The Term ‘Rakia’ (‫ & )רקיע‬Genesis 1 The term ‫‘( רקיע‬firmament, expanse, space, vault’) is frequently said —with no little certainty—to denote a solid dome of some kind. That claim doesn’t strike me as at all obvious. In terms of its etymology, the word ‫ רקיע‬seems to derive from the verb ‫רקע‬, which means ‘to be thinned out’ in some way. In Scripture, metal is said to be ‫רקע‬-ed = ‘hammered/flattened out’ (Exod. 39.3), as is the earth (on the day of its creation: Isa. 42.5). It’s possible, therefore, for ‫ רקיע‬to denote ‘a solid/metallic dome’ of some kind. But it’s by no means necessary. ‘The skies’ (‫ שחקים‬cp. Deut. 33.26, 2 Sam. 22.12) are also said to be ‘flattened/thinned out’ (‫רקע‬: Job 37.18). Etymology doesn’t, therefore, decide the issue. That is to say, just because the word ‘firmament’ (‫ )רקיע‬is derived from the verb ‫‘ = רקע‬to be hammered/thinned out’ doesn’t mean the word ‘firmament’ (‫ )רקיע‬refers to a solid substance, which is why, in Rabbinic literature, one of the seven heavens is named ‫‘( רקיע‬Rakia’: b. Pes. 94a). The key issue is how the text of Gen. 1 employs the term ‫רקיע‬. And, to my mind at least, the text of Gen. 1 doesn’t employ the term ‫רקיע‬ as if it denotes a solid dome at all. In Gen. 1.8, God assigns the ‫ רקיע‬the name ‘heaven’ (‫ = שמים‬lit. ‘heavens’), which is the term employed throughout Gen. 1 to denote what we commonly refer to as ‘the skies’ (i.e., the expanse of space above our heads). Psa. 19.1 employs the term in the same way, i.e., as synonymous with ‘the heavens’. It would be odd, therefore, for ‫ רקיע‬to denote a significantly different entity from ‘the heavens’, namely a solid dome stationed in their midst.1 More telling is the text of 1.17, where God is said to ‘set’ the stars ‘in the ‫( ’רקיע‬via the construction ‫ לתת‬+ obj. + ‫)ב‬. God doesn’t ‘stud’ a solid surface with stars2 (or hang them from a canopy), but sets them 1 True, the ‫ רקיע‬is said to ‘divide’ (‫ )להבדיל‬one mass of ‘waters’ from another (1.7), but that doesn’t require the ‫ רקיע‬to be a physical structure. When the day is ‘divided’ (‫ )להבדיל‬from the night in v. 14, no physical structure is required. The same is true of the formation of the Sea on Day 2. The verb employed is admittedly different (‘gather’ rather than ‘divide’), but the concept is the same, and no physical barrier is required. 2 ‘To stud’ would require a verb like ‫( לשבץ‬cp. Exod. 28.20). in the midst of a designated space. (The prefix ‫ ב‬apparently functions as shorthand for ‫בתוך‬.) Consider, for instance, the texts below: That the author of Genesis took the term ‫ רקיע‬to denote a solid dome is, therefore, at best debatable. More likely, our author took it to denote an expanse of space.