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Body of Heaven

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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The King James Version translates the Hebrew idiom, עצם השמים , ‛ecem ha -shāmayim , by "the body of heaven" (Exodus 24:10 ). A more correct rendering is given in the Revised Version (British and American), "the very heaven," taking the word ‛ecem in its idiomatic use as an intensive, which is derived from its literal meaning, "bone," as "strength," "substance," and then as "self" (compare Job 21:23 ); the substance of the blue, unclouded sky, hence, the clear sky itself.