Genesis 1: 6-8 (also ref. v. 16), 9-10
6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
(16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.)
comments:
The Earth was provided with its firmament or heaven, which from what I understand comprehends both the skies (or atmosphere, where the clouds and weather form) and the Earth’s view of the stars, constellations, and other heavenly bodies that can be seen from the surface of the planet.
Since the creation of the stars is not mentioned until verse sixteen (after mention of the creation of the sun and the moon), we may not want to assume that any stars were visible at the time that it was said the Earth was given a sky, heaven, or firmament. I think it most likely that any number of stars had already been in existence in the universe at/before the time of the Earth’s formation, and it may well be that the mention in verse sixteen that God “made the stars also” could have simply been a footnote or reminder that God was to be given full credit for the stars as well, rather than a statement that all the stars were made by God at that time, with none existing before the Earth’s sun and moon. Or, it may have been a note saying that God created additional stars in the cosmic neighborhood of the Earth around that time, additional to however many stars which may have existed previously in the universe.
Regardless, I believe that the point of giving credit to God for the creation of the stars is far more important than sorting out exactly when they were created.
And, as noted, there was the sky or atmospheric portion of that which was referred to as the “firmament” created, and the waters divided between those above it and those below it - or, might we say, the waters up “in” the atmosphere, and the waters below, on the surface of the planet.
To me, this suggests the establishment of the basis of the water cycle upon which all life on Earth depends, with water in the atmosphere in clouds (moved by weather patterns generally) and water below in the seas, oceans, lakes, rivers, and underground locations on the planet, cycling through various ways of being available for use by living things. In many situations, the fact that water is naturally kept moving around means that it is able to either pick up useful minerals or be filtered or aerated, or at least to not sit still and stagnate to the point of being unable to support most complex forms of life.
As mentioned in verses nine and ten, another preparation of the Earth before complex life was introduced to it, was that with the division of the waters came also the waters on the surface of the planet being gathered (or receded?) from the land, such that dry land would appear - which was called Earth, and the waters in large bodies called seas.
