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how do later biblical texts like psalm 148 or job 37 refer to the 'heavens' or 'firmament,' building on or reinterpreting this imagery?

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 “Heaven.” There was evening and there was morning, a second day.”

This passage is from the opening chapter of Genesis, part of the creation narrative. It describes the second day of creation, where God establishes the 'expanse' (firmament) to separate the waters, creating a habitable space in the cosmos.

What does this ancient image of a divided sky suggest about how we understand the boundaries and structures of our own world?

Then — the setting

This text, likely originating from ancient Israelite traditions and codified during or after the Babylonian exile (6th-5th century BCE), reflects a cosmology common in the Ancient Near East (ANE). In this view, the 'expanse' (firmament) was understood as a solid, dome-like structure separating primordial waters above from waters below, creating an air-filled space for life. It was not a scientific description of a gaseous atmosphere but a poetic and theological explanation of order emerging from chaos.

Across the Testaments

The Old Testament frequently refers to the 'heavens' (שָׁמַיִם, shamayim) as God's dwelling place and the source of rain, firmly upholding the imagery of the firmament. Later biblical texts like Psalm 148 or Job 37 don't reinterpret the Genesis imagery scientifically but build on its theological implications. Psalm 148, for instance, calls the 'heavens' and 'waters above the heavens' to praise God, reinforcing the created order. Job 37:18 speaks of the sky being 'strong as a molten mirror,' emphasizing its solidity. These texts affirm the creator God's power over the cosmic structure. The New Testament largely adopts this understanding of 'heavens' as God's domain and the created order, for example, in references to Jesus ascending to heaven or the new heavens and new earth, without offering a new cosmology of the firmament itself.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Psalm 148:1-4
This psalm calls on the heavens, the expanse, and the waters above to praise God, echoing the created order from Genesis.
Job 37:18
Job speaks of God spreading out the skies, 'strong as a molten mirror,' reflecting the firm, metallic imagery often associated with the firmament.
Proverbs 8:27-28
Wisdom is depicted as present when God 'marked out the vault over the face of the deep,' linking the firmament with divine order and wisdom.

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