Firmament

Last updated
An artist's depiction of the early Hebrew conception of the cosmos. The firmament (raqia), Sheol, and Tehom are depicted. Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe.svg
An artist's depiction of the early Hebrew conception of the cosmos. The firmament (raqia), Sheol, and Tehom are depicted.

In ancient near eastern cosmology, the firmament means a celestial barrier that separated the heavenly waters above from the Earth below. [1] In biblical cosmology, the firmament (Hebrew : רָקִ֫יעַ‎rāqīaʿ) is the vast solid dome created by God during the Genesis creation narrative to separate the primal sea into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear. [2] [3]

Contents

The concept was adopted into the subsequent Classical and Medieval models of heavenly spheres, but was dropped with advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today it is known as a synonym for sky or heaven .

Etymology

Firmament

In English, the word "firmament" is recorded as early as 1250, in the Middle English Story of Genesis and Exodus . It later appeared in the King James Bible. The same word is found in French and German Bible translations, all from Latin firmamentum (a firm object), used in the Vulgate (4th century). [4] This in turn is a calque of the Greek στερέωμᾰ (steréōma), also meaning a solid or firm structure (Greek στερεός = rigid), which appears in the Septuagint, the Greek translation made by Jewish scholars around 200 BC.

Raqia

These words all translate the Biblical Hebrew word rāqīaʿ (רָקִ֫יעַ‎), used for example in Genesis 1.6, where it is contrasted with shamayim (שָׁמַיִם‎), translated as "heaven(s)" in Genesis 1.1. Rāqīaʿ derives from the root rqʿ (רָקַע‎), meaning "to beat or spread out thinly". [5] [6] The Hebrew lexicographers Brown, Driver and Briggs gloss the noun with "extended surface, (solid) expanse (as if beaten out)" and distinguish two main uses: 1. "(flat) expanse (as if of ice), as base, support", and 2. "the vault of heaven, or 'firmament,' regarded by Hebrews as solid and supporting 'waters' above it." [7] A related noun, riqquaʿ (רִקּוּעַ‎), found in Numbers 16.38 (Hebrew numbering 17.3), refers to the process of hammering metal into sheets. [7] Gerhard von Rad explains:

Rāqīaʿ means that which is firmly hammered, stamped (a word of the same root in Phoenecian means "tin dish"!). The meaning of the verb rqʿ concerns the hammering of the vault of heaven into firmness (Isa. 42.5; Ps.136.6). The Vulgate translates rāqīaʿ with firmamentum, and that remains the best rendering.

— Gerhard von Rad [8]

History

The sun, planets and angels and the firmament. Woodcut dated 1475. Scheme of things1475.gif
The sun, planets and angels and the firmament. Woodcut dated 1475.

Ancient near eastern cosmology

Near eastern cosmology is primarily known from cuneiform literature such as the Babylonian creation myth Enūma Eliš [9] and the Bible: [10] in particular, the Genesis creation narrative as well as some passing references in the Psalms and the Book of Isaiah. Between these two main sources, there is a fundamental agreement in the cosmological models pronounced: this included a flat and likely disk-shaped world with a solid firmament. [11]

The two primary structural representations of the firmament was that it was flat and hovering over the Earth, or that it was a dome and entirely enclosed the Earth's surface. Beyond the firmament is the upper waters, above which further still is the divine abode. [11] The gap between heaven and Earth was bridged by ziggurats and these supported stairways that allowed gods to descend into the Earth from the heavenly realm. A Babylonian clay tablet from the 6th century BC illustrates a world map. [12]

Egyptian cosmology

In ancient Egyptian texts, and from texts across the near east generally, the firmament was described as having special doors or gateways on the eastern and western horizons to allow for the passage of heavenly bodies during their daily journeys. These were known as the windows of heaven or the gates of heaven. [13] [14] In Egyptian texts particularly, these gates also served as conduits between the earthly and heavenly realms for which righteous people could ascend. The gateways could be blocked by gates to prevent entry by the deceased as well. As such, funerary texts included prayers enlisting the help of the gods to enable the safe ascent of the dead. [15] Ascent to the celestial realm could also be done by a celestial ladder made by the gods. [16]

