16:17; 18:10, 14, 19). The Greek word translated “heaven” literally means “sky.” To understand what the biblical authors have in mind, perhaps it might be a good idea to drop the word “heaven” from Bible translations entirely. The biblical reference is always and only to the sky. The Greek plural form in this phrase (Matt. 6:9: en tois ouranois) was probably influenced by the Hebrew šāmayim (or Aramaic šĕmayin), which the Greek translates. However, the Greek word occurs most often in the singular.