1. [n]  any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
2. [n]  the abode of God and the angels and the souls of those who have gained salvation

Heaven
Based on the Christian Liturgical Calendar and the Bible, these formal, spiritual poems wrestle with questions of faith and love. This book was awarded the 1999 Bakeless Literary Publication Prize for Poetry.

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1. \Heav"en\ (h[e^]v"'n), n. [OE. heven, hefen, heofen, AS.
   heofon; akin to OS. hevan, LG. heben, heven, Icel. hifinn; of
   uncertain origin, cf. D. hemel, G. himmel, Icel. himmin,
   Goth. himins; perh. akin to, or influenced by, the root of E.
   heave, or from a root signifying to cover, cf. Goth.
   gaham[=o]n to put on, clothe one's self, G. hemd shirt, and
   perh. E. chemise.]
   1. The expanse of space surrounding the earth; esp., that
      which seems to be over the earth like a great arch or
      dome; the firmament; the sky; the place where the sun,
      moon, and stars appear; -- often used in the plural in
      this sense.
            I never saw the heavens so dim by day. --Shak.
            When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last
            time the sun in heaven.               --D. Webster.
   2. The dwelling place of the Deity; the abode of bliss; the
      place or state of the blessed after death.
            Unto the God of love, high heaven's King. --Spenser.
            It is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to
            hell.                                 --Shak.
            New thoughts of God, new hopes of Heaven. --Keble.
   Note: In this general sense heaven and its corresponding
         words in other languages have as various definite
         interpretations as there are phases of religious
         belief.
   3. The sovereign of heaven; God; also, the assembly of the
      blessed, collectively; -- used variously in this sense, as
      in No. 2.
            Her prayers, whom Heaven delights to hear. --Shak.
            The will And high permission of all-ruling Heaven.
                                                  --Milton.
   4. Any place of supreme happiness or great comfort; perfect
      felicity; bliss; a sublime or exalted condition; as, a
      heaven of delight. ``A heaven of beauty.'' --Shak. ``The
      brightest heaven of invention.'' --Shak.
            O bed! bed! delicious bed! That heaven upon earth to
            the weary head!                       --Hood.
   Note: Heaven is very often used, esp. with participles, in
         forming compound words, most of which need no special
         explanation; as, heaven-appeasing, heaven-aspiring,
         heaven-begot, heaven-born, heaven-bred,
         heaven-conducted, heaven-descended, heaven-directed,
         heaven-exalted, heaven-given, heaven-guided,
         heaven-inflicted, heaven-inspired, heaven-instructed,
         heaven-kissing, heaven-loved, heaven-moving,
         heaven-protected, heaven-taught, heaven-warring, and
         the like.
   

2. \Heav"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Heavened}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Heavening}.]
   To place in happiness or bliss, as if in heaven; to beatify.
   [R.]
         We are happy as the bird whose nest Is heavened in the
         hush of purple hills.                    --G. Massey.
   

(1.) Definitions. The phrase "heaven and earth" is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens,

(a) The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven" (Gen. 2:19; 7:3, 23; Ps. 8:8, etc.), "the eagles of heaven" (Lam. 4:19), etc.

(b) The starry heavens (Deut. 17:3; Jer. 8:2; Matt. 24:29).

(c) "The heaven of heavens," or "the third heaven" (Deut. 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 115:16; 148:4; 2 Cor. 12:2).

(2.) Meaning of words in the original,

(a) The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is _shamayim_, a plural form meaning "heights," "elevations" (Gen. 1:1; 2:1).

(b) The Hebrew word _marom_ is also used (Ps. 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to _shamayim_, "high places," "heights."

(c) Heb. galgal, literally a "wheel," is rendered "heaven" in Ps. 77:18 (R.V., "whirlwind").

(d) Heb. shahak, rendered "sky" (Deut. 33:26; Job 37:18; Ps. 18:11), plural "clouds" (Job 35:5; 36:28; Ps. 68:34, marg. "heavens"), means probably the firmament.

(e) Heb. rakia is closely connected with (d), and is rendered "firmamentum" in the Vulgate, whence our "firmament" (Gen. 1:6; Deut. 33:26, etc.), regarded as a solid expanse.

(3.) Metaphorical meaning of term. Isa. 14:13, 14; "doors of heaven" (Ps. 78:23); heaven "shut" (1 Kings 8:35); "opened" (Ezek. 1:1). (See 1 Chr. 21:16.)

(4.) Spiritual meaning. The place of the everlasting blessedness of the righteous; the abode of departed spirits.

(a) Christ calls it his "Father's house" (John 14:2).

(b) It is called "paradise" (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7).

(c) "The heavenly Jerusalem" (Gal. 4: 26; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 3:12).

(d) The "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 25:1; James 2:5).

(e) The "eternal kingdom" (2 Pet. 1:11).

(f) The "eternal inheritance" (1 Pet. 1:4; Heb. 9:15).

(g) The "better country" (Heb. 11:14, 16).

(h) The blessed are said to "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," and to be "in Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22; Matt. 8:11); to "reign with Christ" (2 Tim. 2:12); and to enjoy "rest" (Heb. 4:10, 11).

In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of "life everlasting," "an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17), an exemption from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils (2 Cor. 5:1, 2) and from the society of the wicked (2 Tim. 4:18), bliss without termination, the "fulness of joy" for ever (Luke 20:36; 2 Cor. 4:16, 18; 1 Pet. 1:4; 5:10; 1 John 3:2). The believer's heaven is not only a state of everlasting blessedness, but also a "place", a place "prepared" for them (John 14:2).