反科學荒誕不經的基督教天地觀
或聯結原始網站http://goo.gl/AW8IBk
及http://goo.gl/AW8IBk
經常在網路看到基督徒振振有辭說他們的上帝創造天地，但試問一下他們上帝造的天地是什麼樣子的時侯，就結結巴巴答不出，或者以現今教科書的概念述說
，等到我們拿出實際的圖示給他們時，就張口結舌，瞬間藉故企圖離開或移轉話題。
那麼現在讓我們來看看他們上帝造的天地是什麼樣子
你能想像天是半球形似鐵鍋蓋子，以便能分開上下二層的水嗎?
中國古代神話故事裏，天不知何故破了，於是女媧娘娘不辭辛勞煉石補天，原來中國古人相信天是硬的物件。
基督教信仰裏也認為天(英文:firmament)是堅硬有如鍋蓋子的硬物。
証據如下:
伯37:18 你豈能與神同鋪天(firmament)(或譯:穹蒼 )嗎﹖而這天(firmament)堅硬，如同鑄成的鏡子(註:意指天(firmament)被鑄的很光亮)
探究英文firmament的意義與語源，firmament語源來自firmly這字，
在希臘文是薄金屬板或硬物的意思
參考http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmament
又美國韋氏大典firmament註解為: the vault(圓拱形) or arch(呈拱形覆蓋的天空) of the sky : HEAVENS
也就是指硬物件的圓拱形天空，以白話說就像家中煮飯用的半球形鐵鍋蓋子
箴8:28 上使天(firmament)堅硬，下使淵源穩固，
(註:看到吧，天是堅硬的)。
詩104:2 鋪張天(firmament)，如鋪幔子，(註:天如幔子可被舖展開)
展開諸天如可住的帳棚(猶太人認為天有三層)
賽42:5 創造諸天，鋪張穹蒼(firmament)，將地和地所出的一併鋪開
圖:
http://goo.gl/fePwI9
------------------------
天是用來分上下二層水用的
參考:
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of
the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters
創1:6 神說：諸水之間要有空氣(firmament(即:天))將水分為上下。
(註:有些教會的翻譯本，如上面的中文和合版本譯文，為欺矇不知情信眾
，竟將天(firmament)無恥翻譯為空氣，以符合現代科學)
創1:7 :神就造出天(firmament)，將天(firmament)以下的水、
天(firmament)以上的水分開了。事就這樣成了。
創1:8 神稱(firmament)為天。有晚上，有早晨，是第二日
(按:猶太人以為太陽月亮星星被神掛在天鍋蓋子下，繞在蓋子轉動，而有早晚之分)，
============
基督教的天地描述
有圖為証
Biblical Conception of the Universe
iverse.htm
1.天蓋子上的水(創世紀1:7)
2.雪窗(約伯書38;22)
3.冰雹窗(約伯38;22)
4.風箱(約伯37:9)
5.天鍋蓋子(創世紀1;6)
6.天上的水閘(創世紀7:11)
7.天的柱子(約伯26:11)
8.地的柱子(詩篇104:5)
9.深噴泉(創世紀7:11)
10.地的中央(士師記9:37)
And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people
down by the middle of the land, and another company come
along by the plain of Meonenim.
迦勒又說：看哪，有人從地的中央來，又有一隊從米惡尼尼橡樹的路上而來。
11.地底水(出埃及記20:4)
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你相信天會被捲起，好像書卷嗎?
賽34:4 天上的萬象都要消沒；天被捲起，好像書卷。其上的萬象要殘敗
，像葡萄樹的葉子殘敗，又像無花果樹的葉子殘敗一樣
註:大家都知道所謂天，不過是大虛空，竟能像書卷般被捲起，實在好笑！
-----------------------
天竟會震動?
