רקיע

Hebrew

FWOTD – 10 February 2014

Etymology

Root
ר־ק־ע (r-q-ʿ)

From the root ר־ק־ע (r-q-`).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʁaˈkia/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /rɔːˈqiːaʕ/
• (Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /raːˈqiːaʕ/

• Audio:

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Noun

רָקִיעַ • (rāqī́aʿ) m (plural indefinite רְקִיעִים, singular construct רְקִיעַ־) [pattern: קָטִיל]

1. Firmament, sky, heavens: the concave surface on which the heavenly bodies appear to move.
   • Tanach, Genesis 1:14, with translation of the King James Version:

     […] יְהִי מְאֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַיּוֹם וּבֵין הַלָּיְלָה […]

     […] y'hí m'orót bir'qía` hashshamáyim l'havdíl bein hayyóm uvéin halláy'lah […]

     […] Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; […]

2. (mythology) Firmament: a surface separating the various levels of heaven.
   • Tanach, Ezekiel 1:26, with translation of the King James Version:

     וּמִמַּעַל לָרָקִיעַ אֲשֶׁר עַל־רֹאשָׁם כְּמַרְאֵה אֶבֶן־סַפִּיר דְּמוּת כִּסֵּא […]

     umimmá`al laraqía` 'ashér `al-roshám k'mar'é 'éven-sappír d'múth kissé' […]

     And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: […]

Derived terms

• קו רקיע (káv-rakía)

References

• H7549 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible