I think you'll find the root רקע refers to 'spreading out' in the same sense as one hammers out gold plaiting onto a wooden object or panel. The רקיע, just going by the morphology of the noun, suggests something that is spread out in the same way, like the gold in the example I just gave. The sky is evidently not conceived of as an emptiness or ether, but rather as a hard thing that has been spread out in this 'hammering out' kind of way.
Yes, there are other words that mean to beat in repetitive manner, like כתת. But they are in some way synonymous or have overlapping semantic domains, even as they each have specific exclusive nuances. The root כתת has the sense of beating or crushing down in order to pulverise into small pieces. The idea of רקע is to beat something out in a particular shape—not to pulverise into pieces. GEORGE ATHAS Dean of Research, Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au) Sydney, Australia _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