賽13:13 我─萬軍之耶和華在忿恨中發烈怒的日子，必使天震動，
使地搖撼，離其本位。
---------------
更好笑的是~日頭月亮可停在天空，停一日不動:
· 約書亞書10: 當耶和華將亞摩利人交付以色列人的日子，約書亞就禱告耶和華
，在以色列人眼前說：日頭啊，你要停在基遍；月亮啊，你要止在亞雅崙谷。
· 於是日頭停留，月亮止住，直等國民向敵人報仇。這事豈不是寫在雅煞珥書上嗎﹖
日頭在天當中停住，不急速下落，約有一日之久。
在這日以前，這日以後，耶和華聽人的禱告，沒有像這日的，是因耶和華為
以色列爭戰。
-----------
使星星不發光?使日頭黑暗。月亮原來會發光?
賽13:10 天上的眾星群宿都不發光，日頭一出就變黑暗；月亮也不放光。
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太陽，月亮、星星原來是被掛在天空內
創1:17 就把這些光擺列在天空(firmament)，普照在地上
(註:是指將發光的星星、太陽、月亮掛吊在天空硬売內層上，以普照大地)
===============
地的問題
您同意地是建在海面上的嗎?(它們認為地是由地柱子支撐)
詩24:2 他把地建立在海上，安定在大水之上
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地有四方有四角?
啟7:1 此後，我看見四位天使站在地的四角，執掌地上四方的風，
叫風不吹在地上、海上，和樹上
--------------------
您相信地有柱子嗎?
撒上2:8 。地的柱子屬於耶和華；他將世界立在其上。
伯9:6 他使地震動，離其本位，地的柱子就搖撼。
詩75:3 地和其上的居民都消化了；我曾立了地的柱子
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註;基督徒常愛引用下面經文，宣稱地球是懸在虛空所以以論証基督教
很合乎現代科學
中文經文伯26:7基督教譯為:『神將北極鋪在空中，將大地懸在虛空』
英文Job26:7: He stretcheth out the north over the empty place,
and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
但將大地懸在虛空這句的譯文是有問題的，因基督教認為地有柱子，
所以hangeth the earth upon nothing是地不用吊掛的意思！
不是懸在虛空！
================
地球是不動，太陽在天上轉
聖經說：「(太陽與黑夜)---(在天上)按時輪轉。」(耶利米三三20)
「因這陽光，地面改變如泥上印著印。」(約伯記三八14)
太陽光照在地面上，有如人走在泥土上會有走過腳印的跡可循，
賽60:20: 你的日頭不會再下落；
歷代誌上16:30
Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable,
that it be not moved. 全地要在他面前戰抖，世界也穩固不會轉動。
詩篇93;1 the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
世界(即地球)也穩固不能被移動
詩篇104:5Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever
立地的根基，使地永不能轉動。
-----------------
地球是平面，還是立體?
聖經說：「神坐在地球大圈(circle)之上。」
Isa40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth;
猶太人以為地是平的所以坐大圈，英文circle是圓圈，不是球體sphere
耶利米書16:19
the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth
外邦人必從地之極來到此(註:以為地球是一四方形的地且是平面的，
有四個角邊)
啟示錄7;1
我看見四位天使站在地的四角，執掌地上四方的風，叫風不吹在地上
、海上，和樹上(註:以為地球是四方形，有四個角)。
詩篇50;1
The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth
from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
大能的神─耶和華已經發聲，呼叫從日出開始到日落為止的這片地
(註:以為地球只是一塊從日出至日落的範圍四方形地而已，而不知有各大洲)。
旦以理4:10~11
Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and
behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height
thereof was great.
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof
reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end
of all the earth:
我在床上腦中的異象是這樣：我看見地球上當中有一棵樹，極其高大。
那樹漸長，而且堅固，高到天堂，從地球之角落都能看見
(註:以為地球是平面的)
-----------------
日影倒退?~~太陽倒退走?
賽38:8 就是叫亞哈斯的日晷，向前進的日影往後退十度。於是，
前進的日影果然在日晷上往後退了十度。
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你相信天有天窗嗎?
創8:2 淵源和天上的窗戶都閉塞了，天上的大雨也止住了。
你認為天上有雪庫與雹倉嗎
伯38:22 你曾進入雪庫，或見過雹倉嗎﹖
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結論
基督徒說聖經都是神所默示，不會有錯
但現在我們終於可以了解基督教的神所創造的天地是怎樣的荒謬了
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Firmament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, searchThe sun, planets and angels and the firmament. Woodcut dated 1475.
