The Astronomy of the Bible Part 3

FOOTNOTES:

[26:1] _Records of the Past_, vol. i. p. 124.

[27:1] _The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of a.s.syria and Babylonia_, by T. G. Pinches, p. 16.

[28:1] _The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of a.s.syria and Babylonia_, by T. G. Pinches, p. 16.

[28:2] _Records of the Past_, vol. i. p. 140.

[28:3] _Ibid._ p. 142.

[30:1] _The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of a.s.syria and Babylonia_, by T. G. Pinches, p. 49.

[31:1] _Babel and Bible_, Johns' translation, pp. 36 and 37.

[31:2] _The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of a.s.syria and Babylonia_, by T. G. Pinches, p. 48.

CHAPTER IV

THE FIRMAMENT

The sixth verse of the first chapter of Genesis presents a difficulty as to the precise meaning of the princ.i.p.al word, viz. that translated _firmament_.

"And G.o.d said, Let there be a _raqia'_ in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And G.o.d made the _raqia'_, and divided the waters which were under the _raqia'_ from the waters which were above the _raqia'_: and it was so. And G.o.d called the _raqia'_ _Shamayim_. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

It is, of course, perfectly clear that by the word _raqia'_ in the preceding pa.s.sage it is the atmosphere that is alluded to. But later on in the chapter the word is used in a slightly different connection. "G.o.d said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven."

As we look upward from the earth, we look through a twofold medium. Near the earth we have our atmosphere; above that there is inter-stellar s.p.a.ce, void of anything, so far as we know, except the Ether. We are not able to detect any line of demarcation where our atmosphere ends, and the outer void begins. Both therefore are equally spoken of as "the firmament"; and yet there is a difference between the two. The lower supports the clouds; in the upper are set the two great lights and the stars. The upper, therefore, is emphatically _reqia' ha.s.shamayim_, "the firmament of heaven," of the "uplifted." It is "in the face of"--that is, "before," or "under the eyes of," "beneath,"--this higher expanse that the fowls of the air fly to and fro.

The firmament, then, is that which Tennyson sings of as "the central blue," the seeming vault of the sky, which we can consider as at any height above us that we please. The clouds are above it in one sense; yet in another, sun, moon and stars, which are clearly far higher than the clouds, are set in it.

There is no question therefore as to what is referred to by the word "firmament"; but there is a question as to the etymological meaning of the word, and a.s.sociated with that, a question as to how the Hebrews themselves conceived of the celestial vault.

The word _raqia'_, translated "firmament," properly signifies "an expanse," or "extension," something stretched or beaten out. The verb from which this noun is derived is often used in Scripture, both as referring to the heavens and in other connections. Thus in Job x.x.xvii.

18, the question is asked, "Canst thou with Him _spread out_ the sky, which is strong as a molten mirror?" Eleazar, the priest, after the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram took the brazen censers of the rebels, and they were "_made broad_ plates for a covering of the altar."

The goldsmith described by Isaiah as making an idol, "_spreadeth it over_ with gold"; whilst Jeremiah says, "silver _spread_ into plates is brought from Tars.h.i.+sh." Again, in Psalm cx.x.xvi., in the account of creation we have the same word used with reference to the earth, "To him that _stretched out_ the earth above the waters." In this and in many other pa.s.sages the idea of extension is clearly that which the word is intended to convey. But the Seventy, in making the Greek Version of the Old Testament, were naturally influenced by the views of astronomical science then held in Alexandria, the centre of Greek astronomy. Here, and at this time, the doctrine of the crystalline spheres--a misunderstanding of the mathematical researches of Eudoxus and others--held currency. These spheres were supposed to be a succession of perfectly transparent and invisible solid sh.e.l.ls, in which the sun, moon, and planets were severally placed. The Seventy no doubt considered that in rendering _raqia'_, by _stereoma_, i. e. firmament, thus conveying the idea of a solid structure, they were speaking the last word of up-to-date science.

There should be no reluctance in ascribing to the Hebrews an erroneous scientific conception if there is any evidence that they held it. We cannot too clearly realize that the writers of the Scriptures were not supernaturally inspired to give correct technical scientific descriptions; and supposing they had been so inspired, we must bear in mind that we should often consider those descriptions wrong just in proportion to their correctness, for the very sufficient reason that not even our own science of to-day has yet reached finality in all things.

There should be no reluctance in ascribing to the Hebrews an erroneous scientific conception if there is any evidence that they held it. In this case, there is no such evidence; indeed, there is strong evidence to the contrary.

The Hebrew word _raqia'_, as already shown, really signifies "extension," just as the word for heaven, _shamayim_ means the "uplifted." In these two words, therefore, significant respectively of a surface and of height, there is a recognition of the "three dimensions,"--in other words, of s.p.a.ce.

When we wish to refer to super-terrestrial s.p.a.ce, we have two expressions in modern English by which to describe it: we can speak of "the vault of heaven," or of "the canopy of heaven." "The vault of heaven" is most used, it has indeed been recently adopted as the t.i.tle of a scientific work by a well-known astronomer. But the word _vault_ certainly gives the suggestion of a solid structure; whilst the word _canopy_ calls up the idea of a slighter covering, probably of some textile fabric.

