34. Expanse of the Sky

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky" (Genesis 1:6-8a).

What is this "expanse," or "firmament" (NKJV, KJV) called "sky," or "heaven"? It certainly is not the heaven that God created in Genesis 1:1. That existed when the earth was still formless. This "sky" was created on the second day. It is specifically called an expanse between the water on the earth and the water above the earth. Is this water above the earth the water that rained down in Noah's time? Is it just clouds? Or is it another body of water that encapsulates the universe?

In Genesis 1:14, God created "lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from night." The lights, here referring to sun and moon, are IN the expanse. The stars are also set "in the expanse of the sky" (Genesis 1:17). We know clearly that the sun, moon, and stars are not between the clouds and the oceans. If there were to be a body of water surrounding the earth in Noah's time before the flood, the sun and moon would still be outside of it. Does this verse just mean that the light given off by the sun and stars shines into the expanse of the sky? Or is there something obvious I'm not seeing? Or is there something more profound going on?