Don't see a contradiction with this one. There are actually three heavens mentioned in Scripture.
1. Heaven (God's throne).
2. Heaven (Space).
3. Heaven (Sky).
Heaven (singular would more than likely be in reference to space because it is distnict from the Earth; And the sky known as "heaven" would be included with the Earth. Note: The mention God's throne (Heaven) is not in view in Genesis 1 (For nothing is mentioned about it at this point in Scripture).
When the Bible says Heavens in the next chapter with it being plural, it is clarifying that God created both the Heaven (space) and Heaven (sky). So there is no contradiction.
Three Heavens
The First Heaven:
The first heaven is earth's atmosphere where birds fly (
Genesis 1:20,
Jeremiah 4:25;
34:20,
Lamentations 4:19,
Zephaniah 1:3). One of the Hebrew words for 'heaven' is shamayim. This same word is translated as 'sky' in the Scripture, as can be seen by comparing
Genesis 7:3, "fowls also of the air," with
Genesis 7:23, "fowl of the heaven." The word 'sky' and 'heaven' are used interchangeably from the same Hebrew word (
Psalm 8:8). So the first heaven is synonymous with 'heights' or 'elevations.'
Here are other examples to illustrate the first heaven.
Exodus 19:20 says the Lord was on top of Mount Sinai when he called Moses up there, and God describes Mount Sinai as 'heaven' (
Exodus 20:22,
Deuteronomy 4:36). Here, everything above the ground is called 'heaven'.
Another example of the first heaven is in
Amos 9:1-3, where God states that at the time of this judgment, nobody will be able to flee away (verse 1), even "though they climb up to heaven" (verse 2). This "heaven" is defined in the next verse, verse 3, as climbing to the top of Mount Carmel.
Another example is where the Scripture speaks of the "dew of heaven" (
Genesis 27:28,
39,
Deuteronomy 33:28,
Daniel 4:15-33;
5:21). The first heaven, from which dew comes, means the atmosphere, where the clouds and the wind roam. Therefore, everything above the ground is called 'heaven."
Another Hebrew word for the first heaven is 'shachaq.' This same word for heaven (
Psalm 89:6,
37) is also translated as 'sky' or 'skies' (
Deuteronomy 33:26;
Job 37:18;
Psalm 18:11), and as 'clouds' (
Job 35:5;
36:28;
Psalm 36:5;
68:34,
Pro. 3:20;
8:28).
The Second Heaven:
The second heaven is outer space where the planets and stars exist (
Genesis 1:14-17;
15:5;
22:17;
26:4,
Deuteronomy 1:10;
17:3;
Psalm 8:3,
Jeremiah 8:2;
Matthew 24:29). Usually the term "host of heaven" or "firmament of the heaven" is used to describe this second heaven.
The Third Heaven:
The third heaven is literally called "the third heaven" in
2 Corinthians 12:2. This third heaven is what Christ calls his "Father's house" (
John 14:2), and both Christ and the Apostle Paul calls it "paradise" (
Luke 23:43,
2 Corinthians 12:2-4,
Revelation 2:7). This is where God and the heavenly sanctuary exist (
1 Peter 3:22). This third heaven is also known as the "heaven of heavens" (
Deuteronomy 10:14;
1 Kings 8:27,
2 Chronicles 2:6;
6:18,
Nehemiah 9:6,
Psalms 148:4), "The heavenly Jerusalem" (
Galatians 4: 26;
Hebrews 12:22;
Revelation 3:12), the "kingdom of heaven" (
Matthew 25:1,
James 2:5), the "eternal kingdom" (
2 Peter 1:11), the "eternal inheritance" (
1 Peter. 1:4,
Hebrews 9:15), and the "better country" (
Hebrews 11:14,
16). The fact that there are more than one 'heaven' can be shown by
Psalm 115:16, "The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S." There are obviously two different 'heavens' being addressed in this one verse.
Source:
Elijah, Enoch, and Moses
Important Note: Although I quoted part of this article to help explain the three heavens, I do not agree with their interpretation of on Enoch. I believe Enoch was translated or spiritually taken by God and did not see death (as the Scriptures say). So not all the views expressed at this website reflect my views on the Scriptures.