Bible Geek Word Nerd - Heavens and Earth

Heavens and Earth

May 6, 2022

“In the beginning, God created the HEAVENS and the EARTH.”

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

Genesis 1:1

 

Keeping with the Text at its very beginning – its RESHITH – we turn to what G-d created (BARA) when he created it. The Text says “the heavens and the earth”, which seems simple enough. But we moderns pour meaning and inference into these terms that the Ancient Near Eastern audience would not.

 

The word translated as “heavens” in that verse is the Hebrew word SHAMAYIM (שָׁמַיִם). From an Hebraic perspective, the word refers generally to that whole expanse above our heads. So, it is also “sky”. From the ancient near eastern perspective, the term represents the place where the gods dwell, their domain. For the Jews, the word came to be a euphemism for G-d Himself, as in when Jesus the Messiah would speak of the “Kingdom of Heaven”.

 

The origin of the word is interesting and mysterious. Jewish tradition teaches that it’s a compound of two other Hebrew words: ESH (אֵשׂ) and MAYIM (מַיִם). ESH is the Hebrew word for “fire”, and MAYIM is the Hebrew word for “water”. So the heavens are where fire and water reside, which for anyone who’s watched a Spring thunderstorm roll across the landscape, is a perfectly apt description.

 

There are many more connotations to derive from the blending of ESH and MAYIM (how often G-d manifests as fire, either symbolically or literally, or how often water is associated with G-d). Perhaps in future posts, we can explore those connotations.