FIRMAMENT, the traditional rendering in the Eng. VSS for Heb. רָקִיעַ, H8385, a difficult word the root of which refers to beaten metals. A verbal form is found in Exodus 39:3, Heb. וַֽיְרַקְּע֞וּ, “and they hammered out”; the term refers to the vault of heaven. Numerous authors have assumed that the use of this term indicated a specific system of cosmology involving a hollow concavity of the celestial sphere. There is no evidence for this in the lit. of the ancient Near E or in the occurrences of this rare term. The term in Genesis 1:6 does indicate that the firmament was formed to separate the mass of waters and divide them into two layers. The name of the firmament as given in v. 8 was Heb. שָׁמַ֫יִם, H9028, “heaven.” The LXX reads, στερέωμα, G5106, “solidity,” “steadfastness” (Col 2:5) which was rendered as firmamentum by Jerome in the Vul. and thus the Eng. “firmament.” The firmament is mentioned nine times in the creation account of Genesis, twice in the Psalms (19:1; 150:1), and in Ezekiel and Daniel, but always in the context of creation.