Four different Egyptian models of the firmament and/or the heavenly realm are known. One model was that it was the shape of a bird: the firmament above represented the underside of a flying falcon, with the sun and moon representing its eyes, and its flapping causing the wind that humans experience. [17] The second was a cow, as per the Book of the Heavenly Cow. The cosmos is a giant celestial cow represented by the goddess Nut or Hathor. The cow consumed the sun in the evening and rebirthed it in the next morning. [18] The third is a celestial woman, also represented by Nut. The heavenly bodies would travel across her body from east to west. The midriff of Nut was supported by Shu (the air god) and Geb (the earth god) lay outstretched between the arms and feet of Nut. Nut consumes the celestial bodies from the west and gives birth to them again in the following morning. The stars are inscribed across the belly of Nut and one needs to identify with one of them, or a constellation, in order to join them after death. [19] The fourth model was a flat (or slightly convex) celestial plane which, depending on the text, was thought to be supported in various ways: by pillars, staves, scepters, or mountains at the extreme ends of the Earth. The four supports give rise to the motif of the "four corners of the world". [20]

Early Greek cosmology

Prior to the systematic study of the cosmos by the Ionian School in the city of Miletus in the 6th century BC, the early Greek conception of cosmology was closely related to that of near eastern cosmology and envisioned a flat Earth with a solid firmament above the Earth supported by pillars. However, the work of Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Thales, followed by classical Greek theoreticians like Aristotle and Ptolemy ushered in the notions of a spherical Earth and an Earth floating in the center of the cosmos as opposed to resting on a body of water. This picture was geocentric and represented the cosmos as a whole as spherical. [21]

Patristic cosmology

Panel from the Tapis de la Creacio showing the firmamentum between the waters above and below, anthropomorphic depictions of Sol and Luna and the Latin inscription "Where God divides waters from the waters" Firmament Tapis de la Creacio de Girona.jpg
Panel from the Tapís de la Creació showing the firmamentum between the waters above and below, anthropomorphic depictions of Sol and Luna and the Latin inscription "Where God divides waters from the waters"

One problem for Christian interpreters was in understanding the distinction between the heaven created on the first day and the firmament created in the second day. Origen followed the cosmological dualism of the Hellenistic Jewish scholar Philo of Alexandria, who proposed a distinction between the material and eternal creations but does not appear to have associated matter or materiality with evil. [22] Under Origen's influence the waters above became associated with the spiritual plane of Christian contemplative exercise and the waters below with the demonic and infernal. [23] The firmament is the boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds. [24]

Origen's model of two heavens was followed by later writers who kept the concept of a spiritual and immaterial heaven of the first day (caelum) and the corporeal/sidereal firmamentum. [25] [26]

Various views on the materiality of the firmament emerged among the Church Fathers, including that it had been made out of air, out of the four elements, or out of a yet-distinct fifth element. [27] In the Hexaemeron of Basil of Caesarea the firmament is depicted as spherical or domed with a flat underside that formed a pocket or membrane in which the waters were held. Not all of the Church fathers followed Origen. [28] [29] Manlio Simonetti noted Basil of Caesarea's "strong tone of criticism" of Origen's teaching. [30]

Appealing to a Platonic division between base matter and heavenly or spiritual matter, Augustine of Hippo would distinguish between the waters below the firmament and the waters above the firmament. This involved the spiritual interpretation of the upper waters. In this, he was followed by John Scotus Eriugena. In De Genesi ad litteram (perhaps his least studied work) Augustine wrote: "only God knows how and why [the waters] are there, but we cannot deny the authority of Holy Scripture which is greater than our understanding". [31]

Ambrose struggled with understanding how the waters above the firmament could be held up given the spherical nature of the cosmos: the solution was to be sought in God's dominion over the cosmos, in the same way that God held up the Earth in the middle of the cosmos though it has no support. [32] About this Ambrose wrote: "Wise men of the world say that water cannot be over the heavens". [33]

The debate about the waters being located above the heavens continued into the Middle Ages. It made no sense under the explanations of the natural world proposed by Aristotle, recalling the statement from Augustine's literal commentary on Genesis: "Our business now, after all, is to inquire how God's Scriptures say he established things according to their proper natures." Scholastic theologians engaged in the pursuit of applying natural science to illuminate the sacred included Alexander of Hales, William of Auxerre (who offered that the location of the waters as recorded by Moses could only be explained by a miracle), William of Auvergne, and Philip the Chancellor. [34] [35] [27]

