![[#06] Genesis 1:6-8 – The Firmament in the Midst of the Waters](https://redeeminggod.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/One-Verse-Podcast-Jeremy-Myers-150x150.jpg)
Are you ready to hear more about the mythical background to the Genesis creation story? Have you been telling your family and friends how Genesis 1 is connected to the Babylonian Enuma Elish, the Gilgamesh Epic, and various Egyptian creation epics, and they want to hear more?
I hope so, because I have a lot more details in today’s show on Genesis 1:6-8 about the connections between these stories and the story as it is recorded in our Bible.
The Text of Genesis 1:6-8:
Genesis 1:6-8. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus 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. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
In this discussion of Genesis 1:6-8 we look at:
- How a literal, scientific reading of Genesis 1:6-8 completely contradicts reality.
- Why a literary, theological reading of Genesis 1:6-8 is preferable, and yields deeper and more important truths.
- How ancient people viewed the order of the cosmos.
- How Moses is writing this creation account to subvert the Egyptian creation accounts that the Israelites would have known.
- The key truth that death precedes resurrection.
Resources:
- Logos Bible Software
- Gordon Wenham on Genesis or at CBD
- Dictionary of Biblical Imagery or at CBD
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary or at CBD
- Walton, Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context
- Creation Myths by Johnston
- Genesis Cosmology by Hasel
- Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes
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Love your podcast. mindblown everytime. You challenge everything that I have know about the God and the bible. I might not be convinced of your views but I will continue to listen. thanks!
That is fine if you are not convinced! As long as we are encouraging each other to think, that is the most important. Thanks for listening!
LOVING the podcasts!!!!!
Thanks Pam!
hey bro. just making sure you’ve been getting my emails. thanks.
Yes, sorry for the late response. Am getting to them now.
Can’t we just allow the Bible to use ‘observational language’? I say the sun rises in the east and sets in the west because, from an observational perspective, that is correct. People know what I’m saying and I’m making no claim to a geocentric universe. Someone might also say they are going to the end of the earth, yet still believe in a round earth. Someone might also pledge that they will love someone ’tile the end of time’ and yet they aren’t necessarily saying that they believe time will end, they are claiming that their love will never end. Just because some ancients were deluded in their cosmology, does that mean we HAVE to affirm that necessarily everyone else, including all Israelites, were equally deluded? I agree that Genesis is not a scientific treatise. It tells the ‘who and why’ of creation, not ‘when and how.’ I can see why God would not feel the need to correct every misconception the ancients may have had, but if something is truly ‘divine revelation’ I wouldn’t expect it to confirm and reinforce delusional cosmology.
Yes, observational language is one way of explaining this. I think it is clearly observational. But I don’t think the Israelites had knowledge of modern cosmology. I wouldn’t say that by using incorrect cosmology God is reinforcing it. Instead, he is using their incorrect cosmology to teach them something about Himself. It is like in the episode on Genesis 1:5 (or maybe 1:4) where I retell the story of Cinderella to make a point about forgiveness. I am not reinforcing that story as historically true by retelling it. I am using a fairy tale to make a point.
you wrote:
I wouldn’t say that by using incorrect cosmology God is reinforcing it.
That all depends. Sure, using a fairy tail doesn’t necessarily mean you believe it, or are reinforcing it, as long as you make it clear that you are intending to present it as a fairy tale and the reader understands it as such.
you wrote:
I wouldn’t say that by using incorrect cosmology God is reinforcing it.
While technically I agree, if it is presented as cosmology, then I find that problematic. How could we ever be sure of anything? After all, when we say, ‘ah, I have eternal life.’ We would also have to acknowledge that, even tho I think eternal life means that I live forever, perhaps just like the Israelites I had it wrong, and eternal life meant….who knows, maybe nothing more than the memory of me being passed on to 100 generations. I think it is important to consider how the original reader understood it, as long as they understood it was a fairy tale. Ok. But if it’s presented as reality….that creates some problems. Problems I haven’t heard anyone solve yet. It’s something I need to study further. I have a ton of respect for Michael Heiser and from what I sense, his view is similar to yours.
Yes, I just finished reading Heiser’s book, The Unseen Realm, and he and I are similar in a lot of ways. I will be mentioning his book in future episodes of this podcast.
“It tells the ‘who and why’ of creation, not ‘when and how.’ ”
I like that 🙂
Glad you found it helpful!
Listened to the podcast first thing in the morning….was blessed by it. Thanks Jeremy!
Great teaching, now I have to catch up on the rest of the podcasts.
I’ve almost finished my first reading of “The Unseen Realm”, which has changed my whole perspective on the Bible, thank you again for that recommendation. So what you have presented in the podcast makes sense to me.
Finally, thank you so much for the encouraging words at the end. I am in a difficult place, but I know the Lord is taking care of me.
God bless you.
I am glad the little devotional words at the end are helpful. I want this podcast to not only be instructional, but also encouraging and hopeful. Life is really hard, and the Bible should be a source of light and hope.
I discuss the Egyptian, Babylonian and Hebrew notions of a firmament in this chapter…
https://books.google.com/books?id=UJ1vPJ1GLKcC&lpg=PA119&vq=cosmology%20of%20the%20bible&pg=PA122#v=onepage&q&f=false
I love The Who and why of creation, not when and how. Thank you God!