raqiya, “firmament,” strong’s H7549

The first occurrence.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Gen 1:6

The primitive root.

Strong’s H7549 raqiya, a concrete noun meaning “firmament, expanse;” from Strong’s H7554 רקע  raqa, a primitive root meaning, “to spread out.” The 3-letter root is resh + quph + ayin.

resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
quph ק = sun on the horizon, thus condense, circle, time
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade

The story: Overspread (resh, in the sense of top or above) as far as (quph, in the sense of horizon) the eye can see (ayin).

THE ANCIENT HEBREW LEXICON | INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS