1. Day Two A Haven for Life
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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.
Background: Magnetosphere (Source: WIKI)
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2. Habitable Zone Not habitable without protection due to:
• Mass ejections
from the Sun
• Hard cosmic
and solar rays
• Bombardment
by space debris
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3. Shields to protect the Earth
Solution: Raqia
Shields to protect the Earth
Separation between inner and outer space
… This is the task of Day Two.
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4. Types of Shields … • Magnetosphere • Gravitational Shields
• Ozone Layer
• The Atmosphere Itself
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Magnetosphere

5. What is the Raqia? Septuagint Translation of Hebrew to Greek (200 BC)
Hebrew Raqia  Greek Stereoma – A solid dome or cover
Reflects the "science" of the day
Vulgate Translation of Hebrew/Greek into Latin (400 AD)
Greek Stereoma  Latin Firmamentum — Also Solid
King James Translation:
Latin Firmamentum  English Firmament
( just transliterated the Latin)
Some Modern Translations:
English Firmament  "Dome" or other word indicating solidity;
… or "Expanse" which could go either way.
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6. PROBLEM: Hebrew Raqia does not necessarily imply solidity.
… So this introduces a concept of solidity that is not in the
original Hebrew text, and furthermore violates both science
and common sense.
Walter Mauner, Astronomy and the Bible (1908): "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 Space." …
"The Hebrews did not consider the 'firmament' a solid structure."
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7. Comments on Water
"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
- Mauner viewed this as water in clouds and water on earth.
I disagree, but this is a minor point.
• "Waters above the Raqia" are the nastiness of outer space,
collectively described with the term "water" – as in Verse 2,
set before the Big Bang.
• I see Day Two as a transition between general term "water"
as cosmic water in 1:2, and the specific term "water" of normal usage.
… St. Augustine in reference to 1:2: "We might say that by the term 'water' the sacred writer wished to designate the whole of material creation." [I.15.30]
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8. Conclusion
• Day Two describes the essential task of protecting the Earth
as a haven for life.
• The "Firmament" is a series of invisible shields that achieve
this purpose.
• The word "Firmament" is an error of translation that goes back
to the first translation of Hebrew into Greek, and has been carried
on from that point. A better term is "expanse" or "shield."
• The firmament of Day Two is not solid; it is immaterial, but a real
physical necessity for life on earth. The concept of solidity was
introduced by the translators of the Septuagint.
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