The Waters Which Were Above the Firmament

2024-04-28

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. (Genesis 1:7)

The waters under the firmament were gathered together so that dry land would appear on the third day of creation, paving the way for land animals on the sixth day. But what is this water above the firmament?

Some say this is the clouds. Historically, I would have agreed with this. The problem with this is that the great lights of the sun, moon, and stars are all in this firmament. The firmament then is enormous. These waters that are spoken of are above (or beyond, depending on the perspective) all these things.

During the flood, we see that there are “windows of heaven”: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11). When the flood stopped, these “windows” were closed: “The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained” (Genesis 8:2).

Perhaps Genesis 8:2 may imply that the “windows” of heaven are separate from the regular rain since they are mentioned separately. I don’t know. These could be distinct from the clouds, being water from above the firmament. How that would work though is unclear.

Whatever these waters above the firmament are, they did not cease to exist after the flood. The psalmist writes, “Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens” (Psalm 148:4). Ezekiel 1 seems to speak of ice crystals at the top of the firmament (Ezekial 1:22), which is also clearly after the flood. In scientific terms, perhaps this is what they describe as the Oort Cloud, but really, who knows?