Josephus was a Hellenized Jew of the 1st century AD. He was using a Greek model of the cosmos which assumes a spherical earth at the centre surrounded by crystalline spheres. This is not the model found in scripture. Scripture, for example, nowhere refers to earth as spherical. Circular yes, but not spherical.
Well if
erets means land, then neither would make sense. Land is not flat, but has mountains and valleys and coastlines (ends). I thought we agreed on this.
There are three passages in scripture I can think of that indirectly suggest 'raqiya' or 'shamayim' refers to a solid structure. Two are comparisons: in Job 37:18, the skies 'shamayim' are described as "hard as a mirror of cast metal".
But the word her is not shamayim nor raqiya. It's a completely different word Elihu us using, that actually refers to clouds or cloudy skies. Also, God is in no way endorsing Elihu as a source of truth. He's one of Job's counselors, and God defends Job from them in the end.
In Isaiah 40:22 they are described as a canopy, spread out like a tent. While a tent-like material is softer than cast metal, it is still a solid.
Right but the simile need not be referring to the solidity, but rather the 3 dimensionality of the tents. Our atmosphere could in modern terms be described metaphorically as a surrounding canopy, and clouds in scripture are often referred to as such, and were known by the ancients not to be solid. There is nothing in this passage that suggests a solid barrier.
Another instance of an indirect suggestion that the sky is hard comes from Job 9:26 which refers to "the pillars of heaven". If the sky was seen as simply atmosphere fading into the vacuum of space, why would it need the support of pillars?
The only place I see this term is in Job 26:11, "
The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke."
Again, this is another unendorsed speaker (I don't recall which one). And pillars of heaven here is actually one of the many references in Job to clouds.
Pillars are visible and 3 dimensional. The solid dome theory wouldn't speak of pillars at all. It wouldn't make any sense. What's going on here is, clouds, which are 3 dimensional and come in various shapes are described metaphorically as pillars of heaven, and the trembling is referring to thunder. Look at the context of the passage you are citing. It's all about clouds.
8 He binds up the water in His thick clouds,
Yet the clouds are not broken under it.
9 He covers the face of His throne,
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters,
At the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble,
And are astonished at His rebuke.
12 He stirs up the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.
13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?”
Clouds and thundering and trembling often go together in biblical poetry, as most of the ancient associated clouds with thunder and trembling.