The reasons for thinking that the Hebrews did not consider the "firmament" a solid structure are, first, that the word does not necessarily convey that meaning; next, that the att.i.tude of the Hebrew mind towards nature was not such as to require this idea. The question, "What holds up the waters above the firmament?" would not have troubled them. It would have been sufficient for them, as for the writer to the Hebrews, to consider that G.o.d was "upholding all things by the word of His power," and they would not have troubled about the machinery. But besides this, there are many pa.s.sages in Scripture, some occurring in the earliest books, which expressly speak of the clouds as carrying the water; so that the expressions placing waters "above the firmament," or "above the heavens," can mean no more than "in the clouds." Indeed, as we shall see, quite a clear account is given of the atmospheric circulation, such as could hardly be mended by a modern poet.

It is true that David sang that "the _foundations_ of heaven moved and shook, because He was wroth," and Job says that "the _pillars_ of heaven tremble and are astonished at His reproof." But not only are the references to foundations and pillars evidently intended merely as poetic imagery, but they are also used much more frequently of the earth, and yet at the same time Job expressly points out that G.o.d "stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." The Hebrew formed no ideas like those of the Hindus, who thought the earth supported by elephants, the elephants by a tortoise, the tortoise by a snake.

In Scripture, in most cases the word "earth" (_eretz_) does not mean the solid ma.s.s of this our planet, but only its surface; the "dry land" as opposed to the "seas"; the countries, the dwelling place of man and beast. The "pillars" or "foundations" of the earth in this sense are the great systems of the rocks, and these were conceived of as directly supported by the power of G.o.d, without any need of intermediary structures. The Hebrew clearly recognized that it is the will of G.o.d alone that keeps the whole secure.

Thus Hannah sang--

"The pillars of the earth are the Lord's, And He hath set the world upon them."

And Asaph represents the Lord as saying:--

"The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it."

Yet again, just as we speak of "the celestial canopy," so Psalm civ.

describes the Lord as He "who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain," and Isaiah gives the image in a fuller form,--"that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." The same expression of "stretching out the heavens" is repeatedly used in Isaiah; it is indeed one of his typical phrases. Here, beyond question, extension, spreading out, is the idea sought to be conveyed, not that of solidity.

The prophet Amos uses yet another parallel. "It is He that buildeth His stories in the heaven." While Isaiah speaks of the entire stellar universe as the tent or pavilion of Jehovah, Amos likens the height of the heavens as the steps up to His throne; the "stories" are the "ascent," as Moses speaks of the "ascent of Akrabbim," and David makes "the ascent" of the Mount of Olives. The Hebrews cannot have regarded the heavens as, literally, both staircase and reservoir.

The firmament, _i. e._ the atmosphere, is spoken of as dividing between the waters that are under the firmament, _i. e._ oceans, seas, rivers, etc., from the waters that are above the firmament, _i. e._ the ma.s.ses of water vapour carried by the atmosphere, seen in the clouds, and condensing from them as rain. We get the very same expression as this of the "waters which were above" in the Psalm of Praise:--

"Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, And ye waters that be above the heavens;"

and again in the Song of the Three Children:--

"O all ye waters that be above the heaven, bless ye the Lord."

In the later books of the Bible the subject of the circulation of water through the atmosphere is referred to much more fully. Twice over the prophet Amos describes Jehovah as "He that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth." This is not merely a reference to the tides, for the Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes expressly points out that "all the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again"; and Isaiah seems to employ something of the same thought:

"For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater."

Schiaparelli indeed argues that this very pa.s.sage from Isaiah "expressly excludes any idea of an atmospheric circulation of waters"[41:1] on the ground that the water so falling is thought to be trans.m.u.ted into seeds and fruits. But surely the image is as true as it is beautiful! The rain is absorbed by vegetation, and is trans.m.u.ted into seeds and fruit, and it would go hard to say that the same particles of rain are again evaporated and taken up afresh into the clouds. Besides, if we complete the quotation we find that what is stated is that the rain does not return _until_ it has accomplished its purpose:--

"So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

Elihu describes the process of evaporation precisely:--

"Behold, G.o.d is great, and we know Him not; The number of His years is unsearchable.

For He draweth up the drops of water, Which distil in rain from His vapour: Which the skies pour down And drop upon man abundantly."

Throughout the books of Holy Scripture, the connection between the clouds and the rain is clearly borne in mind. Deborah says in her song "the clouds dropped water." In the Psalms there are many references. In lxxvii. 17, "The clouds poured out water;" in cxlvii. 8, "Who covereth the heaven with clouds, Who prepareth rain for the earth." Proverbs xvi.

15, "His favour is as a cloud of the latter rain." The Preacher says that "clouds return after the rain"; and Isaiah, "I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it"; and Jude, "Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds."

The clouds, too, were not conceived as being heavy. Nahum says that "the clouds are the dust of His feet," and Isaiah speaks of "a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest." The Preacher clearly understood that "the waters above" were not pent in by solid barriers; that they were carried by the clouds; for "if the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth." And Job says of Jehovah, "He bindeth up the waters in His thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them;" and, later, Jehovah Himself asks:--

"Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?