I just wanted to say here that I'm content with living with the uncertainty in the passages in question. The firmament that God called "Heaven" is clearly talking about that which we are looking at when we look up at the sky. What it means by the firmament dividing waters from waters is rather confusing but it just seems like we aren't given enough detail to make sense of it. It seems to me to be details that we do not need and so I'm okay with it. The bible isn't a geology book nor is it a book about cosmology. It's a book about the relationship between God and His creation and with mankind in particular. As such, it isn't surprising that there are details left out about how God pulled off creating the Earth and the rest of the universe.
In other words, if the lack of detail here affected some matter of doctrine then it would be a big deal but it really doesn't do that and so, I don't see the need to force it to make perfect sense.
That is not to say that I fault anyone for discussing it and poking around with the issue, making some effort to make sense of it. Maybe such an effort will result in some important insight. If so, great! If not, then C'est la vie.
In other words, if the lack of detail here affected some matter of doctrine then it would be a big deal but it really doesn't do that and so, I don't see the need to force it to make perfect sense.
That is not to say that I fault anyone for discussing it and poking around with the issue, making some effort to make sense of it. Maybe such an effort will result in some important insight. If so, great! If not, then C'est la vie.