ESTUDIO DEL VERSÍCULO
Genesis 1:7 — The Dividing of the Waters
God makes the firmament and separates the waters above it from the waters below it, and it is so.
Escritura
- 7.E hizo Dios la expansión, y separó las aguas que estaban debajo de la expansión, de las aguas que estaban sobre la expansión. Y fue así.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.
Qué significa este pasaje
Genesis 1:7 is the report of completion for the command issued in verse 6. The passage says, in the English text provided: "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." The verse moves from speech to result: what God said is then done, and the closing formula "and it was so" confirms that the spoken word produced the intended reality.
The action centers on the verb "divided." The waters that already existed (Genesis 1:2) are sorted into two realms by means of the firmament. The writer is not explaining the physics of the sky but describing a deliberate ordering: a barrier is placed between the upper waters and the lower waters so that each occupies its own sphere. The naming of the firmament as "Heaven" comes in verse 8, but the separation itself is the focus of verse 7.
Structurally, verse 7 fits the second of the six creation days. Unlike days one, three, and six, day two does not carry an evaluation of the work as "good"; the chapter applies that phrase only on the other days. The verse instead closes with the simpler confirmation formula "and it was so," signaling that the word spoken in verse 6 has been carried out exactly as declared.
Contexto
Genesis 1:7 falls within the second day of the creation week. The wider context begins with the initial state of the earth in verses 1–2, followed by the first day's separation of light and darkness (verses 3–5). The command to place a firmament "in the midst of the waters" is given in verse 6, and verse 7 reports its execution. Verse 8 then names the firmament Heaven and closes the second day with the standard "evening and morning" formula.
The chapter's overriding pattern is consistent throughout: God speaks, the result follows, and the work is named or evaluated. Verse 7 shows the same pattern without the evaluation phrase. The next day's work, in verse 9, gathers the lower waters into one place so that dry land can appear, which presupposes that the waters below the firmament have already been set apart from the waters above it by the act described in verse 7.
Palabras clave del original
- H7549 rāqîaʿ, translated "firmament" in the verse. The provided definition describes it as "an expanse, i.e. the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky." In verse 7 the term denotes the barrier God sets between the upper waters and the lower waters.
- H0914 bādal, glossed "separated" in the verse. The verb expresses the act of sorting the waters into two distinct realms by means of the firmament, an act associated elsewhere in the chapter with the verb used in 1:4 for dividing light from darkness.
- H4325 mayim, glossed "waters." The definition supplied describes water in its literal sense, with figurative extensions to juice and, euphemistically, urine and semen. In verse 7 mayim appears twice, referring first to the waters under the firmament and then to the waters above the firmament.
Versículos relacionados
- Psalms 148:4 The psalm calls on "waters that are above the heavens" to praise God, echoing the upper waters distinguished in Genesis 1:7 and treating them as a distinct creation that still owes its praise to the Maker.
- Proverbs 8:28 Proverbs personifies Wisdom present at creation, recalling the moment "when he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong," a parallel to the firmament and waters spoken of in Genesis 1:7.
- Genesis 1:9 The following day's command gathers the lower waters into one place so that dry land appears. The act presupposes that the waters below the firmament have already been separated from the waters above it, as reported in Genesis 1:7.
Preguntas frecuentes
What is the firmament in Genesis 1:7?
In the verse the firmament is the barrier God places between the waters above and the waters below. The original-language entry provided for H7549 defines it as "an expanse, i.e. the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky," and the verse itself uses it as the divider separating the two bodies of water.
Why does the second day omit the phrase "it was good"?
The provided chapter text includes the evaluation phrase on days one, three, four, five, and six, but not on day two. Verse 7 closes instead with the simpler confirmation formula "and it was so." The reason for this difference is not stated in the text provided.
How does Genesis 1:7 relate to the command in verse 6?
Verse 6 records God's word to place a firmament in the midst of the waters. Verse 7 reports that word being carried out: the firmament is made and the waters are divided. The closing phrase "and it was so" confirms that the result matches the command, illustrating the chapter's pattern of speech followed by fulfillment.