H7549 H7549
Expanse, firmament, vault of heaven; the stretched-out dome separating waters above from waters below.
One of the Bible's great cosmological terms, raqia' pictures the sky as a vast, hammered-out surface -- the root raqa' means 'to beat or spread thin,' evoking a metalsmith flattening metal (cf. Job 37:18). On Day Two of creation God sets this expanse between the upper and lower waters (Gen 1:6-8), then places the luminaries in it (Gen 1:14-17). Ezekiel's throne vision presents a gleaming raqia' like crystal above the living creatures (Ezek 1:22-26). The Septuagint's stereoma and the Vulgate's firmamentum both emphasize solidity, while 'expanse' in modern English captures its breadth.
Senses
1. expanse, firmament, sky-vault — The vast dome or vault of the sky, conceived as a hammered-out surface separating the waters above from the waters below. Created on Day Two (Gen 1:6-8) and bearing the sun, moon, and stars (Gen 1:14-17). In Ezekiel's visions it appears as a crystalline platform above the cherubim supporting the divine throne (Ezek 1:22-26; 10:1). The Psalms celebrate it as declaring God's handiwork (Ps 19:1), and Daniel 12:3 speaks of those who shine like the brightness of the raqia'. 17×
AR["الـ-فَلَكِ", "الْجَلَدَ", "الْجَلَدِ", "الْفَلَكُ", "جَلَدٌ", "جَلَدِ", "فَلَكٌ", "فِي-جَلَدِ", "لِـ-الفَلَكِ"]·ben["-আকাশমণ্ডল", "-আকাশমণ্ডলের", "-বিস্তারের", "আকাশ", "আকাশকে", "আকাশমণ্ডল", "আকাশে", "আকাশের", "বিস্তার", "বিস্তৃতিতে"]·DE["[הרקיע]", "[לרקיע]", "[רקיע]", "an-der-Feste", "an-die-Feste", "der-Ausdehnung", "der-Feste", "die-Feste", "eine-Feste", "in-Ausdehnung-von"]·EN["expanse", "expanse-of", "in-expanse-of", "the-expanse", "the-firmament", "to-the-expanse"]·FR["dans-firmament", "dans-étendue-de", "firmament", "le-firmament", "le-étendue", "à-le-étendue", "étendue", "étendue-de"]·heb["ב-רקיע", "ה-רקיע", "ל-ה-רקיע", "ל-רקיע", "רקיע"]·HI["अंतरिक्ष", "आकाश-में", "आकाशमंडल", "आकाशमण्डल-की", "के-ठोस-विस्तार", "को-आकाशमंडल", "को-ठोस-विस्तार", "ठोस-विस्तार", "ते-आकाशमंडल", "में-ठोस-विस्तार"]·ID["cakrawala", "cakrawala-itu", "di-cakrawala"]·IT["[ברקיע]", "[הרקיע]", "[לרקיע]", "[רקיע]", "a-il-expanse", "expanse", "expanse-di", "il-expanse", "in-expanse-di"]·jav["cakrawala", "cakrawala-punika", "dhateng-cakrawala", "ing-cakrawala", "langit", "saking-cakrawala"]·KO["궁창", "궁창-이", "그-궁창", "그-궁창에", "그-궁창의", "그-창공", "그-창공으로", "에-궁창", "에-그-궁창", "에-창공에서", "창공의"]·PT["ao-firmamento", "firmamento", "firmamento-de", "no-firmamento", "no-firmamento-de", "o-firmamento", "para-o-firmamento"]·RU["-твердь", "-твердью", "в-тверди", "небес-тех", "свод", "своде", "сводом", "тверди", "твердь"]·ES["a-la-expansión", "del-firmamento", "el-firmamento", "en-expansión-de", "en-firmamento-de", "expansión", "expansión-de", "firmamento", "la-expansión"]·SW["anga", "anga-", "anga-la", "katika-anga", "katika-anga-la", "kwa-anga", "wa-anga"]·TR["-gök-kubbe", "-kubbeti", "-kubbetin", "ha-kubbenin", "kubbenin", "kubbesi", "kubbesinde-", "kubbesine-", "kubbet"]·urd["آسمان-کی", "بِ-فلک", "فضا", "فضا-کے", "فلک", "فلک-میں", "فلک-کو", "فلک-کے"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† רָקִיעַ n.m. Gn 1:6 extended surface, (solid) expanse (as if beaten out; cf. Jb 37:18);—abs. ר׳ Ez 1:22 +, cstr. רְ׳ Gn 1:14 +;—𝔊 στερέωμα, 𝔙 firmamentum, cf. Syriac sub √ supr.;— 1. (flat) expanse (as if of ice, cf. כְּעֵין הַקֶרַח), as base, support (WklAltor. Forsch. iv. 347) Ez 1:22, 23, 25 (gloss? cf. Co Toy), v 26 (supporting י׳’sthrone) 10:1. Hence (Co Ez 1:22) 2. the vault of heaven,…