The firmament is the sky, conceived as a solid dome.[1] According to Genesis, God created the firmament to separate the "waters above" (the source of rain) from those below (in the underworld). The word is anglicised from Latin firmamentum, which appears in the Vulgate.
Etymology
The word "firmament" is first recorded in a Middle English narrative based on scripture dated 1250.[2] It later appeared in the King James Bible. The word is anglicised from Latin firmamentum, used in the Vulgate (4th century).[3] This in turn is derived from the Latin root firmus, a cognate with "firm".[3] The word is a Latinization of the Greek stereoma, which appears in the Septuagint (c. 200 BC).[1]
Translation
The word "firmament" is used to translate raqia, or raqiya` ( רקיע), a word used in Biblical Hebrew. The connotation of firmness conveyed by the Vulgate's firmamentum is consistent with that of stereoma, the Greek word used in the Septuagint, an earlier translation. The notion of solidity is advanced explicitly in several biblical passages.[4]
The original word raqia is derived from the root raqa ( רקע), meaning "to beat or spread out", e.g., the process of making a dish by hammering thin a lump of metal.[3][5] Raqa adopted the meaning "to make firm or solid" in Syriac, a major dialect of Aramaic (the vernacular of Jesus) and close cognate of Hebrew.[3]
Conservatives and fundamentalists tend to favor translations that allow scripture to be harmonized with scientific knowledge, for example "expanse".[6] This translation is used by the New International Version and by the English Standard Version. The New Revised Standard Version uses "dome", as in the Celestial dome.
Biblical use
The word is used in the Genesis creation narrative:
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.[7]
An extremely literalistic interpretation of the Bible and non-canonical related texts present a cosmology that is incompatible with modern scientific knowledge.[8] The firmament was a great tent-like[9] ceiling made of solid crystalline-like material,[10] which, according to the pseudepedigraphic 2nd or 3rd century book of 3 Baruch, might be pierced by tower and gimlet.[11] It had many windows, some of which opened and closed for the sun and moon to travel through[12] or to let water, which was held above, fall through as rain.[13] On top there were also warehouses of snow and hail.[14] Stars were small objects that were attached tenuosly to its surface.[15]
The Jewish Encyclopedia describes the firmament as follows:
The Hebrews regarded the earth as a plain or a hill figured like a hemisphere, swimming on water. Over this is arched the solid vault of heaven. To this vault are fastened the lights, the stars. So slight is this elevation that birds may rise to it and fly along its expanse.[16]
Christian views
Augustine wrote that too much learning had been expended on the nature of the firmament.[17] "We may understand this name as given to indicate not it is motionless but that it is solid." he wrote.[17] Saint Basil argued for a fluid firmament.[17] According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the firmament had a "solid nature" and stood above a "region of fire, wherein all vapor must be consumed."[18]
The Copernican Revolution of the 16th century led to reconsideration of these matters. In 1554, John Calvin proposed that "firmament" be interpreted as clouds.[19] "He who would learn astronomy and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere," wrote Calvin.[19] Genesis had to conform to popular prejudice regarding cosmology, or it would not have been accepted. "As it became a theologian, [Moses] had to respect us rather than the stars," Calvin wrote. Calvin's "doctrine of accommodation" allowed Protestants to accept the findings of science without rejecting the authority of scripture.[19] According to some Catholics, the Bible simply reflects the cosmological ideas that were prevalent at the time it was written.[20]
Scientific development
Main article: Heavenly sphere
The Greeks and Stoics adopted a model of celestial spheres after the discovery of the sphericity of the Earth in the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE. The Medieval Scholastics adopted a cosmology that fused the ideas of the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Ptolemy.[21] This cosmology involved celestial orbs, nested concentrically inside one another, with the earth at the centre. The outermost orb contained the stars and the term firmament was then transferred to this orb. (There were seven inner orbs for the seven wanderers of the sky, and their ordering is preserved in the naming of the days of the week.)
