The Third Heaven

Shamayim comes from shameh, a root meaning to be lofty. It literally means the sky.



"Shamayim" is a crucial concept in the Bible. There are at least three different shamayim or "heavens" in the bible: 1) The atmosphere where birds fly and clouds wander above the earth; 2) The heaven where the celestial bodies wander (wandering stars = planets) and stars reside; 3) The heaven where God and "the hosts of heaven" reside (Psalm 90:4; 2Peter 3:8; Isaiah 57:15), also called "paradise," the "heaven of heavens," or in Hebrew shamayi h'shamayim (ם‎שמי‎ה‎ שמי) in scripture (cf. Deut 10:14; 1Ki 8:27; 2Ch 2:6, 6:18; Neh 9:6).




The Third Heaven is a spiritual division of the universe within Judeo-Christian cosmology. In some traditions it is considered the abode of God,[1] and in others a lower level of Paradise, commonly one of seven




References to distinct concepts known as "Heaven" (Heb. Shamayim) occur in the very earliest books of the Old Testament.[1] The first use of the word heaven, in Genesis 1:8 and 20 refers to the atmosphere over the earth in which birds fly. The second, mentioned in Genesis 1:14, is the setting for the celestial lights, later identified (Genesis 1:16) as the sun, moon and stars.







A third concept of Heaven, also called shamayi h'shamayim (םשמיה שמי: the "Heaven of Heavens") is mentioned in such passages as Genesis 28:12, Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Kings 8:27 as a distinctly spiritual realm containing (or being traveled by) angels and God Himself.[3]







Due to the ambiguity of the term "Heaven" as it is used in the Old Testament books, and the fact that the word in Hebrew, shamayim, (םשמי) is plural, a number of interpretations have been offered for various texts involving its nature, notably the assumption of the prophet Elijah.