Amplified Bible
Genesis 1:6
6And God said, “Let there be an expanse [of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below the expanse] from the waters [above the expanse].”
Genesis 1:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
- New International Version (NIV)And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
Context of Genesis 1:6
4God saw that the light was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it; and God separated the light [distinguishing it] from the darkness. 5And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. And God said, “Let there be an expanse [of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below the expanse] from the waters [above the expanse].” 7And God made the expanse [of sky] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so [just as He commanded]. 8God called the expanse [of sky] heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Read all of Genesis 1Genesis 1:6 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 1:6
- Genesis 1:14Then God said, “Let there be light-bearers (sun, moon, stars) in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be useful for signs (tokens) [of God’s provident care], and for marking seasons, days, and years;
- Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that same day all the fountains of the great deep [subterranean waters] burst open, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened.
- Job 26:7It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness And hangs the earth on nothing.
- Job 37:11He loads the thick cloud with moisture; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.
- Job 38:22Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
- Psalms 19:1The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
- Psalms 33:6By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, And all their host by the breath of His mouth.
- Psalms 104:2[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,
- Psalms 136:5To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness endures forever;
- Psalms 148:4Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters above the heavens!
- Psalms 150:1Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
- Ecclesiastes 11:3If the clouds are full [of rain], they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it lies.
- Jeremiah 10:10But the Lord is the true God and the God who is Truth; He is the living God and the everlasting King. The earth quakes and shudders at His wrath, And the nations are not able to endure His indignation.
- Jeremiah 51:15He made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom And stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Zechariah 12:1The oracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him:
Commentaries on Genesis 1:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6And God said, Let there be a firmament - Our translators, by following the firmamentum of the Vulgate, which is a translation of the of the Septuagint, have deprived this passage of all sense and meaning. The Hebrew word רקיע rakia, from רקע raka, to spread out as the curtains of a tent or pavilion, simply signifies an expanse or space, and consequently that circumambient space or expansion separating the clouds, which are in the higher regions of it…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 - IV. The Second Day 6. רקיע rāqı̂ya‛ “expanse;” ́ stereōma רקע rāqa‛ “spread out by beating, as leaf gold.” This expanse was not understood to be solid, as the fowl is said to fly on the face of it Genesis 1:21. It is also described as luminous Daniel 12:3, and as a monument of divine power Psalm 150:1. 7. עשׂה ‛āśâh “work on,” “make out of already existing materials.” The second act of creative power bears upon the deep of waters, over…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-13Verses 6-13 The earth was emptiness, but by a word spoken, it became full of God's riches, and his they are still. Though the use of them is allowed to man, they are from God, and to his service and honour they must be used. The earth, at his command, brings forth grass, herbs, and fruits. God must have the glory of all the benefit we receive from the produce of the earth. If we have, through grace, an interest in Him who is the Fountain, we may rejoice…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-8The creation story describes how things appear from a human perspective. The sky looks like a shiny dome separating two groups of water (see Job 37:18; Ezekiel 1:22). In the ancient Near East, people understood the universe to have three levels, with rain coming from the highest level (see Genesis 7:11–12 and study note).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-86. firmament--an expanse--a beating out as a plate of metal: a name given to the atmosphere from its appearing to an observer to be the vault of heaven, supporting the weight of the watery clouds. By the creation of an atmosphere, the lighter parts of the waters which overspread the earth's surface were drawn up and suspended in the visible heavens, while the larger and heavier mass remained below. The air was thus "in the midst of the waters," that is…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 1:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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