The Job 37:18 verse is often used to point out the error
in how the Hebrews viewed the earth's formation, specifically
what the "firmament" consisted of.
So who was discussing the Job 37:18 verse? Was it
considered right or wrong at the time?
In Job 38, God said the one saying the Job 38:17 verse
was wrong. The one speaking was named Elihu, he had been
speaking for some time. In the one verse, Elihu said that
he was speaking on God's behalf and that his words would
not be proven false. Yet right after, God said he was
giving "dark counsel" and "words without knowledge".
For Elihu to be so sure of what he was saying, he'd have
to be speaking much of what was COMMON KNOWLEDGE at the
time. So in saying what he did in Job 38:17, Elihu has
given away what the ancient Hebrews saw the "firmament" as:
Job 37:18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky,
which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?
The Hebrews thought a dome covered the earth and that
the dome was strong enough to support all the water
required for the rain to pour down.
Going back to the original Hebrew, you can see that
the word for "strong" can also mean HOTTEST which
also goes along with the term for "molten".
The "looking glass" part tends to show that they came
to the WRONG CONCLUSION about the "firmament". They
had thought the "waters" were above a dome and the
other "waters" were below the dome. They got this
idea from reading the Genesis text but they didn't
have the necessary information about what it would
take to form the earth, so they guessed the "firmament"
was a dome.
In essense, they understood terms used to describe the
"firmament", but didn't understand the overall form
of the firmament. And this is why God asked them if
they were around at the beginning in order to understand
what he had said about the beginning.
Without that understanding of the beginning, they
were coming to the wrong conclusions.
God then corrected them in Job 38, God said the LINE
was formed upon the "foundations" of the earth. That
LINE formed above the surface of the "pre-sun" star
and then dropped below the surface of the "pre-sun"
star to later explode giving the matter for planets.
That firmament LINE or RING was certainly the HOTTEST
matter, easily able to separate the "waters".
God made it all, Jesus died for our sins.
Note: The above information was written by John P. Boatwright and is freely given. The information is simply my opinion based on how I perceive the content discussed. Anyone reading such should use their own judgement as to whether or not the information has any value to them. You may copy portions of the above opinions as long as a reference to this page is included and no text within said portion is altered. If copied to another medium other than the internet, include the entire text. The above content may change over time.
Best wishes.