Rabbi Yitzḥak and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, Rabbi Yitzḥak said: When a flesh-and-blood king builds a tent and stretches the tent tautly, with the passage of time it sags a bit. However, here [concerning God’s “tent”], “can you stretch out the heavens with Him?” (Job 37:18). And lest you say that they sag, the verse states: “Strong as a cast mirror” (Job 37:18). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: When a mortal man powerfully casts a vessel, with the passage of time it rusts.
However, here, “strong as a cast mirror” – they appear like a mirror. Rabbi Azarya said regarding this statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: “Because on it He rested from all His labor [that God created to make]. These are the outgrowths of the heavens and the earth when they were created” (Genesis 2:3–4) – [Why are these two verses juxtaposed?] It means that a day ends and another day begins, a week ends and another week begins, a month ends and another month begins, a year ends and another year begins.45The two verses are juxtaposed because after He completed Creation, the world continued to function with regularity, retaining the state of creation as it was when it was completed.