Chronological timeline of texts tagged with Solid Firmament
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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.
Note: Dates shown in this timeline are approximate and based on scholarly estimates.
Back to Tag1800 - 1750 B.C.E.
Enuma Elish V
Ancient Near East
He fashioned heavenly stations for the great gods, And set up constellations, the patterns of the stars. He appointed the year, marked off divisions, And set up three stars each for the twelve months. After he had organized the year, He established the heavenly station of Ne-beru to fix the stars' intervals. That none should transgress or be slothful He fixed the heavenly stations of Enlil and Ea with it. Gates he opened on both sides, And put strong bolts at the left and the right. He placed the heights of heaven in her Tia-mat's belly, He created Nannar, entrusting to him the night.
1800 - 1750 B.C.E.
Enuma Elish IV
Ancient Near East
Had fulfilled the desire of Nudimmud, He strengthened his hold on the Bound Gods, And returned to Tia-mat, whom he had bound. Be-l placed his feet on the lower parts of Tia-mat And with his merciless club smashed her skull. He severed her arteries And let the North wind bear up (her blood) to give the news. His fathers saw it and were glad and exulted; They brought gifts and presents to him. Be-l rested, surveying the corpse, In order to divide the lump by a clever scheme. He split her into two like a dried fish: One half of her he set up and stretched out as the heavens. He stretched the skin and appointed a watch With the instruction not to let her waters escape. He crossed over the heavens, surveyed the celestial parts, And adjusted them to match the Apsû, Nudimmud's abode. Be-l measured the shape of the Apsû And set up Ešarra, a replica of Ešgalla. In Ešgalla, Ešarra which he had built, and the heavens, He settled in their shrines Anu, Enlil, and Ea.
700 BCE
KAR 307
Ancient Near East
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.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
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.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
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.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
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.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
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.
7th-5th Centuries B.C.E.
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.
7th-5th Centuries B.C.E.
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,
6th Century B.C.E.
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.
6th Century B.C.E.
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.
6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E.
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.
6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E.
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.
6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E.
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.
6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E.
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!
5th Century B.C.E.
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!
200-50 B.C.E.
1 Enoch 14:10
Pseudepigrapha
9 And I went in until I drew near to a wall built of crystals and surrounded by tongues of fire: and it began to frighten me. And I entered the tongues of fire and drew near to a large house built of crystals: and the walls of the house were like a mosaic floor of crystals, and its foundation was of crystal. 10 Its ceiling was like the path of the stars and the lightnings, and between them were fiery cherubim, and their heaven was clear as water. 11 A flaming fire surrounded the walls, and its portals blazed with fire.
200-50 B.C.E.
1 Enoch 18:7
Pseudepigrapha
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 firmament of heaven above. 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. 6 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. 7 But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. 8 And I saw a flaming fire. And beyond these mountains 9 is a region at the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed.
200-50 B.C.E.
1 Enoch 72:2
Pseudepigrapha
2 The first rule of the luminaries: 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.