ÒAfter this, on the second
day, [God] placed the heavens over the whole
world, and separated it from the other
partsÉ. He also placed a crystalline [firmament]
round it, and put it together in a manner
agreeable to the earth, and fitted it for giving
moisture and rain, and for affording the advantage of
dews.Ó
Josephus,
Antiquities, 1.1.1.