Whether the firmament was hard/firm or soft/fluid was also up for debate: the notion of a soft or fluid firmament was held until it was challenged in the 13th century by the introduction of the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic cosmos, a trend that would only culminate in the 16th century. [27] Bede reasoned that the waters might be held in place if they were frozen solid: the siderum caelum (heaven of the celestial bodies) was made firm (firmatum) in the midst of the waters so should be interpreted as having the firmness of crystalline stone (cristallini Iapidis). [36]

Jewish cosmology

A distinctive collection of ideas about the cosmos were drawn up and recorded in the rabbinic literature, though the conception is rooted deeply in the tradition of near eastern cosmology recorded in Hebrew, Akkadian, and Sumerian sources, combined with some additional influences in the newer Greek ideas about the structure of the cosmos and the heavens in particular. [37] The rabbis viewed the heavens to be a solid object spread over the Earth, which was described with the biblical Hebrew word for the firmament, raki’a. Two images were used to describe it: either as a dome, or as a tent; the latter inspired from biblical references, though the latter is without an evident precedent. [38] As for its composition, just as in cuneiform literature the rabbinic texts describe that the firmament was made out of a solid form of water, not just the conventional liquid water known on the Earth. A different tradition makes an analogy between the creation of the firmament and the curdling of milk into cheese. Another tradition is that a combination of fire and water makes up the heavens. This is somewhat similar to a view attributed to Anaximander, whereby the firmament is made of a mixture of hot and cold (or fire and moisture). [39] Yet another dispute concerned how thick the firmament was. A view attributed to R. Joshua b. R. Nehemiah was that it was extremely thin, no thicker than two or three fingers. Some rabbis compared it to a leaf. On the other hand, some rabbis viewed it as immensely thick. Estimates that it was as thick as a 50 year journey or a 500 year journey were made. Debates on the thickness of the firmament also impacted debates on the path of the sun in its journey as it passes through the firmament through passageways called the "doors" or "windows" of heaven. [40] The number of heavens or firmaments was often given as more than one: sometimes two, but much more commonly, seven. It is unclear whether the notion of the seven heavens is related to earlier near eastern cosmology or the Greek notion of the surrounding of the Earth by seven concentric spheres: one for the sun, one for the moon, and one for each of the five other (known) planets. [41] A range of additional discussions in rabbinic texts surrounding the firmament included those on the upper waters, [42] the movements of the heavenly bodies and the phenomena of precipitation, [43] and more. [44] [45]

The firmament also appears in non-rabbinic Jewish literature, such as in the cosmogonic views represented in the apocrypha. A prominent example is in the Book of Enoch composed around 300 BC. In this text, the sun rises from one of six gates from the east. It crosses the sky and sets into a window through the firmament in the west. The sun then travels behind the firmament back to the other end of the Earth, from whence it could rise again. [46] In the Testament of Solomon, the heavens are conceived in a tripartite structure and demons are portrayed as being capable of flying up to and past the firmament in order to eavesdrop on the decisions of God. [47] Another example of Jewish literature describing the firmament can be found in Samaritan poetry. [48]

Quranic cosmology

The Quran describes a concrete[ clarification needed ] firmament above the Earth, built by God and lifted up: [49] [50] the firmament is maintained not by any pillars but by God directly maintaining it, in a description resembling that of the Syriac theologian Jacob of Serugh in his Hexaemeron. [51] Another commonality between the two is in describing the firmament as being decorated by stars. [52] The heavens are analogized to a roof, structure, and edifice without crack or fissure. It is extremely broad and stretched, but it is also constantly broadening. [50] Though there has been some dispute over the exact shape of the Quranic firmament (primarily over whether it is flat or domed), the most recent study by Tabatabaʾi and Mirsadri favors a flat firmament. [53] In addition, there are seven heavens or firmaments [54] [55] and they were made from smoke during the creation week, resembling the view of Basil of Caesarea. [56]

