G.F. Somsel:
According to an old tongue-in-cheek definition I once heard an "ex" is a has-been and a "spurt" is a drip under pressure so I guess that qualifies me. One thing which has largely been overlooked in the commentaries is the throne room vision in Revelation 4. There mention is made of a "sea of crystal" as
well as a rainbow forming a kind of nimbus about "the one seated on the throne." While the Greek word ἶρις IRIS is used rather than τόξον TOCON which the LXX uses for the bow in the Flood narrative, I would contend that this is due to the use of τόξον TOCON to describe the weapon of the 1st of the 4 horsemen in chapter 6. The passage would thus give an deluvian setting to the scene. In the Flood narrative it speaks of the "windows of heaven" being opened so that the waters which are above the רָקִיעַ RfQiYa( which is created in Gen 1 to divide the waters above the רָקִיעַ RfQia( from those below. This firmament is conceived as an inverted beaten metal bowl. The waters which are divided by this are the primieval ocean (APSU).
(1) When on high no name was given to heaven,
(2) Nor below was the netherworld called by name,
(3) Primeval Apsu was their progenitor,
(4) And matrix–Tiamat was she who bore them all,
(5) They were mingling their waters together,
No cane brake was intertwined nor thicket matted close.
Hallo, W. W., & Younger, K. L. (1997). The context of Scripture (391). Leiden; New York: Brill.
Victor Hurowitz:
If you have a look at CAD s.v. apsu you will find that the third definition is "water basin in a temple". There is also an article in the end notes by Burrows, Orientalia n.s. 1 which if I recall properly discusses this. Unfortunately the texts are very few. In the archaeological record, there is a basin found at Assur which was reconstructed and is in the Berlin Museum which is sqare basin with apkallu figures at the four corners and the middle of each side. They are holding jugs with water flowing out of them. I would call this an abzu and have compared it with Solomon's Yam in some of my discussions of Solomon's temple. I think it is also discussed in Zweickel's book on Solomon's Temple. Have a look at V. A. Hurowitz, "YHWH's Exalted House - Aspects of the Design and Symbolism of Solomon's Temple" in J. Day (ed.) Temple and Worship in Biblical Israel (Sheffield 2005) pp. 63-110 esp. 78-81 for this, other parallels, and the mythological background of the symbolism.