New King James Version
Genesis 1:6
6Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
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 Living Translation (NLT)Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.”
Context of Genesis 1:6
4And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7Thus 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. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the 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 lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;
- Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
- Job 26:7He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.
- Job 37:11Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds.
- Job 38:22“Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
- Psalms 19:1The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
- Psalms 33:6By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
- Psalms 104:2Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
- Psalms 136:5To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever;
- Psalms 148:4Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!
- Psalms 150:1Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
- Ecclesiastes 11:3If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
- Jeremiah 10:10But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
- Jeremiah 51:15He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, And stretched out the heaven by His understanding.
- Zechariah 12:1The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries