In this chapter, Maimonides returns to the earlier theme of explaining expressions in Scripture that seem to imply a corporeal God. This time, he is explaining the verb “to ride” (rakaba) when it has been used for God, e.g., “who rideth (rokeb) upon the heaven in thy help” (raakib al-samaa’ li-nusratik) (Deuteronomy XXXIII.26)

After a long-winded explanation, Maimoindes says that in this passage from Deuteronomy, the phrase

“who rideth upon heaven” means “who sets the all-surrounding sphere (al-falak al-a’laa) in motion, and turns it by His power and will” … through the motion of the uppermost sphere in its daily circuit, all the spheres move, participating as parts in the motion of the whole.

Thus, God’s role in the Universe is in the form of raakib al-samaawaat, the entity that ‘rides’ on the outermost sphere and sets it in motion.