Genesis

[John Reece]

This is a non-debate thread that I am starting in response to a request via PM.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:1):

‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

Transliteration:

bᵉrē’shı̂t bārā’ ’ᵉlōhı̂m ’ēt hashshāmayim wᵉ’ēt hā’ārets

Translation (Wenham):

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Notes:

The syntactic relationship of verse 1 to verse 2 is problematic. This translation takes verse 1 to be the main clause and verse 2 as circumstantial to verse 3. Hebrew lacks the definite article in ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏בְּרֵאשִׁית (literally "in beginning") but "in the beginning" is an acceptable translation (Joüon, 137k). Omission of the definite article is regular in temporal phrases and does not indicate that ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏רֵאשִׁית should be taken as construct [...]. — Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15 (WBC).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

bᵉrē’shı̂t/‏בְּרֵאשִׁית : bᵉ/‏בְּ + rē’shı̂t/‏רֵאשִׁית : in beginning.
bārā’/‏בָּרָא = Qal perfect 3 m.s. : he created.
’ᵉlōhı̂m/‏אֱלֹהִים : God.
’ēt/‏אֵת : mark of the accusative; indicates direct object.
hashshāmayim/‏הַשָּׁמַיִם : definite article + shāmayim/‏‏שָׁמַיִם : the heaven(s), sky.
wᵉ’ēt/‏וְאֵת : conjunction wᵉ/‏וְ + direct object marker : and.
hā’ārets/‏הָאָרֶץ : definite article + pausal vocalization of ’erets/‏‏אֶרֶץ : the earth.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

heaven and earth The definite article in the Hebrew specifies the observable universe. The use here of a merism, the combination of opposites, expresses the totality of cosmic phenomena, for which there is no single word in Hebrew. The subsequent usage of each term separately refers to the sky and dry land in the more restricted and concrete sense..

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:2a):

‏‏וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ

Transliteration:

wᵉhā’ārets hāyᵉtāh tōhū wābōhū

Translation (Hamilton):

And the earth — it was a desert and a wasteland.

Comment:

The first issue is the understanding of the two words tōhū wābōhū. [...] Both these words are nouns, and thus we have translated them a desert and a wasteland. [...] On the one hand, the second word — bōhū — appears only three times in the OT and always in conjunction with tōhū (here; Isaiah 34:11,. "the confusion [tōhū] and the plummet of chaos [bōhū]"; and Jeremiah 4:23,. "the earth, and lo it was waste [tōhū] and void [bōhū]. On the other hand, tōhū appears twenty times in the OT and unlike bōhū may stand on its own. Eleven of these occurrences are in Isaiah [...]. In Deuteronomy 32:10. the word is used in parallel with "desert" (midbār) and "wilderness" (yᵉshimōn). The word also designates "desert" in Job 26:7,. here a place of virtual death for any straying travelers. It is used to describe a deserted city in Isaiah 24:10. The same concept of vastness and emptiness is illustrated by Job 26:7,. "He stretches the north over the void [tōhū], suspends the earth on nothing [bᵉlī-māh]. [...] — Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis 1-17 (NICOT).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

wᵉhā’ārets/‏וְהָאָרֶץ : wᵉ/‏וְ + definite article + ’erets/‏‏אֶרֶץ : and the earth.
hāyᵉtāh/‏‏הָיְתָה : Qal perfect 3 f.s. of hāyāh/‏‏‏הָיָה : it was.
tōhū/‏‏תֹהוּ : desert, emptiness.
wābōhū/‏‏וָבֹהוּ : wᵉ/‏וְ + bōhū/‏‏‏בֹהוּ : and wasteness.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

‏‏תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ This compound phrase appears again in the Bible in Jeremiah's prophetic vision of the return of the primal chaos (Jeremiah 4:23-27), thus leaving no doubt that the phrase designates the initial chaotic state of the earth. That God should create disorganized matter, only to reduce it to order, presents no more of a problem than does His taking six days to complete creation instead of instantaneously producing a perfected universe. The quintessential point of the narrative is the idea of ordering that is the result of divine intent. It is a fundamental biblical teaching that the original, divinely ordained order in the physical world has its counterpart in the divinely ordained universal moral order to which the human race is subject.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:2b):

‏‏‏וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם

Transliteration:

wᵉkhōshek ‘al-pᵉnē tᵉhōm

Translation (Hamilton):

darkness was on the face of the deep..

