Chapter Three
This chapter names the spheres and discusses their physics, and also discusses the nature and physics of the four elements.
1) Those things which are called heaven, firmament, Zevul and Aravot are spheres, and there are nine spheres altogether. The sphere nearest to us is that of the moon. The second nearest is that which contains the planet Mercury, followed by the sphere containing the planet Venus, the sphere of the sun, the sphere containing the planet Mars, the sphere containing the planet Jupiter, the sphere containing the planet Saturn, and the sphere containing all the other stars which are visible in the firmament. The ninth sphere is that which moves from east to west every day, and which encloses and encircles everything. All the stars appear to be in the same sphere, even though the spheres are layered, for the reason that the spheres are pure and transparent like glass or sapphire, so that, for example, the stars in the eighth sphere [will] appear to be under the first sphere.
2) Each and every of the eight spheres which contain the stars is split up into many [sub-] spheres, like the skin of an onion. Some of these [sub-spheres] rotate from west to east, and some, like the ninth sphere, rotate from east to west. There is no free space between the sub-spheres.
3) None of the spheres is light or heavy, and none of them has a colour. What we see as blue [in the sky] is merely an illusion, caused by the height involved. Similarly, the spheres have no smell or taste, for these properties are found only in the physical bodies beneath the spheres.
4) All these spheres that surround the world are spherical like a ball [and concentric], with the world suspended at the centre. Some of the stars have small spheres around them; these small spheres do not surround the world, but they are non-surrounding small spheres contained within the larger surrounding sphere.
5) The number of spheres that surround the world is eighteen, whereas there are only eight non-surrounding small spheres. From the movement of the stars and from knowing their rate of progress each day and hour, and from their inclination from the equator, and from their distance from the Earth, the number of spheres and the way they move and surround [the world] can be deduced. Such calculations are the key calculations to working out the seasons and the [positions of the] Zodiac signs. The wise people of [Ancient] Greece wrote many books on this subject.
6) The early Sages divided the ninth sphere, which surrounds everything, into twelve parts. Each part was given a name appropriate to the pattern of stars it contains. The names of the Zodiac symbols are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Saggitarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.
7) The ninth sphere has no divisions, or a form of one of the forms described above, or any stars, but with being in contact with the stars of the eighth sphere and the big stars contained therein, it appears to have these forms, or some form close to them. These twelve forms [of the Zodiac] were in conjunction with the appropriate divisions, but after the Flood, when they were named, they shifted slightly. All the stars in the eighth sphere rotate in the same way that the sun and the moon do, but slower; the distance that sun covers in one day will take these stars [of the eighth sphere] seventy years to cover.
8) Of the visible stars, there are some smaller than the Earth, and there are some considerably bigger than the Earth. The Earth is approximately 40 times bigger than the moon, and the sun is approximately 170 times bigger than the Earth, so the moon is approximately 6800 times smaller than the sun. No star is bigger than the sun, and none is smaller then Mercury, which is in the second sphere.
9) All the stars and spheres possess souls, intellect and understanding, and they are alive, exist and recognise their Creator. Like the angels, all of them praise and laud their Creator, and do so according to their importance and level. Just as they recognise God so do they recognise themselves and the angels who are above them. The intellect of the stars and spheres is less than that of the angels, but greater than that of men.
10) The Almighty created a shape which is unlike that of the spheres [themselves] beneath the lunar sphere. This shape has four forms, which [also] aren't like the forms of the spheres. Each of these forms possesses some of this shape. The first form is that of fire, and combines with this shape to form the body of fire. The second form is that of wind, and combines with this shape to form the body of wind. The third form is that of water, and combines with this shape to form the body of water. The fourth form is that of earth, and combines with this shape to form the body of earth. It transpires that there are four bodies under the firmament, one above the other, and each body surrounds that beneath it from all sides, like a ball. The first body nearest the moon is that of fire, followed by the wind, the water and the earth. There is absolutely no free space between these bodies at all.
11) These four bodies do not possess souls, and do not know or recognise God, but they are like non-living matter. Each body has its own nature, which it does not know or understand, and cannot change. David said, "Praise the Lord from the earth, O monsters, and all deeps: fire, and hail, snow and vapours", meaning that those that are found on the earth should praise the Lord for His might that is visible in the fire and hail and in all the other creations beneath the firmament, just as their might is always recognised.
