rises from the eastern portals of the heavens and sets in the western portals. 3 I observed six portals for the sun's rising and setting, and for the moon's rising and setting. The leaders of the stars and their groups also follow this path: six portals in the east and six in the west, all precisely aligned, with numerous windows on either side.
Enuma Elish V / Genesis 1:14
1. 1800–1750 BCE
  
  Enuma Elish V
  
  Ancient Near East, Babylonian
  
  He (i.e. Marduk) made the stations for the great gods; The stars, their images, as the stars of the Zodiac, he fixed. He ordained the year and into sections he divided it; For the twelve months he fixed three stars. After he had organized the year, He founded the station of Neberu to determine their bounds; That none might err or go astray, He set the station of Enlil and Ea along with him. He opened great gates on both sides, He made strong the bolt on the left and on the right. In the midst of it he fixed the zenith; The Moon-god he caused to shine forth, the night he entrusted to him. He appointed him, a being of the night, to determine the days;
2. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 1:14
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years, 15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. 17 God placed the lights in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:7 / Psalm 148:4
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 1:7
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day. 9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” It was so.
2. 600–201 BCE
  
  Psalm 148:4
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  2 Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his heavenly assembly. 3 Praise him, O sun and moon. Praise him, all you shiny stars. 4 Praise him, O highest heaven and you waters above the sky. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he gave the command and they came into existence. 6 He established them so they would endure; he issued a decree that will not be revoked.
Genesis 1:7 / Job 37:18
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 1:7
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
2. 500–401 BCE
  
  Job 37:18
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  16 Do you know about the balancing of the clouds, that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge? 17 You, whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind, 18 will you, with him, spread out the sky, solid as a mirror of molten metal? 19 Tell us what we should say to him. We cannot prepare a case because of the darkness. 20 Should he be informed that I want to speak? If a man speaks, surely he will be swallowed up!
Genesis 1:7 / Psalm 150:1
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 1:7
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
2. 600–201 BCE
  
  Psalm 150:1
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him under the firmament of his strength!² 2 Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him for his surpassing greatness! 3 Praise him with the blast of the horn; praise him with the lyre and the harp! 4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing; praise him with stringed instruments and the flute! 5 Praise him with loud cymbals; praise him with clanging cymbals!
Genesis 1:7 / Isaiah 44:24
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 1:7
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
2. 740–450 BCE
  
  Isaiah 44:24
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; shout out, you subterranean regions of the earth. O mountains, give a joyful shout; you too, O forest and all your trees! For the Lord protects Jacob; he reveals his splendor through Israel. 24 This is what the Lord, your Protector, says, the one who formed you in the womb: “I am the Lord, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself, 25 who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem foolish,
Exodus 24:10 / KAR 307
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 24:10
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  8 So Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” 9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement made of blue sapphire, clear like the sky itself. 11 But he did not lay a hand on the leaders of the Israelites, so they saw God, and they ate and they drank.
2. 700 BCE
  
  KAR 307
  
  Ancient Near East, Assyrian
  
  The upper heavens ... The god Anu ... The dwelling of the god Enlil ... The ... of the god Ea ... The upper heavens are of luludānītu-stone, they belong to Anu. He settled the 300 Igigi within it. The middle heavens are of saggilmud-stone, they belong to the Igigi. Bel sat on the high dais within it, in a lapis lazuli shrine. The lower heavens are of lapis lazuli uqnû-stone, they belong to Bel. He drew the constellations, the images of the gods within it.
Isaiah 40:22 / Psalm 104:2
1. 740–450 BCE
  
  Isaiah 40:22
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made? 22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, and spreads it out like a pitched tent. 23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant. 24 Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw.
2. 600–201 BCE
  
  Psalm 104:2
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are magnificent. You are robed in splendor and majesty. 2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain 3 and lays the beams on water in his upper rooms³. He makes the clouds his chariot and travels on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes the winds his messengers and the flaming fire his attendant.
Isaiah 44:24 / Job 9:8
1. 740–450 BCE
  
  Isaiah 44:24
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; shout out, you subterranean regions of the earth. O mountains, give a joyful shout; you too, O forest and all your trees! For the Lord protects Jacob; he reveals his splendor through Israel. 24 This is what the Lord, your Protector, says, the one who formed you in the womb: “I am the Lord, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself, 25 who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem foolish, 26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants and brings to pass the announcements of his messengers, who says about Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, her ruins I will raise up,’
2. 500–401 BCE
  
  Job 9:8
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  6 he who shakes the earth out of its place so that its pillars tremble, 7 he who commands the sun, and it does not shine and seals up the stars, 8 he alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. 9 He makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky; 10 he does great and unsearchable things, and wonderful things without number.
Ezekiel 1:22 / 1 Enoch 14:11
1. 600–501 BCE
  