Even Copernicus' heliocentric model included an outer sphere that held the stars (and by having the earth rotate daily on its axis it allowed the firmament to be completely stationary). Tycho Brahe's studies of the nova of 1572 and the comet of 1577 were the first major challenges to the idea that orbs existed as solid, incorruptible, material objects.[22]
In 1584, Bruno proposed a cosmology without firmament: an infinite universe in which the stars are actually suns with their own planetary systems.[23] After Galileo began using a telescope to examine the sky, it became harder to argue that the heavens were perfect, as Aristotelian philosophy required. By 1630, the concept of solid orbs was no longer dominant.[24]
Different cultures
Further information: Flat Earth
The Flammarion engraving (1888) depicts a traveller who arrives at the edge of a flat Earth and sticks his head through the firmament.
The notion of the sky as a solid object (rather than just an atmospheric expanse) was widespread among both ancient civilisations and primitive cultures, including ancient Greece, Egypt, China, India, native Americans, Australian aborigines, and also early Christians.[25]
The sky is depicted as a solid dome arched over the earth in both Mesopotamian and Indo-European mythologies (e.g., creation myths) and poetry. The Sumerian sky-god An ruled these firmament-like "heavens", which the wind-god had separated from the flat disc of the earth below, and there were primordial seas above the firmament. Ancient Indians also believed in a solid sky: "Firm is the sky and firm is the earth," says the Rig Veda.[25] This approach to cosmology is probably universal, and is also encountered in mythologies of the New World.[25]
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The Biblical Belief in a 3-Tiered Universe - Christian commentary
The major bible commentaries and bible dictionaries agree that the Biblical conception of the universe was of a 3-tiered universe. To the Hebrews writing the Bible, the universe comprised:
1. A solid dome of Heaven above the Earth, and resting on the Earth on the 'circle' of the horizon,
2. A flat Earth, and
3. The waters of the deep and Sheol below.
Biblical conception of the world:
1. waters above the firmament
2. storehouses of snows
3. storehouses for hail
4. chambers of winds
5. firmament
6. sluice / windows of heaven
7. pillars of the sky
8. pillars of the earth
9. fountain of the deep
10. navel of the earth
11. waters under the earth
12. rivers of the nether world
The mainstream Bible commentaries and Bible dictionaries are agreed. It is only apologetic works which try to defend the Biblical writers as having the same knowledge about the Universe as we do today.
Achtemeier, Paul J (Ed) The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (New York: HarperCollins, 1996):
“The Hebrew universe. The ancient Hebrews imagined the world as flat and round, covered by the great dome of the firmament which was held up by mountain pillars (Job 26.11; 37.18). Above the firmament and under the earth was water, divided by God at creation (Gen 1.6, 7; cf Pss 24.2; 148.4). The upper waters were joined with the waters of the primordial deep during the Flood; the rains were believed to fall through windows in the firmament (Gen 7.11; 8.2). The sun, moon, and stars moved across or were fixed in the firmament (Gen 1.14-19; Ps 19.4, 6). Within the earth lay Sheol, the realm of the dead (Num 16.30-33; Isa 14.9, 15).” (p339) Firmament - “The Hebrew term raqia’ suggests a thin sheet of beaten metal (cf. Exod. 39.3; Num 17.3; Jer 10.9; also Job 37.18)… Job 26.13 depicts God’s breath as the force that calmed (or ‘spread’, ‘smoothed’) the heavens. Luminaries were set in the firmament on the fourth day of creation (Gen 1.14-19). Rains were believed to fall through sluices or windows in its surface (cf. Gen 7.11).” (pp338-339)
Freedman, David Noel (Ed) Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000):
