Bible Strands
Genesis 1:6
And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks alone; no addressee is named. This is the second day, following the division of light from darkness (Gen 1:5).
The words — רָקִיעַ (raqiʿaʾ) is the noun for the expanse; its root רקע (raqaʿ) means "to beat out, to spread thin," as in hammering metal. The text thus names the structure by the action of stretching it taut.
The thread — The "stretching out" motif recurs in Jeremiah 51:15 (the heavens stretched out by His understanding) and Job 37:18 (skies spread out like a mirror of bronze). Psalms 33:6 ties the same act to the spoken word.
Why it lands — The verse presents creation as an act of ordering: one undifferentiated mass of waters is divided into two by a named structure. The reader is asked to take the text at its own level—a deliberate, purposeful separation—not to resolve it into metaphor.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 51:15 The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Job 37:18 can you, like Him, spread out the skies, as strong as a mirror of bronze?
- Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
- Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing.
- Jeremiah 10:12 The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Psalms 104:2 He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Psalms 148:4 Praise Him, O highest heavens, and you waters above the skies.
- Psalms 33:9 For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Psalms 136:5 By His insight He made the heavens. His loving devotion endures forever.
- Psalms 19:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.