  Ezekiel 1:22
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  21 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped. When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel. 22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a dome⁴¹, glittering awesomely like ice, stretched out over their heads. 23 Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering its body.
2. 300 BCE – 100 CE
  
  1 Enoch 14:11
  
  Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
  
  9 I went in until I came near a wall built of crystals and surrounded by tongues of fire, and it began to frighten me. 10 I went through the tongues of fire and came near a large house built of crystals. The walls of the house were like a mosaic floor of crystals, and its foundation was of crystal. 11 Its ceiling was like the path of the stars and the lightnings, and between them were fiery cherubim, and their sky was clear as water. 12 A flaming fire surrounded the walls, and its doorways blazed with fire.
Ezekiel 1:26 / 1 Enoch 18:8
1. 600–501 BCE
  
  Ezekiel 1:26
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings—it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Sovereign One, or the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. 26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 27 I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.
2. 300 BCE – 100 CE
  
  1 Enoch 18:8
  
  Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
  
  5 I saw the winds on the earth carrying the clouds; I saw the paths of the angels. I saw at the end of the earth the dome of heaven above. 6 And I proceeded and saw a place that burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. 7 And as for those towards the east, one was of colored stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. 8 But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. 9 And I saw a flaming fire. 10 And beyond these mountains is a region at the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed.
Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 18:5 / Apocalypse of Abraham 20:3
1. 1–100 CE
  
  Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 18:5
  
  Classical
  
  4 In the night God said to him, “Who are the men who have come to you?” Balaam said, “Why, Lord, do you test the race of man? They cannot bear it, for you knew, more than they, all that was in the world before you founded it. Now enlighten your servant whether it is right that I go with them.” 5 God said to him, “Was it not concerning this people that I spoke to Abraham in a vision, saying, ‘Your offspring will be as the stars of heaven, when I raised him up above the firmament and showed him all the orderings of the stars, and required of him his son for a burnt offering’? He brought him to be laid on the altar, but I restored him to his father. And because he did not resist, his offering was acceptable in my sight, and for the blood of him I chose this people. Then I said to the angels who work subtly, ‘Did I not say of him, “To Abraham I will reveal all that I do”?’ 6 “Jacob also, when he wrestled in the dust with the angel who was over the praises, did not let him go until he blessed him. And now, you think to go with these men and curse those whom I have chosen. But if you curse them, who is it that will bless you?”
2. 70–150 CE
  
  Apocalypse of Abraham 20:3
  
  Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
  
  1 And the Eternal Mighty One said to me: "Abraham, Abraham!" 2 And I said: "Here I am." 3 [And He said:] "Look down at the stars beneath you, and count them [for me], and report [to me] their number." 4 And I said: "How could I do that? For I am only a man [of dust and ashes]." 5 And he said to me: "As great as the stars in number and power, (so will) I make your descendants a nation and a people, set apart for me in my inheritance with Azazel." 6 And I said: "Eternal, Mighty One! Let your servant speak in Your presence, and do not let Your anger flare up against Your chosen one!
Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 18:5 / Genesis Rabbah 44:12
1. 1–100 CE
  
  Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 18:5
  
  Classical
  
  4 In the night God said to him, “Who are the men who have come to you?” Balaam said, “Why, Lord, do you test the race of man? They cannot bear it, for you knew, more than they, all that was in the world before you founded it. Now enlighten your servant whether it is right that I go with them.” 5 God said to him, “Was it not concerning this people that I spoke to Abraham in a vision, saying, ‘Your offspring will be as the stars of heaven, when I raised him up above the firmament and showed him all the orderings of the stars, and required of him his son for a burnt offering’? He brought him to be laid on the altar, but I restored him to his father. And because he did not resist, his offering was acceptable in my sight, and for the blood of him I chose this people. Then I said to the angels who work subtly, ‘Did I not say of him, “To Abraham I will reveal all that I do”?’
2. 500 CE
  
  Genesis Rabbah 44:12
  
  Rabbinic
  
  them, and He said to him: So will your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5). “He took him outside” – Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: Did He take him outside the world, that the verse should say: “He took him outside [haḥutza]”? Rather, he showed him the streets of the heavens, just as it says: “While He had not yet made earth and the outer ranges [ḥutzot]” (Proverbs 8:26). Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: He took him up above the dome of the heavens. That is what He said to him: “Look [habet] now to the heavens” – [the expression] habata refers only to looking from above to below. The Rabbis say: [God told him:] ‘You are a prophet, not an astrologer,’ as it is stated: “Now, restore the man's wife, as he is a prophet” (Genesis 20:7). In the days of Jeremiah, Israel sought to adopt this mindset, but the Holy One blessed be He did not allow them to do so. That is what is written: “So said the Lord: Do not learn the way of the nations, and from