Firmament is a name for the sky or the heavens, generally used in the context of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In the Vulgate, the word firmamentum is used, which in Classical Latin means a strengthening or support. For Jewish and Christian astronomers familiar with Greek astronomy, the firmament was the eighth sphere carrying the fixed stars and surrounding the seven spheres of the planets in the geocentric model. Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century version in Latin, partly revised and partly translated by Jerome on the orders of Pope Damasus I in 382. ... Classical Latin is the language used by the principal exponents of that language in what is usually regarded as classical Latin literature. ... A recreation of the famous Library of Alexandria Greek astronomy is the astronomy of those who spoke Greek in classical antiquity. ... This drawing from an Icelandic manuscript dated around 1750 shows the Earth surrounded by the eight classical spheres. ... A fixed star is a celestial object that does not seem to move (in comparison to the other stars of the night sky). ... It has been suggested that Classical Planets be merged into this article or section. ... “Geocentric” redirects here. ...

The word is mentioned in the Bible, in the course of the creation story of (Genesis 1:6–8): This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... This article is about the biblical text. ...

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. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

It appears that the ancients believed that there were bodies of water, one in the sky and one on earth, and that something structural — a firmament — would be necessary to keep the water of the heavens separated from the body of earthly water. They may have believed, furthermore, that this firmament was essentially an elliptical dome, atop a flat Earth, upon which the stars were affixed. Once medieval Christians had taken up the Ptolemaic system, the idea of the firmament had to be accommodated to a spherical Earth and celestial spheres. For the 1984 album by Thomas Dolby, see The Flat Earth. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Mediaeval drawing of the Ptolemaic system. ... Medieval artistic representation of a spherical Earth - with compartments representing earth, air, and water (c. ... The celestial spheres relate to Johannes Keplers work Harmonia Mundi in which he drew together theories from the world of music, architecture, planetary motion and astronomy and linked them together to form an idea of a harmony and cohesion underlying all world phenomena and ruled by a divine force. ...

See also

• Shamayim
• Hebrew astronomy
• Biblical cosmology
• Primum Mobile
• Celestial spheres

Shamayim (literally sky in Hebrew) or the Heavens, was an important concept in the religions and cosmology of the ancient Levant. ... Hebrew astronomy refers to any astronomy written in Hebrew or by Hebrew speakers, or translated into Hebrew. ... It has been suggested that Biblical astronomy be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The celestial spheres relate to Johannes Keplers work Harmonia Mundi in which he drew together theories from the world of music, architecture, planetary motion and astronomy and linked them together to form an idea of a harmony and cohesion underlying all world phenomena and ruled by a divine force. ...

External links

• The Vault of Heaven.
• Firmament, Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Global Warming - The Aftermath of Noah's Flood