“Firmament – A thin sheet, similar to a piece of beaten metal, that stretched from horizon to horizon to form the vault of the sky. In the Hebrew cosmology, the universe consisted of three parts: the waters above, the earth below, and the waters beneath the earth (cf. Exod.20.4). Job 37.18 describes God as spreading out the heavens and making them “as hard as a mirror of cast bronze” (cf LXX stereoma, suggesting an embossed or hammered-out bowl). The firmament (Heb raqia; Lat firmamentum) serves to separate the waters above from the waters below (Gen 1.6-8), its primary function being to prevent the waters above from crashing down upon the earth below and flooding the world. However, small holes in the firmament permitted the occasional release of water in the form of rain (Gen 1.14-18). In Ezekiel’s chariot vision the firmament appears as an expanse over the heads of the creatures which looked like sparkling ice; above the firmament is a throne of sapphire. (Ezek 1.22-26).” (p461-462)
Myers, Allen C (Ed) The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987):
“Hebrew Cosmology. To the ancient Hebrews the earth was the centre of the universe. Above it were the sky and the heavens, and below it were the Underworld, or Sheol, and the waters (eg. Exod 20.4; Ps 24.2; 136.6). (Though at times the Hebrews did cite only heaven and earth as composing the universe (eg. Ps 124.8), actually they held to this tripartite concept (eg. Phil 2.10). The earth, with Canaan at its centre (Ps 74.12), was believed to be one mass of land (cf the ‘ends of the earth’ (Ps 65.5) or its ‘four corners’ (Isa 11.12)) surrounded by an ocean. It rested on pillars (1 Sam 2.8; Job 9.6; Ps 75.3) or on firm foundations (Ps 104.5; but cf Job 26.7).” (p298) “Firmament. (Heb raqia; Vulg Lat firmamentum, from LXX Gk stereoma ‘foundation’). The expanse of sky or heaven (Gen 1.8) separating the water below (rivers, seas, subterranean waters) from the waters above (precipitation). In ancient Israelite cosmogony the firmament may have been viewed as a dome or curtain (cf Ps 104.2) of beaten metal (cf Heb rq ‘beat out’; Job 37.18) from which were suspended the stars and planets (Gen 1.14-17). Rain and other heavenly blessings could pour down upon the earth through windows in the firmament (7.11; 2 Kings 7.2; Ps 78.23-24).” (p383) “From time immemorial, ancient people must have been aware that water existed above and below the earth. It descended from above in the form of rain and it could be obtained, if one were willing to dig deep enough, from the depths of the earth. It descended from above the earth. In many ancient Near Eastern societies this apparent paradox was explained by the story of the primordial battle between the hero-god and the dragon of chaos. In the Babylonian version, the victorious Marduk splits the body of the female Tiamat. Then he creates the earth from her body, placing the earth in the womb of chaos below the waters of heaven and above the waters of the deep (cf Heb t’hom ‘the deep sea, ocean’; Akk tiamtu ‘Tiamat’). The Old Testament acknowledges this basic understanding of the universe, or cosmogony, but modifies it in the light of Israelite monotheism) the creation account, Gen 1.1-10; the flood account, 7.11; cf Exod 20.4; Deut 4.18; 2 Sam 22.14-17; Job 26.5-13; Ps 104.3-6; 136.6; 148.4-7; Jer 10.11-13; Amos 9.5-6; jonah 2.2-6). So the ‘waters of heaven,’ or cosmic waters, are the waters above the earth held back by the firmament. Rain falls when God oepns the flood-gates in the firmament (Gen 7.11; 8.2; RSV ‘windows’). The sky is blue (the colour of the ocean) because the waters can be seen through the transparent crystal firmament (cf. Ezek 1.26, which pictures God as seated above the firmament on a throne the colour of lapis lazuli (blue or turquoise) – the colour of deep water and the sky.” (pp1046-1047)
Freedman, David Noel (Ed) The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992):
“On the whole, Israel shared the world view of the ancient Near East. The earth was perceived as a flat expanse, seen either in the image of a disk or circle upon the primeval waters (Isa 40.22; Job 26.10; Prov 8.27; cf. ‘circle of the heavens’. Job 22.14) or of an outstretched garment spanning the void (Job 26.7; 38.13). According to HH Schmidt (THAT 1.230-31), these two images, present also in Mesopotamia, derive from different but compatible conceptions of the cosmos which are intertwined without tension in the OT. References to the earth’s (four) corners/rims/hems (‘arba’ kanepot ha’ares; Isa 11.12; Job 37.3; 38.13; cf Isa 24.16_, its end(s), border(s), edges (qeselqesot; Job 28.24; Ps 135.7; Isa 5.26; 40.28; 41.5, 9; Jer 10.13; 51.16), combinations of these images (Jer 49.36; also Ps 48.11 – Eng 48.10; 65.6 – Eng 65.5), its ends (where it ceases: ‘apse [ha]’ares; Deut 33.17; 1 Sam 2.10, etc) its boundaries (Ps 74.17), or its remotest parts (Jer 6.22; 25.32; 31.8; 50.41) depict the vast expanse of the earth and its outer limits, rather than a firm conception of its shape. T Boman (1960: 157-59), has pointed out that naming the outer limits of any area includes the whole area, so that the above terms function almost as synonyms for ‘earth’, ‘world’. The modern concept of an infinite or open-ended universe was not known in the OT; on the contrary, heaven and earth were though to be sealed together at the rim of the hoirzon to prevent the influx of the cosmic waters (Stadelmann 1970:43). In contrast to this preoccupation with the earth’s outer limits, a center or navel of the earth (Heb tabbur) is mentioned only once (Ezek 38.12; cf Judg 9.37; Jub 8.19). L Stadelmann (1970:147-54) suggests that Jerusalem (cf Ezek 5.5), and possibly Bethel at an earlier time (cf Gen 28.10-12, 17-18), were considered in this light, in keeping with the views of many ANE and other peoples that their central sanctuary or capital city represented such a center. However this theme is not prominent in the Old Tetsament; that Jerusalem, as the center of worship of the universal God, held a position of central prominence (Isa 2.2-3 = Mic 4.1-2) is a theological rather than acosmological observation. Over the earth and its surrounding sea(s) arches the firm vault (or firmament. Heb raqia’ (Gen 1.6)) of (the) heaven(s). Together, heaven and earth make up what we would call world, universe, cosmos (Gen 1.1; 2.1, 4; Exod 31.17; Ps 102.26 – Eng 102.25; Isa 48.13; 51.13, 16 and often). Occasionally, earth alone seems to enhance the whole cosmos (eg. Isa 6.3; 54.5; Zeph 1.2-3, 18(?)). The vault of heaven rests on the earth (Amos 9.6; cf. 2 Sam 22.8: ‘the foundations of the heavens’ = the earth) which in turn is firmly set on pillars (1 Sam 2.8) or foundations (Isa 24.18; 40.21; Jer 31.37; Mic 6.2, etc). The foundations are associated with the ‘heavens’ (2 Sam 22.8) or the ‘world’ (Heb tebel; 2 Sam 22.16 – Ps 18.16 – Eng 18.7). The verb yasad ‘to found’ is used with reference to God’s founding of the earth (Job 38.4; Ps 24.2; 102.26 – Eng 102.25, etc). Somewhat ambivalent is the structure in the place of the sea(s) or water(s), the deep, and the underworld. The seas can be spoken of as a familiar reality, in which the fish and other water creatures swarm (Gen 1.20, 22, 26, etc) and on which humans move in ships (Ps 104.25-26; 107.23; Prov 30.19; Ezek 27.9). As such, the sea forms part of the earth, ie., the flat surface below juxtaposed to the heavens above. A transitional position between earth and the surrounding sea is occupied by the islands or coastlands (Heb ‘iyyim; Isa 24.14-16; 41.5; 42.4, 10). Elsewhere in the OT the sea(s) or water(s) take on the character of a third cosmic realm in addition to heaven earth, the extension of the cosmic chaos waters surrounding everything… The underworld is often spoken of as part of the earth, a lower cavern, grave, pit (called in Heb Sheol) where the dead lead a shadowy existence; it can even be referred to simply as ‘earth’ (1 Sam 28.13; Ps 71.20; 106.17; Isa 29.4). In other texts, Sheol is treated as a separate cosmic realm besides heaven and earth (Job 26.5; Ps 139.8; Amos 9.2). The OT conception of the world, then, is basically bipartite (heaven and earth), variously extended to a tripartite cosmos (heaven-earth-sea, or heaven-earth-underworld). Although certain later books and sections (Job, Proverbs 8, several postexilic Psalms, Isaiah 24-27; 40-55) are more explicit in their cosmological descriptions than the earlier documents, the general view of the cosmos does not show any significant change or development throughout the OT period.” (p245-246)
Browning, WRF Dictionary of the Bible (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996):
“Hebrew cosmology pictured a flat earth, over which was a dome-shaped fimrament, supported above the earth by mountains, and surrounded by waters. Holes or sluces (windows, Gen 7.11) allowed the water to fall as rain. The firmament was the heavene in which God set the sun (Ps 19.4) and the stars (Gen 1.14) on the fourth day of the creation. There was more water under the earth (Gen 1.7) and during the Flood the two great oceans joined up and covered the earth; sheol was at the bottom of the earth (Isa 14.9; Num 16.30.” (p136)
Stuhlmueller, Carroll The Collegeville Pastoral Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1996):
“Ancient Israel imagined the earth to be a flat disk (Isa 42.5) ersting on a foundation or pillars (Job 9.6). It is surrounded by the ocean (Pss 24.2; 136.6). It has four corners (Isa 11.12; Ezek 7.2; job 37.3; 38.13) and an edge (Isa 24.36) or ends (Isa 40.8; Job 28.4; Ps 48.11; Jer 6.22; 25.32). It also has a center or navel (Ezek 38.12). Except for the implication that Jerusalem is the earth’s center, ancient Israel’s view of the world did not differ from that of other ancient Near Eastern peoples.” (p234)
Here's a few excerts from a monograph on the topic, as well: Stadelmann, Luis I J, SJ The Hebrew Conception of the World – A Philological and Literary Study (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1970):
Horizon: “Another idea, particularly noteworthy because it concerns the horizon as the boundary between earth and heaven, more clearly indicates how the heavenly dome was linked with the earth. This boundary between earth and heaven was expressed by hwg smym (Job 22.14) or hwg h’rs (Is 40.22). Literally hwg denotes a circle. It is worth noting that this term is used in cosmogonic context: ‘He [God] marks a circle on the surface of the water; As the boundary between light and darkness.’ (Job 26.10)… the horizon prevents the world from being flooded by the primeval waters by holding the sky and the earth firmly together. From the above-quoted scriptural texts we conclude that the ancient Hebrews conceived of the horizon not only as the boundary between heaven and earth, but also as the link between the dome of heaven and the surface of the earth. ” (p42) The firmament of heaven “… the imagery behind the verb nth suggests both the stretching out the heaven in the form of a cloth and the pitching a tent… the ancient Hebrews regarded heaven as the site of a building in which God dwells and in which the storehouses of rain, hail and snow are erected.” (p44) “In the sky are located the storehouses ‘wsr [wt] rendered thesauros [ous] by the LXX, containing windes, snaow and hail (Ps 135.7; Jer 10.13; 51.16; Job 38.22). The residence of God was provided with ‘lywt “upper or roof-chamber.” (Ps 104.3). The elastic imagery wherein heaven is God’s abode or a support of the primeval waters above which God resides, appears in several scriptural references. Thus, Yahweh built his royal palace on firm pillars in the rolling waters of the celestial sea above the canopy of heaven (Ps 104.3). Another passage suggests that God’s upper chambers were built in the sky itself.” (pp44-45) Rainfall: “Two essential factors for explaining this phenomenon played their part, namely, the ability to conceive of an ocean for the necessary water supply and the ability to relate the periodic rainfall to grills or sluices in the firmament which were opened at intervals to let the water pass through. This idea, that naturally suggests itself to men through their observation of rainfall, is found, though in diverse forms, among many peoples in ancient times. The ancient Hebrews believed that the firmament was punctured at intervals by ‘rbwt, the “windows of heaven” (Gen 7.11; 8.2; 2 Kings 7.2, 19; Is 24.18; Mal 3.10). “Clearly, water was believed to exist both above the heaven (cf. Ps 148.4) and inside it (cf. Jer 10.13; 51.16; see also 2 Sam 21.10). The waters above the heaven represent the celestial ocean called mbwl… The waters in the heaven were thought to be stored up in the ‘treasure houses’, either as snow or hail (cf. Job 38.22; see also Is 55.10; Josh 10.11) or kept in the clouds and released to the earth in the form of rain (cf. Gen 8.2; Is 55.10; Deut 11.11), showers (cf. Jer 14.22), or dew (cf. Gen 27.28, 39; Deut 33.28; Zech 8.12; Dan 5.21). Heaven “Heaven… was pictured as a tent. The implication of this view is that the heaven is a dwelling place, while the earth beneath lies under the sky’s protective canopy: ‘Indeed he [God] will treasure me in his abode, after