Genesis 1:6
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל בֵּין מַיִם לָמָֽיִם׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός Γενηθήτω στερέωμα ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ὕδατος, καὶ ἔστω διαχωρίζον ἀνὰ μέσον ὕδατος καὶ ὕδατος· καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Dixit quoque Deus: Fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum: et dividat aquas ab aquis.
Y dijo Dios: Haya expansión en medio de las aguas, y separe las aguas de las aguas.
And God said, “ Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.”
✦ What the text says
Summary
The second creative command calls for an expanse in the midst of the waters. The order is phrased with two coordinated jussives: that it exist, and that it be separating waters from waters by means of a causative participle.
Key words
- ra.Ki.a' ("firmament", H7549) — masculine singular noun.
- ye.Hi ("let it be", H1961) — jussive: "let him…"; the verb returns in the jussive in the second clause.
- Tokh ("middle of", H8432) — noun in construct: "in the midst of".
- mav.Dil ("separating", H0914) — hiphil participle, masculine singular: "the one doing".
- Ma.yim ("waters", H4325) — masculine plural noun; three occurrences.
What the text says
After the introductory formula — narrative vav va ("and", H9001) + i.Yo.mer ("he said", H0559) + 'E.lo.Him ("God", H0430) — the divine speech contains two volitional clauses. The first: ye.Hi ("let it be", H1961), a jussive, + ra.Ki.a' ("firmament", H7549) + be. ("in", H9003) + Tokh ("middle of", H8432), a noun in construct forming the phrase "in the midst of", + the waters with the article (Ma.yim, "waters", H4325).
The second clause coordinates another jussive of the same verb (Hi, "let it be", H1961), preceded by the conjunction vi. ("and", H9002), with the participle mav.Dil ("separating", H0914), hiphil (causative), masculine singular, "the one doing": what is requested is not a single act but an ongoing function of separation. Its scope is expressed with bein ("between", H0996) and the preposition la. ("to", H9005): "between waters and waters".
Differences between versions
The LXX adds at the end of the verse καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως ("and it was so"), a formula absent from the supplied Hebrew of verse 6 and likewise from the Vulgate, the RV1909, and the BSB of this verse; in the Hebrew an equivalent formula closes verse 7. For ra.Ki.a' ("firmament", H7549), the LXX uses στερέωμα and the Vulgate firmamentum, while the RV1909 translates «expansión» and the BSB "expanse".
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.