Comment:

‏‏‏חֹשֶׁךְ "darkness" is another evocative word in Hebrew. [...] Prima facie, it is just another description of the primeval waste, but it could hint at the hidden presence of God waiting to reveal himself. [...] ‏‏‏תְהוֹם "deep," "deep waters," occurs 36 times in the OT. Its basic meaning "deep water," is found in many passages. [...] In a small number of passages, including this one, ‏‏‏תְהוֹם is identified with the primeval ocean that is supposed to surround and underlie the earth (e.g. Genesis 7:11). But there is no hint in the biblical text that the deep was a power, independent of God, which he had to fight to control. Rather it is part of his creation that does his bidding (cf. Psalm 104:6; Proverbs 8:27-28). — Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

wᵉkhōshek/‏וְחֹשֶׁךְ : wᵉ/‏וְ + khōshek/‏חֹשֶׁךְ : when darkness.
‘al/‏עַל : preposition : upon.
pᵉnē/‏פְּנֵי : plural construct of pāneh/‏‏‏פָּנֶה : the face of.
tᵉhōm/‏תְהוֹם : the deep.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

• darkness: Throughout the Bible darkness is often a symbol of evil, misfortune, death, and oblivion. Here it seems to be not just the absence of light but a distinct entity, the origin of which is left unclear. Isaiah 45:7,. however explicitly ascribes it existence to divine creation.

• the deep: Hebrew tehom, the cosmic abyssal water that enveloped the earth. [...] It is instructive that tehom is treated as a Hebrew proper name; like all such names, it never appears with the definite article. Although not feminine in grammatical form, it is frequently employed with a feminine verb or adjective. [...] Here in Genesis, tehom is thoroughly demythologized.

[Eeset-Shadowgrl]

John I have a question about the very first words. Could "in beginning" be translated to mean "in beginning" as in the sense of Moses starting the passage rather than "in the beginning" referring to a starting point of all creation? I know this really doesn't effect what follows but to me it has a different nuance in the sense that eternity can have no beginning nor end but certainly a teacher might introduce a subject by saying "to start with the explanation...".

[John Reece]

Could "in beginning" be translated to mean "in beginning" as in the sense of Moses starting the passage rather than "in the beginning" referring to a starting point of all creation?

Yes. There are four possible translations, which are summarized by Hamilton thus:

• (1) The first word, bᵉrē’shīt ["in beginning"], is in the absolute state (i.e., it functions independently of any other word) and all of verse 1 is an independent clause and a complete sentence.

• (2) The first word is an indeterminate noun, used as a relative designation: "Initially (or first, to start with) God created ..."

• (3) The first word is in the construct state (i.e., functions in close connection with another word, usually a noun) and the verse is a temporal clause subordinated to verse 2: "When God began to create ... the earth was without form and void"

• (4) The first word is in the construct state and the verse is a temporal clause subordinated to verse 3, with verse 2 taken as a parenthesis: "When God began to create the heavens and the earth — the earth being without form and void — God said ..."

Hamilton adds:

How shall we decide among these possibilities? A knowledge of the Hebrew language will not be sufficient in itself to settle the matter, for all four positions have been advocated by competent Hebraists, both ancient and modern. A survey of the extensive literature on the subject reveals that interpretations (1) and (4) have by far the widest support.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:2c):

‏‏‏‏וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם

Transliteration:

wᵉrūakh ’ᵉlōhīm mᵉrakhepet ‘al-pᵉnē hammāyim

Translation (Hamilton):

and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters..

