In Part 1, we addressed the idiomatic and poetic language of “corners” and “pillars.” However, the cornerstone of the flat earth argument often rests on a single word found in the opening chapter of Genesis: The Firmament. To defend the truth, we must look past modern English connotations and return to the Hebrew text to see what God actually revealed.
1. What is the “Firmament”?
The King James Bible uses the word “firmament” to translate the Hebrew word rakia.
“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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 1:6-7, KJV)
Modern flat earth proponents argue that because the English word “firmament” sounds like “firm,” it must describe a solid, glass-like dome. They point to the Latin firmamentum to support this. However, the original Hebrew rakia comes from a root meaning “to beat out” or “to expand,” like a goldsmith beating out a thin sheet of metal or, more accurately, the spreading out of an expanse.
2. The Expanse of the Heavens
The Bible itself defines the firmament not as a solid lid, but as the space where birds fly and stars reside.
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” (Genesis 1:20, KJV)
If the firmament were a solid, impenetrable dome just above the clouds, the “open firmament” could not host the flight of birds. Scripturally, the firmament is the expanse—the atmosphere and the vastness of space—that God stretched out.
“Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.” (Job 9:8, KJV)
3. The “Waters Above”
A central point of confusion involves the “waters which were above the firmament.” Flat earth theorists suggest this is a literal ocean held back by a dome. However, when we look at the water cycle described elsewhere in the bible, a clearer picture emerges:
“For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.” (Job 36:27-28, KJV)
The “waters above” refers to the massive reservoirs of water vapor and clouds held within the expanse of the atmosphere. God created a system where the life-giving waters are separated from the seas below, suspended by the laws of physics He established.
4. The Windows of Heaven
During the Flood of Noah, the Scripture says the “windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11). Some use this to suggest literal trapdoors in a dome. Yet, we must use the same logic we apply to other scriptures. When God promises to “open the windows of heaven” to pour out a blessing (Malachi 3:10), no one expects literal glass windows to open in the sky. It is a Hebrew metaphor for the abundant release of God’s provision—in Noah’s case, judgment; in Malachi’s case, blessing.
Conclusion: A Vast, Ordered Creation
The firmament is not a prison-like dome that keeps us in; it is an expansive display of God’s power that points us upward. To claim the Bible teaches a flat earth based on the word “firmament” is to ignore the Hebrew meaning and the broader context of the KJV.
As we look for the Lord’s Return, we do not look for a crack in a dome; we look for the “heavens to depart as a scroll” (Revelation 6:14). This describes a cosmic unfolding of the very expanse God stretched out at the beginning.