<P> In Biblical cosmology, the firmament is the structure above the atmosphere, conceived as a vast solid dome . According to the Genesis creation narrative, God created the firmament to separate the "waters above" the earth from the "waters below" the earth . The word is anglicized from Latin firmamentum, which appears in the Vulgate, a late fourth - century Latin translation of the Bible . </P> <P> The firmament is described in Genesis 1: 6--8 in the Genesis creation narrative: </P>

What does firmament mean in the book of genesis