Comment:

In those texts in which one has a legitimate choice between "breath" and "spirit" [...], the emphasis is one of energizing, giving life and vitality, creating and not uncreating. If the emphasis that Genesis 1:2 wishes to make is that the rūakh is a destructive force, then we must opt for "wind." If the emphasis that Genesis 1:2 wishes to make is that the rūakh is a beneficent force, then we must opt for "S/spirit." It seems clear that the latter option is the preferable one. Even Luyster takes the participle mᵉrakhepet to mean "to hover" as a leader, a guide, a protector. — Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis Chapters 1-17 (NICOT).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

wᵉrūakh/‏וְרוּחַ : wᵉ/‏וְ + construct rūakh/‏רוּחַ : and the spirit of.
’ᵉlōhīm/‏אֱלֹהִים : God.
mᵉrakhepet/‏מְרַחֶפֶת : Piel f.s. participle of rākhap/‏‏רָחַף : was hovering.
‘al/‏עַל : preposition : over.
pᵉnē/‏פְּנֵי : plural construct of pāneh/‏‏‏פָּנֶה : the surface of.
hammāyim/‏‏הַמָּיִם : definite article + māyim/‏‏הַמָּיִם : the waters.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

‏‏‏‏רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים Hebrew rūakh means "wind, breath, spirit." "Wind is the most popular rendering of the word in ancient and medieval Jewish sources. [...] Another interpretation takes rūakh in the sense of God's creative, life-giving, sustaining energy. Still a third possibility lies in its use as a term heralding the arrival of God, expressing His immanence, or symbolizing His presence. The last two explanations connect the phrase with the following verse, thus alerting us to an imminent, dramatic development: God is about to transform the inert, disorganized matter, to affect it by His presence, to animate it with His spirit.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:3):

‏‏‏‏‏וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר

Transliteration:

wayyō’mer ’ᵉlōhīm yᵉhī ’ōr wayᵉhī-’ōr

Translation (Hamilton):

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Comment:

Actually there are only two narrated words of God on this first day: yᵉhī ’ōr, "Let there be light." Everything else [...] is from the narrator. Yet it is the words of God, however brief, that are paramount. [...] Verse 3 also introduces the reader to the frequently used phrase of Gen 1 — and God said [...]. It is the Vulgate translation of verse 3 fiat lux, "Let there be light," that has given birth to the phrase "creation by fiat." The emphasis is on creation by speech or command. — Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis Chapters 1-17 (NICOT).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

wayyō’mer/‏וַיֹּאמֶר : wᵉ/‏‏וְ consecutive + Qal imperfect of ’āmar/‏‏אָמַר : and ... said.
’ᵉlōhīm/‏‏אֱלֹהִים : God.
yᵉhī/‏‏יְהִי : Qal imperfect/jussive of hāyāh/‏‏‏הָיָה : let there be.
’ōr/‏‏אוֹר : light.
wayᵉhī/‏‏וַיְהִי : wᵉ/‏‏וְ consecutive + Qal imperfect of hāyāh/‏‏‏הָיָה : and there was.
’ōr/‏‏אוֹר : light.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

• God said. The divine word shatters the primal cosmic silence and signals the birth of a new cosmic order. Divine fiat is the first of several modalities of creativity employed in this account. "God said" means "God thought" or "God willed." It signifies that the Creator is wholly independent of His creation. It implies effortlessness and absolute sovereignty over nature.

• Let there be. The directive yehi, found again in verses 6 and 14, is reserved for the creation of celestial phenomena.

• light. The first creation by God's utterance is fittingly that which serves in the Bible as a symbol of life, joy, justice, and deliverance.

• and there was light. God's commanding utterance possesses the inherent power of self-realization and is unchallengeable. The sevenfold repetition of the execution formula, "and there was," emphasizes the distinction between the tension, resistance, and strife that are characteristic of ancient Near Eastern cosmologies and the fullness of divine power that we have here.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:4a):

‏‏‏‏‏‏וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב

Transliteration:

wayyar’ ’ᵉlōhīm ’et-hā’ōr kī-tōb

Translation (Wenham):

God saw that the light was good.