Modern cosmology

The model established by Aristotle became the dominant model in the Classical and Medieval world-view, and even when Copernicus placed the Sun at the center of the system he included an outer sphere that held the stars (and by having the earth rotate daily on its axis it allowed the firmament to be completely stationary). Tycho Brahe's studies of the nova of 1572 and the Comet of 1577 were the first major challenges to the idea that orbs existed as solid, incorruptible, material objects, [57] and in 1584 Giordano Bruno proposed a cosmology without a firmament: an infinite universe in which the stars are actually suns with their own planetary systems. [58] After Galileo began using a telescope to examine the sky it became harder to argue that the heavens were perfect, as Aristotelian philosophy suggested, and by 1630 the concept of solid orbs was no longer dominant. [57]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biblical cosmology</span>

Biblical cosmology is the account of the universe and its laws in the Bible. The Bible was formed over many centuries, involving many authors, and reflects shifting patterns of religious belief; consequently, its cosmology is not always consistent. Nor do the biblical texts necessarily represent the beliefs of all Jews or Christians at the time they were put into writing: the majority of the texts making up the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament in particular represent the beliefs of only a small segment of the ancient Israelite community, the members of a late Judean religious tradition centered in Jerusalem and devoted to the exclusive worship of Yahweh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celestial spheres</span> Elements of some cosmological models

The celestial spheres, or celestial orbs, were the fundamental entities of the cosmological models developed by Plato, Eudoxus, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and others. In these celestial models, the apparent motions of the fixed stars and planets are accounted for by treating them as embedded in rotating spheres made of an aetherial, transparent fifth element (quintessence), like gems set in orbs. Since it was believed that the fixed stars did not change their positions relative to one another, it was argued that they must be on the surface of a single starry sphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesis creation narrative</span> Creation myth of Judaism and Christianity

The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity, told in the Book of Genesis ch. 1–2. While the Jewish and Christian tradition is that the account is one comprehensive story modern scholars of biblical criticism identify the account as a composite work made up of two stories drawn from different sources.

<i>Creatio ex nihilo</i> Doctrine that matter was created from nothing

Creatio ex nihilo is the doctrine that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe came to exist. It is in contrast to creation ex materia, sometimes framed in terms of the dictum Ex nihilo nihil fit or "nothing comes from nothing", meaning all things were formed ex materia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesis 1:1</span> First verse of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis

Genesis 1:1 is the first verse of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles and the opening of the Genesis creation narrative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesis 1:2</span> Second verse of the first chapter of Genesis

Genesis 1:2 is the second verse of the Genesis creation narrative. It is a part of the Torah portion Bereshit.

The Second Book of Enoch is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten heavens of an Earth-centered cosmos. The Slavonic edition and translation of 2 Enoch is of Christian origin in the 8th century but is based on an earlier work. 2 Enoch is distinct from the Book of Enoch, known as 1 Enoch, and there is also an unrelated 3 Enoch, although none of the three books are considered canonical scripture by the majority of Jewish or Christian bodies. The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish each from the others.

Hebrew astronomy refers to any astronomy written in Hebrew or by Hebrew speakers, or translated into Hebrew, or written by Jews in Judeo-Arabic. It includes a range of genres from the earliest astronomy and cosmology contained in the Bible, mainly the Tanakh, to Jewish religious works like the Talmud and very technical works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Greek astronomy</span>

Ancient Greek astronomy is the astronomy written in the Greek language during classical antiquity. Greek astronomy is understood to include the Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, Greco-Roman, and late antique eras. Ancient Greek astronomy can be divided into three primary phases: Classical Greek Astronomy, which encompassed the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and Hellenistic Astronomy, which encompasses the subsequent period until the formation of the Roman Empire ca. 30 BC, and finally Greco-Roman astronomy, which refers to the continuation of the tradition of Greek astronomy in the Roman world. During the Hellenistic era and onwards, Greek astronomy expanded beyond the geographic region of Greece as the Greek language had become the language of scholarship throughout the Hellenistic world, in large part delimited by the boundaries of the Macedonian Empire established by Alexander the Great. The most prominent and influential practitioner of Greek astronomy was Ptolemy, whose treatise Almagest shaped astronomical thinking until the modern era. Most of the most prominent constellations known today are taken from Greek astronomy, albeit via the terminology they took on in Latin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexaemeron</span> Genre of theological writing

