The Cosmos in the Jewish tradition
Opera Laboratori Fiorentini

The Jewish tradition built a picture of the cosmos whose basic outline can be reconstructed mainly by referring to the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament.
The Earth was a flat disc held up by columns and it stood in the centre of the cosmos. Above it, the firmament of solid matter was also supported by columns. The Sun and the Moon were situated below the firmament, as were the stars. The firmament separated the waters above it from the waters below it. The vessels containing rain, hail and wind were situated in the upper waters, with special sluice-gates to regulate their flow towards Earth. Some of the waters under the firmament were joined together in the beginning, to create the seas that surround the Earth.