Comment:

‏‏‏‏‏‏טוֹב "good." This very common Hebrew adjective has a broad range of meaning, as does the English term. Primarily, it draws attention to an object's quality and fitness for its purpose. But the Hebrew term as used by the Israelites is more related to the mind and opinion of God than is the English word. God is preeminently the one who is good, and his goodness is reflected in his works [...]. — Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

wayyar’/‏וַיַּרְא : wᵉ/‏‏וְ consecutive + 3 m. s. imperfect of rā’āh/‏‏‏רָאָה : he saw.
’ᵉlōhīm/‏‏‏אֱלֹהִים : God.
’et/‏‏‏אֶת : mark of the accusative (indicates direct object).
hā’ōr/הָאוֹר : definite article + ’ōr/אוֹר : the light.
kī/כִּי : introduces object clause after verb of perception: that.
tōb/טוֹב : (it was) good.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

God saw. Not visual examination but perception. The formula of divine approbation, "God saw that [it] was good," affirms the consummate perfection of God's creation, an idea that has important consequences for the religion of Israel. Reality is imbued with God's goodness. The pagan notion of inherent, primordial evil is banished. Henceforth, evil is to be apprehended on the moral and not the mythological plane.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:4b):

‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ

Transliteration:

wayyabdēl ’ᵉlōhīm bēn hā’ōr ūbēn hakhōshek

Translation (Sarna):

and God separated the light from the darkness.

Comment:

If anything, these opening chapters of Genesis provide a contrast between a separation that is wholesome and a separation that is malignant. In creation there is separation toward order: light from darkness; waters above from waters below; day from night; woman from man. In sin and trespass there is a separation toward disorder: man and woman from God; man from woman; man from the soil; man from a garden.

The major difference between this work of separation and the other two in Gen. 1 is that here the pronouncement of God's benedictional statement — God saw how beautiful the light was — precedes the separation. In verses 6-8 and 14-19 this sentence of evaluation follows the separation. Thus it is the light itself that is beautiful (or good, Hebrew tōb), not the creation per se of time into units of light and darkness. — Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis Chapters 1-17 (NICOT).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

wayyabdēl/‏וַיַּבְדֵּל : wᵉ/‏‏וְ consecutive + 3 m.s. Hiphil short imperfect of bādal/‏‏בָּדַל : and he separated.
’ᵉlōhīm/‏‏אֱלֹהִים : God.
bēn/‏‏בֵּין : construct of bayin/‏‏‏בַּיִן : between.
hā’ōr/‏‏הָאוֹר : definite article + ’ōr/‏‏אוֹר : the light.
ūbēn/‏‏וּבֵין : wᵉ/‏‏וְ + construct of bayin/‏‏‏בַּיִן : and between.
hakhōshek/‏‏‏הַחֹשֶׁךְ : definite article + khōshek/‏‏‏חֹשֶׁךְ : the darkness.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

God separated. Separation, or rather differentiation, is the second modality of creation. Light, like darkness, is viewed as a discrete entity, a notion made explicit in Isaiah 45:7 and Job 38:19.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:5a):

‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה

Transliteration:

wayyiqrā’ ’ᵉlōhīm lā’ōr yōm wᵉlakhōshek qārā’ lāyᵉlāh

Translation (Wenham):

God called the light day and the darkness he called night.

Note (Wenham):

5:a-a. Chiasmus of verb and indirect object "call-light // darkness-call" used to express unity of the two acts of naming (SBH, 129).

Comment:

Seven times a subsequent divine word either of naming (verses 5 [2 times], 8, 10 [2 times]) or blessing (verses 22, 28) follows an act of creation. God names the heavens, the earth, the seas, as well as day and night. [...] In the OT, to name something is to assert sovereignty over it; cf 2:20; 2 Kgs 23:34; 24:17. Here darkness, though not said to have been created, is still named by God. Giving names also defines roles, and the naming of day and night here is an aspect of separating darkness and light. — Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

