This is one of nine such references in the Old Testament.

Let us see the

other occurrences:

Psalm 104:2.

'Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain'.

Isaiah 42:5.

'Thus said God the Lord, He that created the heavens,

and stretched them out'.

Isaiah 44:24.

'I am the Lord ... that stretcheth forth the heavens

Isaiah 45:12.

'I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I,

even My hands, have stretched out the heavens'.

Isaiah 51:13.

'The Lord thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the

heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth'.

Jeremiah 10:12.

'(He) hath stretched out the heavens by His

Jeremiah 51:15.

'(He) hath stretched out the heaven by His

Zechariah 12:1.

'The Lord, Which stretcheth forth the heavens'.

There can be no doubt as to the meaning of these words; heaven is

likened unto a tent or tabernacle.  This turns us back to Genesis 1, where we

'And God said, Let there be a firmament ... and God called the

firmament Heaven' (Gen. 1:6-8).

The English translation still retains some of the influence of the Latin

Vulgate, which reads 'firmamentum', this being a translation of the Greek

stereoma, which in turn translates the Hebrew raqia explained in the margin

of the A.V. as 'expansion'.

Raq, the adjective, means 'thin or lean'

(Gen. 41:19,20,27).

Raqiq is translated 'wafer' (Exod. 29:2,23; Lev. 2:4).

Riqquim is used for the 'broad plates' (Num. 16:38) or, as the R.V. has it,

'beaten plates', or 'thin plates' according to Gesenius.

It will be seen from these references that the present world made for

Adam, can be likened to a tabernacle; man, and the dominion given to him,

being set forth in the symbolism of the cherubim, i.e. the man, lion, ox

and eagle, and in addition, a peculiar and special word is employed in the

book of Job that associates the foundations of the earth with the silver

sockets, made of the redemption shekels which are prescribed by Moses.

First, let us look back to the list of occurrences and note that the

reference to the stretching out of the heavens is connected with the laying

of the foundations of the earth.

Psalm 104:5.

'Who laid the foundations of the earth'.