HEAVEN (0. Eng. hefen, heofon, heofone; this word appears in O.S. hevan; the High. Ger. word appears in Ger.

See also:

• HIMMEL, FREDERICK HENRY (1765-1814)

Himmel, Dutch hemel; there does not seem to be any connexion between the two words, and the ultimate derivation of the word is unknown; the sugges  tion that it is connected with " to heave, " in the sense of something " lifted up," is erroneous), properly the expanse, taking the appearance of a domed vault above the earth, in which the sun, moon, planets and stars seem to be placed, the firmament; hence also used, generally in the plural, of the space immediately above the earth, the atmospheric region of winds, rain, clouds, and of the birds of the air . The heaven and the earth together, therefore, to the ancient cosmographers, and still in poetical language, make up the universe .. In the cosmogonies of many ancient peoples there was a plurality of heavens, probably among the earlier Hebrews, the idea being elaborated in rabbinical literature, among the Babylonians and in Zoroastrianism . The number of these heavens, the higher transcending the lower in glory, varied from three to seven .