The term Hexaemeron, literally "six days," is used in one of two senses. In one sense, it refers to the Genesis creation narrative spanning Genesis 1:1–2:3: corresponding to the creation of the light ; the sky ; the earth, seas, and vegetation ; the sun and moon ; animals of the air and sea ; and land animals and humans. God then rests from his work on the seventh day of creation, the Sabbath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven heavens</span> Seven levels or divisions of the Heavens in religious or mythological cosmology

In mythological or religious cosmology, the seven heavens refer to seven levels or divisions of the Heavens. The concept, also found in the ancient Mesopotamian religions, can be found in Judaism and Islam; the Christian Bible does not mention seven levels of heaven. Some of these traditions, including Jainism, also have a concept of seven earths or seven underworlds both with the metaphysical realms of deities and with observed celestial bodies such as the classical planets and fixed stars.

Islamic cosmology is the cosmology of Islamic societies. Islamic cosmology is not a single unitary system, but is inclusive of a number of cosmological systems, including Quranic cosmology, the cosmology of the Hadith collections, as well as those of Islamic astronomy and astrology. Broadly, cosmological conceptions themselves can be divided into thought concerning the physical structure of the cosmos (cosmography) and the origins of the cosmos (cosmogony).

In Jewish cosmology, Shamayim is the dwelling place of God and other heavenly beings according to the Hebrew Bible. It is one of three components of the biblical cosmology. In Judaism specifically, There are two other realms, being Eretz (Earth), home of the living, and sheol, the realm of the dead—including, according to post–Hebrew Bible literature, the abode of the righteous dead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic ocean</span> Mythological motif

A cosmic ocean, primordial waters, or celestial river is a mythological motif that represents the world or cosmos enveloped by a vast primordial ocean. Found in many cultures and civilizations, the cosmic ocean exists before the creation of the earth. From the primordial waters the earth and the entire cosmos arose. The cosmic ocean represents or embodies chaos.

Jewish cosmology refers to a cluster of cosmological views held in Jewish systems of thought and theology in premodern times. This includes literature from the period of Second Temple Judaism, rabbinic literature, para-rabbinic literature, and more.

The Hexaemeron of Jacob of Edessa is Jacob's commentary on the six days of creation of the Genesis creation narrative. Jacob worked on it in the first few years of the eighth century, as it was his final work. Unable to complete it within his own lifetime, the work was finished by his friend George, Bishop of the Arabs. It is an example of a work in the genre of Hexaemeral literature, but should not be confused with a similar earlier work, namely the Hexaemeron by Jacob of Serugh.

The Hexaemeron of Jacob of Serugh is a 6th-century text composed in the genre of Hexaemeral literature. As such, it offers a commentary on the Genesis creation narrative, and it is the first writing of this type to appear in the Syriac language. There was some precedent in the Commentary on Genesis by Ephrem the Syrian, but this was not a Hexaemeron. Likewise, there is no evident influence of a potential Syriac translation of the Hexaemeron of Basil of Caesarea on Jacob's work. Jacob dedicated a separate homily for each day of the creation week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmology in the ancient Near East</span>

Cosmology in the ancient Near East (ANE) refers to the plurality of cosmological beliefs in the Ancient Near East, covering the period from the 4th millennium BC to the formation of the Macedonian Empire by Alexander the Great in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. These beliefs include the Mesopotamian cosmologies from Babylonia, Sumer, and Akkad; the Levantine or West Semitic cosmologies from Ugarit and ancient Israel and Judah (the biblical cosmology); the Egyptian cosmology from Ancient Egypt; and the Anatolian cosmologies from the Hittites. This system of cosmology went on to have a profound influence on views in early Greek cosmology, later Jewish cosmology, patristic cosmology, and Islamic cosmology (including Quranic cosmology). Until the modern era, variations of ancient near eastern cosmology survived with Hellenistic cosmology as the main competing system.

Early Greek cosmology refers to beliefs about the structure (cosmography) and origins (cosmogony) of the cosmos primarily from the 8th to 5th centuries BC before it was superseded by ancient Greek astronomy, which was demythologized and involved the systematic study of the world. The main features of early Greek cosmography are shared with those found in ancient near eastern cosmology. The basic elements of the cosmos include earth, heaven, the sea, and the netherworld (Tartarus), the first three of which corresponded to the gods Gaia, Ouranos, and Oceanus.