‏wayyiqrā’/וַיִּקְרָא : consecutive ‏wᵉ/‏‏וְ + Qal imperfect 3 m.s. of ‏qārā’/‏קָרָא : he [God] called.
‏’ᵉlōhīm/‏אֱלֹהִים : God.
‏lā’ōr/‏לָאוֹר : preposition ‏‏‏lᵉ/‏‏לְ + definite article + ‏’ōr/‏אוֹר : the light.
‏yōm/‏יוֹם : day.
‏wᵉlakhōshek/‏וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ : conj. ‏wᵉ/‏וְ + prep. ‏‏‏lᵉ/‏‏לְ + definite article + ‏khōshek/‏חֹשֶׁךְ : and the darkness.
‏qārā’/‏קָרָא = Qal perfect 3 m.s. : he called.
‏lāyᵉlāh/‏לָיְלָה : pausal vocalization of ‏lāylāh/‏‏לַיְלָה : night.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

God called. According to the conceptions of the ancient Near East, possessing no name was equivalent to nonexistence. [...] Name-giving was thus associated with creation and, by extension, with domination, for the one who gives a name has power over the object. In the present narrative, day and night, the sky, and the earth and sea are all named by God. This is another way of expressing His absolute sovereignty over time and space, the latter in both its celestial and terrestrial dimensions.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:5b):

‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד

Transliteration:

wayᵉhī-‘ereb wayᵉhī-bōqer yōm ’ekhād

Translation (Wenham):

And there was evening and morning — a first* day.

Note (Wenham):

*5:b. The cardinal "one" may be used for the ordinal "first" in Hebrew [...].

Comment:

The fact that evening is placed before morning throughout this chapter is not a foolproof indication that the OT reckons a day from sunset to sunset. There is some evidence that strongly suggests that the day was considered to begin in the morning at sunrise. For example, this view is supported by the fact that when the OT refers to a second day the time reference is the morning [...]. Similarly, the phrase "day and night" is much more frequent than "night and day." Thus it seems likely that this refrain in Genesis refers not to the computation of a day but rather to the "vacant time till the morning, the end of a day and the beginning of the next work." — Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis Chapter 1-17 (NICOT).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

‏wayᵉhī/וַיְהִי : consecutive ‏wᵉ/‏וְ + Qal imperfect 3 m.s of ‏hāyāh/‏הָיָה : and there was.
‏‘ereb/‏עֶרֶב : evening.
‏bōqer/‏בֹקֶר : morning.
‏yōm/‏יוֹם : day.
‏’ekhād/‏אֶחָד : one.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

evening ... morning. Hebrew ‘ereb and bōqer mean, strictly speaking, the "sunset" and the "break of dawn," terms inappropriate before the creation of the sun on the fourth day. Here the two words, respectively, signify the end of the period of light, when divine creativity was suspended, and the renewal of light, when the creative process was resumed.

As Rashbam noted, the day is here seen to begin with the dawn [...].

[John Reece]

The following comment by Wenham is an addendum to this post.

‏יוֹם "day." There can be little doubt that here "day" has its basic sense of a 24-hour period. The mention of morning and evening, the enumeration of the days, and the divine rest on the seventh show that a week of divine activity is being described here. Elsewhere, of course, "in the day of" and similar phrases can simply mean "when" (e.g., 2:4; 5:1, etc.). Ps 90:4 indeed says that a thousand years are as a day in God's sight. But it is perilous to try to correlate scientific theory and biblical revelation by appeal to such texts. Rather, it is necessary to inquire more closely into the literary nature of Genesis 1 and whether chronological sequence and scientific explanation are the narrator's concern.

The following comment by Hamilton is an addendum to this post.

The Bible begins and ends by describing an untarnished world that is filled with light, but no sun (cf. Revelation 22:5). Should not the one who is himself called "light" (1 John 1:5) have at his disposal many sources by which he dispatches light into his creation? Just as Genesis 1 says there can be a day and light without sun, so Matthew 2 says there can be a son without a father. Calvin comments, "Therefore the Lord, by the very order of creation, bears witness that he holds in his hands the light, which he is able to impart to us without the sun and moon" [...].

