To find out what the Biblical authors believed about their cosmological perceptions of the universe we must look back into their culture. If we can learn about what the surrounding nations in the ancient Near East believed it will help us to better understand what Biblical authors worldview was.
Luckily for us we live in a time where the writings of the ancient Near Eastern population have not only been discovered but also deciphered. From these ancient writing we now know for a fact that the ancient Biblical authors shared the same cosmology as their surrounding nations.
Here are two quotes from both of our sources about the ancient Near Eastern cosmology
“The ancient Israelites shared many common cosmological (dealing with the structure of the cosmos) and cosmogonic (dealing with the origin of the cosmos) beliefs with the ancient Near Eastern world, although for them there was only one Creator. According to the Hebrew Bible, the cosmos consists of heaven, earth, underworld and sea. In both Egyptian and Mesopotamian thought, the world was understood as a disk resting on the primeval waters. Most people saw their own place as in the center, with the other countries on the periphery. Above the sky, studded with stars, which were thought to be engraved in the solid sky.”
The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Article about Cosmic Geography on pg. 836
“The Israelites believed in a universe structure that was common among the civilizations of the ancient Near East. This structure included three parts: a heavenly realm for the gods, and earthly realm for humans, and an underworld for the dead. The vocabulary of the Israelites’ cosmology is also similar to that found in the literature of the Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan.”
Faithlife Study Bible: in the Article: The Old Testament and the Ancient Near Eastern Worldview under the notes of Genesis 1:1-7
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U.K. Link: NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible- Hardcover Bible, Kindle Edition
U.S. Link: NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible- Hardcover Bible, Bonded Leather Bible, Bonded Leather: Thumb Index, Imitation Leather Women’s, Imitation Leather Men’s, Kindle Edition
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