The sky (as aloft ; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)
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שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) is the Hebrew noun commonly rendered heavens or sky. It can refer to the visible expanse where birds fly and weather occurs, the region of sun, moon, and stars, the created heavens paired with earth, or the heavenly realm from which God rules and hears.
Reader summary
Full entry for שָׁמַיִם (H8064) · Open the biblical lexicon
שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) is the Hebrew noun commonly rendered heavens or sky. It can refer to the visible expanse where birds fly and weather occurs, the region of sun, moon, and stars, the created heavens paired with earth, or the heavenly realm from which God rules and hears.
The BSB source-word alignment has 421 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the heavens (77), of heaven (54), heaven (46), of the air (39), from heaven (33).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (74), Deuteronomy (44), Genesis (41), Isaiah (33).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) is the Hebrew noun commonly rendered heavens or sky. It can refer to the visible expanse where birds fly and weather occurs, the region of sun, moon, and stars, the created heavens paired with earth, or the heavenly realm from which God rules and hears. Ancient texts can move among these senses without drawing the modern boundaries of atmosphere, outer space, and nonmaterial realm. Context and genre determine which aspect is foregrounded.
Genesis says God created the heavens and earth and called the expanse heavens. Deuteronomy forbids worship of the heavenly bodies and declares that even the highest heavens belong to God. Solomon says heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain God, while Psalms describe God's throne in heaven and the heavens declaring God's glory. These texts affirm creation and divine transcendence without locating God as one object inside the physical universe.
Weather, vision, poetry, temple prayer, apocalyptic imagery, and new-heavens promises use heaven language differently. Readers should neither force ancient phenomenological descriptions into modern scientific models nor dismiss their theological claims because their imagery is ancient. Isaiah's new heavens and new earth opens a canonical hope for renewed creation; it should not be used to encourage neglect of the present earth or to settle every question about continuity and transformation.
H8064 appears in creation accounts, weather descriptions, celestial observation, covenant warning, prayer, worship, vision, poetry, judgment, and promises of renewed heavens and earth.
The opening verse identifies God as creator of the heavens and the earth, a paired expression for the created order.
Birds fly across the face of the expanse of the heavens, using the term for the visible sky.
Deuteronomy cautions Israel against turning the visible celestial lights and their array into objects of devotion.
The covenant blessing pictures the Lord opening the heavenly storehouse to give rain in season.
Solomon confesses that heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain God, much less the temple he built.
God announces new heavens and a new earth within a prophetic vision of renewed life, justice, and joy.
The heavens open and Ezekiel sees visions of God while among exiles by the Kebar River.
The heavens declare God's glory and the expanse announces the work of God's hands in creation praise.
The psalm distinguishes the heavens as belonging to the Lord and the earth as given to humanity within its polemic against idols.
Heaven and Sheol form a height-and-depth contrast in which no place escapes God's presence.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. The visible sky-dome and transcendent realm above, unified in dual form; God's dwelling and cosmic order combined
The visible sky-dome and transcendent realm above, unified in dual form; God's dwelling and cosmic order combined
the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve) BDB: heavens Usage: air, × astrologer, heaven(-s).
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 421 lexical occurrence verses.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
H8064 helps teachers read biblical heaven language with both reverence and genre awareness. The same noun can name the visible sky, celestial region, created heavens, weather source, or the heavenly realm of divine rule. Genesis, poetry, temple prayer, prophecy, and vision are not attempting one technical cosmology. Solomon's confession that even the highest heaven cannot contain God prevents crude localization, while Psalm 139 prevents transcendence from becoming absence.
Creation texts can support worship and responsible care without being turned into modern astronomy lessons or science-denial tests. New-heavens language grounds hope in God's renewing purpose, but interpreters should not use it to dismiss ecological responsibility, embodied life, grief over destruction, or the value of present creation. Speculative maps of multiple heavens, dates, portals, or personal visions exceed what H8064 itself establishes and can expose vulnerable people to manipulation.
Gen.1.1
H8064 has a plural or dual-like form and is conventionally translated sky, heaven, or heavens according to context. Its form does not by itself prove multiple cosmic levels. Ancient Hebrew usage does not map neatly onto modern distinctions among atmosphere, outer space, and a nonmaterial divine realm.
New Testament ouranos language continues sky, heaven, divine-throne, vision, and new-creation themes. The Lord's Prayer and Revelation can extend the canonical conversation, but they should not be retrofitted as the direct lexical meaning of each H8064 occurrence.