1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse 1 in the midst of the waters and let it separate water 2 from water.
1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place 3 and let dry ground appear.” 4 It was so.
24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,
and established 5 it upon the ocean currents. 6
33:6 By the Lord’s decree 7 the heavens were made;
by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. 8
136:6 to the one who spread out the earth over the water,
for his loyal love endures,
1 tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”
2 tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”
3 sn Let the water…be gathered to one place. In the beginning the water covered the whole earth; now the water was to be restricted to an area to form the ocean. The picture is one of the dry land as an island with the sea surrounding it. Again the sovereignty of God is revealed. Whereas the pagans saw the sea as a force to be reckoned with, God controls the boundaries of the sea. And in the judgment at the flood he will blur the boundaries so that chaos returns.
4 tn When the waters are collected to one place, dry land emerges above the surface of the receding water.
5 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.
6 sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.
7 tn Heb “word.”
8 tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.
9 tn Grk “ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 1:2 for same usage.
10 tn Grk “by God’s word.”
11 sn The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that what is seen did not come into being from things that are visible.”