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HEAVEN (0. Eng. hefen, heofon, heofon...

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 165 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HEAVEN (0. Eng. hefen, heofon, heofone; this word appears in O.S. hevan; the High. Ger. word appears in Ger. See also: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 See also:appearance of a domed vault above the See also:earth, in which the See also:sun, See also:moon, See also:planets and stars seem to be placed, the See also:firmament; hence also used, generally in the plural, of the space immediately above the earth, the atmospheric region of winds, See also:rain, clouds, and of the birds of the See also:air . The See also:heaven and the earth together, therefore, to the See also:ancient cosmographers, and still in poetical See also:language, make up the universe .. In the cosmogonies of many ancient peoples there was a See also:plurality of heavens, probably among the earlier See also:Hebrews, the See also:idea being elaborated in rabbinical literature, among the Babylonians and in Zoroastrianism . The number of these heavens, the higher transcending the See also:lower in See also:glory, varied from three to seven .

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