Pastor John,
In your translation of Amos 9:6*, can you elaborate on “vault” means?
Thanks, Wendell
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Be glad to, Wendell!
Here is our translation of Amos 9:6:
- It is He who built His levels in the heavens and fixed His vault over the earth. It is He who summons the waters of the sea and pours them upon the surface of the earth. Jehovah is His name!
The word we translated as “levels” comes from a Hebrew word that means “goings up” or “ascents”. We decided on “levels”, thinking of Paul’s revelation that there are three heavens.
The Hebrew word we translated as “vault” means a band or thong, as in a fastening device, and the scholars who contributed to the dictionary didn’t know what to do with that, except to guess that Amos meant a “vault of the heavens (as fitted together, constructed).” And that guess made as much sense as anything, especially considering other Old Testament scriptures which refer to the skies as “the circle of the earth” etc.
Hope that helps; it’s the best we could do with it.
jdc