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how did ancient near eastern cosmologies compare to the israelite view of the 'expanse'?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Genesis 1:6-8

“God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse Sky. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.”

This passage is from the opening chapter of Genesis, describing the second day of creation. It details God's act of creating the 'expanse' to separate the primordial waters, establishing a clear division in the cosmos.

What does this ancient understanding of the cosmos invite us to consider about the structures we perceive in our world?

Then — the setting

This passage was written as part of Genesis, likely compiled and shaped during or after the Babylonian exile (6th-5th century BCE), though drawing on much older traditions. For ancient Israelites, the cosmos was typically understood as a three-tiered structure: the heavens above, the earth in the middle, and the underworld below. The 'expanse' (raqia') was conceived not as empty space, but as a solid dome or firmament, holding back a cosmic ocean above it, preventing it from inundating the earth. This understanding was common across the ancient Near East, where cultures like the Babylonians (with their epic Enuma Elish) and Egyptians also envisioned the cosmos emerging from primordial waters, often through a struggle or separation by a divine power.

Across the Testaments

The Old Testament, particularly Genesis 1, presents a cosmology where God brings order to chaotic waters through separation and naming, culminating in the creation of humanity. While the New Testament doesn't offer a new cosmology in the same detailed way, it builds on this understanding of God as creator and sustainer. Passages like Colossians 1:15-17 affirm Christ as the one 'through whom all things were created, in heaven and on earth,' extending the Genesis creation narrative to emphasize Christ's role in cosmic order. The New Testament writers implicitly accept the Old Testament's understanding of a structured cosmos, focusing more on its redemptive purpose and the spiritual new creation.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Psalm 19:1
This verse speaks of the heavens declaring God's glory, connecting the created sky to divine revelation.
Proverbs 8:27-28
Wisdom is depicted as present at creation, specifically when God 'marked out the horizon on the face of the deep' and 'established the clouds above'.
2 Peter 3:5
This New Testament passage references the heavens and earth being formed out of water and by water, recalling the Genesis account.

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