Quranic cosmology is the understanding of the universe and its creation as described in the Quran. Quranic cosmology can be divided into the Quran's description of the physical landscape (cosmography) of the cosmos, including its structures and features, as well as its creation myth describing how the cosmos originated (cosmogony). The Quran's cosmology is theological, and is often related back to notions of the vastness and orderliness of the cosmos, as well as concepts of purpose, divine will, and the emphasis on the structuring of the world for the existence of human beings.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Rochberg 2010, p. 344.
  2. ↑ Pennington 2007, p. 42.
  3. ↑ Ringgren 1990, p. 92.
  4. ↑ "Online Etymology Dictionary – Firmament". Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  5. ↑ Brown, Driver & Briggs 1906, p. 955.
  6. ↑ "Lexicon Results Strong's H7549 – raqiya'". Blue Letter Bible. Archived from the original on 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
  7. 1 2 Brown, Driver & Briggs 1906, p. 956.
  8. ↑ von Rad 1961, p. 53.
  9. ↑ Horowitz 1998.
  10. ↑ Stadelmann 1970.
  11. 1 2 Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 70.
  12. ↑ Hannam 2023, p. 19–20.
  13. ↑ Kulik 2019, p. 243.
  14. ↑ Heimpel 1986, p. 132–140.
  15. ↑ Wright 2000, p. 19, 33–34.
  16. ↑ Wright 2000, p. 22.
  17. ↑ Wright 2000, p. 6–7.
  18. ↑ Wright 2000, p. 7–8.
  19. ↑ Wright 2000, p. 8–10.
  20. ↑ Wright 2000, p. 10–16.
  21. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 70–71.
  22. ↑ van Groningen 1967, p. 67.
  23. ↑ Rasmussen 2019, p. 118-9.
  24. ↑ Rasmussen 2019, p. 121.
  25. ↑ Rochberg 2010, p. 349.
  26. ↑ Rasmussen 2019, p. 120.
  27. 1 2 3 Rochberg 2010, p. 350–353.
  28. ↑ Scott, Mark S. M. (2012). Journey Back to God: Origen on the Problem of Evil. Oxford Academic. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199841141.003.0004.
  29. ↑ The Making of Orthodoxy: Essays in Honour of Henry Chadwick. Cambridge University Press. 2002. pp. 69–70.
  30. ↑ The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity: Proceedings of the Montréal Colloquium in Honour of Charles Kannengiesser. Brill. 2008. p. 512.
  31. ↑ Lemay, Helen Rodnite (1977). "Science and Theology at Chartres: The Case of the Supracelestial Waters". The British Journal for the History of Science. 10 (3): 226–236. doi:10.1017/S0007087400015673.
  32. ↑ Rochberg 2010, p. 349–350.
  33. ↑ Boccaletti Dino, The Waters Above the Firmament, p.36 2020
  34. ↑ Philosophy and Theology in the Late Middle Ages. Brill. 2011. p. 44-46.
  35. ↑ Rasmussen 2019, p. 119.
  36. ↑ Randles, W. G. L. (1999). The Unmaking of the Medieval Christian Cosmos, 1500–1760. Routledge.
  37. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 69.
  38. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 72.
  39. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 72–75.
  40. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 75–77.
  41. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 77–80.
  42. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 80–81.
  43. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 81–88.
  44. ↑ Simon-Shoshan 2008, p. 88–96.
  45. ↑ Hannam 2023, p. 150–151.
  46. ↑ Hannam 2023, p. 149.
  47. ↑ Brannon 2011, p. 196.
  48. ↑ Lieber 2022, p. 137–138.
  49. ↑ Decharneux 2023, p. 180–185.
  50. 1 2 Tabatabaʾi & Mirsadri 2016, p. 209.
  51. ↑ Decharneux 2019.
  52. ↑ Sinai 2023, p. 413–414.
  53. ↑ Tabatabaʾi & Mirsadri 2016, p. 218–233.
  54. ↑ Decharneux 2023, p. 185–193.
  55. ↑ Hannam 2023, p. 184.
  56. ↑ Decharneux 2023, p. 128–129.
  57. 1 2 Grant 1996, p. 349.
  58. ↑ Giordano Bruno, De l'infinito universo e mondi (On the Infinite Universe and Worlds), 1584.

Sources

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.