Hebrew and Greek words for "heaven"

[tonychanyt]

Genesis 1:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

the heavens
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם (haš·šā·ma·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky

Strong's Hebrew: 8064. שָׁמַ֫יִם (shamayim) — 421 Occurrences

The Hebrew word for "heaven" was always in plural form, like the Hebrew word for "water/s"

LXX translated it as G3772 ουρανόν, singular.

BDAG: ① the portion or portions of the universe gener. distinguished from planet earth, heaven (so mostly in the sing.; s. B-D-F §141, 1)
ⓐ mentioned w. the earth
ⓑ as firmament or sky over the earth; out of reach for humans
ⓒ as starry heaven
ⓓ as place of atmosphere
ⓔ The concept of more than one heaven (the idea is Semitic)
② transcendent abode, heaven
ⓐ as the dwelling-place (or throne) of God
ⓑ Christ is ἐξ οὐρανοῦ from heaven, of a heavenly nature
ⓒ as the abode of angels
ⓓ Christians who have died also dwell in heaven
ⓔ The concept of a heaven in which God, attendant spirits of God, and the righteous dead abide
③ an indirect reference to God

While H8064 was always plural, the Greek G3772 could be singular or plural.

2 Corinthians 12:

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

Paul enumerated the heavens.

 

[DennisF]

Thanks for pointing out that shamayim - the -im ending - makes the word plural as it does in elohim - the gods. From my biblical studies, my understanding of "god" (eloah) or "gods" (elohim) is they are any beings more capable or "advanced" than us humans. In today's parlance, these are ETs - intelligent beings from the heavens. Our common reference to "heavens" is "space", and we also have three "layers" of them just as the ancients did: 1) troposphere, where birds fly, tree leaves fall, and weather occurs; 2) outer space, where the planets, stars, comets, galaxies, dust clouds, etc. are; and 3) "the third heaven"; perhaps it might be called eternity - beyond the universe - or perhaps not. Scripture does not tell us the scope of the creation, though it is commonly assumed that it is the entire modern cosmological universe from cosmology. But that is an assumption.

Indeed, the entirety of what is contained in the modern cosmological model is the work of God, but we have enough trouble with the Greek philosophy imported into Trinitarian doctrine to know the totality of what is to be known about God. Could it be that the Genesis 1:1 text about the creation of "shamayim (sky) and erets (land)" might be lesser in scope than our modern conception?