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:6a):

‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם

Transliteration:

wayyō’mer ’ᵉlōhı̂m yᵉhī rāqīa‘ bᵉtōk hammāyim

Translation (Hamilton):

And God said, Let there be a vault in the middle of the waters

Comment:

The word we have translated as vault is Hebrew rāqīa‘, which appears as "firmament" in the AV (from Vulgate firmamentum. The basic meaning of the noun is determined by a consideration of the verb rāqa‘. Here the basic idea is to "spread out," and specifically the spreading out of the earth at creation (cf. Psalm 136:6; Isaiah 42:5; 44:24) or the spreading out of the sky (cf. Job 37:18). In Isaiah 40:19 the meaning is to overlay or plate (with gold). A rāqīa‘, then, is something that is created by being spread out either by stretching (e.g., a tent) or by hammering (e.g., a metal; cf. Deut. 28:23, in which the sky in a drought is likened to bronze; cf. also the use of rāqa‘ in Exodus 39:3, where the meaning is clearly "to hammer out." — Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis Chapter 1-17 (NICOT).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

‏wayyō’mer/וַיֹּאמֶר : consecutive ‏wᵉ/‏וְ + Qal imperfect 3 m.s. of ‏’āmar/‏אָמַר : and he [God] said.
‏’ᵉlōhı̂m/‏אֱלֹהִים : God.
‏yᵉhī/‏יְהִי : Jussive (3 m.s.) of ‏hāyāh/‏‏הָיָה : let there be.
‏rāqīa‘/‏‏רָקִיעַ : a vault.
‏bᵉtōk/‏‏בְּתוֹךְ : preposition ‏bᵉ/‏‏בְּ (in) + ‏tawek/‏‏‏תָוֶךְ (midst, middle) : in the middle of.
‏hammāyim/‏‏הַמָּיִם : definite article + ‏māyim/‏‏מָּיִם : the water.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

The Hebrew noun rāqīa‘ is unparalleled in cognate languages. The verbal form is often used for hammering out metal or flattening out earth, which suggests a basic meaning of "extending." It is unclear whether the vault of heaven was here viewed as a gigantic sheet of metal or as a solid layer of congealed ice. The latter interpretation might be inferred from Ezekiel 1:22, which is how Josephus understood it as well.

[John Reece]

BHS Text (Genesis 1:6b):

‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל בֵּין מַיִם לָמָיִם

Transliteration:

wīhī mabdīl bēn mayim lāmāyim

Translation (Hamilton):

and let it be a separator between waters and waters.

Comment:

The function of this vault is to separate between waters and waters. It will be observed that the prepositions before "waters" in verse 6 are bēn ... lᵉ (or lā, while the prepositions before "waters" in verse 7 are bēn ... bēn. The first combination appears only 30 times in the OT, while the latter combination appears some 126 times. Gen. 1:6 is the only example of bēn ... lᵉ in Genesis. The next occurrence of this combination is not until Lev. 20:25.

The combination bēn ... lᵉ appears to be used consistently to draw attention between x and y, and when this distinction refers to unspecified classes such as man:wife; father:daughter; clean:unclean. For example, to express that there was a war between Israel and the Philistines (i.e., specific people) the expression bēn ... bēn would be used. But in expressions like "knowing the difference between good and evil" (i.e., nonspecifics), the combination is usually bēn ... lᵉ. Thus in Gen. 1:6-7, perhaps verse 6 refers to waters in general. But once the division is made (verse 7), two specific sets of water emerge, those above and those beneath the vault. — Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis Chapter 1-17 (NICOT).

Glossary (meanings in this contest):

‏wīhī/וִיהִי : conjunction ‏wᵉ/‏וְ + jussive (3 m.s.) of ‏hāyāh/‏‏הָיָה : and let it be.
‏mabdīl/‏‏מַבְדִּיל : Hiphil participle of ‏bādal/‏‏‏בָּדַל : a separator.
bēn/‏‏בֵּין : construct of preposition bayin/‏‏‏בַּיִן : between.
mayim/‏‏מַיִם : water.
lāmāyim/‏‏לָמָיִם : preposition lᵉ/‏‏‏לְ‎ + māyim/‏‏מָיִם : to water.

From The JPS Torah Commentary, by Nahum M. Sarna:

water from water. The purpose of the expanse is to create a void that separates what was taken to be the source of rain above from the water on the earth.