the evil day: He will shelter me in his sheltering tent, will set me high upon his mountain’ (Ps 27.5).” (p52) “the Hebrews thought primarily of the heaven as the residence of God” Firmament “In the concept rqy’… used to describe the firmament, the function and the shape of the heavenly dome are essentially related. The Hebrew word rqy’ comes from the root rq’ which means “to beat, stamp, expand by beating,” and to spread out”. the meaning of the substantive rqy’ is “extended surface, (solid) expanse.” From this meaning there is derived a second, which the same root rqa’ takes in the Syriac language: this may be expressed by “press down, spread out, consolidate.” The beaten out expanse of the earth… stands as a partition in the midst of the waters to separate the upper from the lower waters.” “the Priestly writer conceived of rqy’ as something “solid”. This idea of solidity of rqy’ is conveyed also by Ezekiel in what might be called his Throne-chariot vision: ‘Over the heads of the creatures was the semblance of a rqy’, glittering like transparent ice, stretched above their heads. under the rqy’ their wings touched those on the next [creature]. And above the rqy’ that was over their heads was the semblance of a throne, coloured like sapphire. (Ez 1.22-23, 26). Then I looked and lo! upon the rqy’ that was over the head of the cherubim there appeared the semblance of a throne, colored like sapphire’ (Ez 10.1). The function of rqy’ suggests, in this context, the idea of ‘pavement, floor, base’. rqy’ is definitely not to be identified with the earth, and it is upon this rqy’ that the throne rests.” (p56) “An interesting note… is provided by the account of creation where the luminaries are said to have been ‘set’ (ntn is to be taken in the sense of sym), in the rqy’ of the sky.” (p57) Rain “Despite the limited number of passages which explicitly mention the place of origin of the precipitation, referring either to the heaven (cf the expressions mtr hsmym (Deut 11.11); kpr smym (Job 38.29); tl smym (Gen 27.28) or the storehouses in heaven (cf Job 38.22), it can be safely assumed that the ancient Hebrews actually conceived of an immense ocean located above the firmament supplying water for precipitation. This assumption rests on the usage of specific verbs employed in this context which speak of water flowing nzl, dripping ‘rp, descending yrd and falling npl from above.” (pp120-121) “the ancient Hebrews conceived of an ocean located above the firmament and related the periodic rainfall to windows (‘rbwt) and doors (dltym) in the firmament which were opened at intervals to let the waters pass through. These, however, are not the only openings in the sky through which the rain was released in due measure. This view of water channels, like irrigation canals, opened on the surface of the firmament, which caused the rain to flow down from all parts of heaven, is confirmed by a poetical passage: ‘"Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt’ (Job 38.25) Earth “the ancient Hebrews considered the universe on a three-leveled structure. The earth was located between the heaven, the upper part, and the underworld, the lowest part of the universe. The earth was regarded as a vast plain, occupied partly by the sea, partly by continents studded with mountains, furrowed by rivers, and dotted with lakes. The horizon encircling the earth quite naturally suggested the idea of a circular shape to the ancient Hebrews.” (p126) - On pillars: “Similar to the conception that the heaven was thought to be constructed on pillars, there is abundant evidence that confirms the generally accepted view that the earth is firmly fixed in its place. The idea of the stability of the earth finds expression in the foundations, cornerstones, and pillars upon which the structure of the earth is said to be built.” (p126) - On the waters of the deep: ‘He suspends the earth on nothing’ (Job 26.7b) “A likely interpretation would seem to be that the terrestrial mass which supports the continents and seas in its upper part is floating in the primeval flood.” (p127)
Whatever the apologetic excuses, it is clear that the major commentaries and dictionaries accept that the Biblical writers conceived of a 3-tiered universe.
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