Raqa is the process of hammering out a piece of gold or other metal into thin plates which was then applied to a carved or molten image. The word raqiya comes from the root word raqa which can be found in several passages including Isaiah 40:19 – “The idol! a workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains.” The word “overlay” is the verb root raqa. It was the support also of the heavenly bodies ( Genesis 1:14 ), and is spoken of as having “windows” and “doors” ( Genesis 7:11 Isaiah 24:18 Malachi 3:10 ) through which the rain and snow might descend.Īn increasingly popular theory is that of denser “Superfluid” water layers that are flat – as above, so below. The raki’a supported the upper reservoir ( Psalms 148:4 ). It formed a division between the waters above and the waters below ( Genesis 1:7 ). It is plain that it was used to denote solidity as well as expansion. The language of Scripture is not scientific but popular, and hence we read of the sun rising and setting, and also here the use of this particular word. They who rendered raki’a by firmamentum regarded it as a solid body.

This word means simply “expansion.” It denotes the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately above us. The Firmly Solid FirmamentĮxploring the etymology of the words only reconfirms this view:įrom the Vulgate firmamentum, which is used as the translation of the Hebrew raki’a. When we consider the following verses from Scripture, we come to the inevitable conclusion that the scriptural writers’ understanding of the Firmament was a solid, firm, tangible thing. “Let an expanse come to be in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

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