Many take the word to mean "vault." Could be!
Proverbs 15:22 KJV
22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
There is some more good evidence for sphere or globe.
Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And him who sits on the
sphere of The Earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretched out the Heavens like a vaulted bowl, and stretched them out as a tent for a dwelling
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary
Isaiah 40:22.
circle — applicable to the globular form of the earth, above which, and the vault of sky around it, He sits. For “upon” translate “above.”
Scofield Reference Bible Notes
circle
A remarkable reference to the sphericity of the earth. See, also, Isa_42:5; Isa_44:24; Isa_51:13; Job_9:8; Psa_104:2; Jer_10:12.
John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,.... Or, "the globe
(z)" of it; for the earth is spherical or globular: not a flat plain, but round, hung as a ball in the air; here Jehovah sits as the Lord and Sovereign;
(z) על חוג "super sphaeram", Pagninus; "globum",
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
The heaven and the earth themselves are under his management: He sits upon the
circle, or globe, of the earth, Isa_40:22. He that has the special residence of his glory in the upper world maintains a dominion over this lower world, gives law to it, and directs all the motions of it to his own glory. He sits undisturbed upon the earth, and so establishes it.
Barnes:
The circle of the earth - Or rather, "above" (על ‛al) the circle of the earth. The word rendered 'circle' (חוּג chûg) denotes "a
circle, sphere, or arch"; and is applied to the arch or vault of the heavens,...
Dake's Study Notes (Finis Dake)
b [circle] Hebrew: chuwg (H2329). Translated "circle" (Isa_40:22); "circuit" (Job_22:14); and "compass" (Psa_8:1-9 :27). This word revealed that the earth was round, long before men generally accepted
class, group activity ; group, circle (of people) ; (
geography) tropic,
sphere
Rabbi in Torah Study, Yeshiva
Sphere of the Earth. חוג הארץ. Yeshayahu/Isaiah 40:22
Yes! Amazingly, Yeshayahu wrote the earth was round, a חוג, a
sphere, before anyone else knew that. Well before the Greeks. Isaiah wrote the earth was a sphere c. 710 BC, 350 years before Plato wrote it in Phaedo in c. 360 BC.
You can see the correct Hebrew translation of the word חוג here.
מילון ותרגום מורפיקס Morfix Dictionary | חוג באנגלית
The word חוג Chug in Yeshayahu 40:22 means
Sphere. The round
globe of Earth.
Circle of earth is not a correct translation. It says in verse 40:22: Chug Ha’aretz, which means
Sphere of the Earth. Not simply circle.
The word מעגל, Ma’agal circle, was not written here. As you can see here, מעגל Ma’agal means circle:
מילון ותרגום מורפיקס Morfix Dictionary | מַעְגָּל באנגלית
But Yeshayahu was very particular with his word choice of חוג Chug, which is a
sphere.
Francesca Maria
Literary Agent and Author Rep at Book Publishing (2015–present)
"It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers [etc.]" Isaiah 40:22 (NKJ).
When Isaiah wrote this verse, he used the Hebrew word "khug" to describe the shape of the earth. Although this word is commonly translated into the English word "circle," the literal meaning of this word is "a
sphere.” Meaning a
roundish shape. In the Italian translation, the word is “globo,” which is the Latin derivative of where we get the word “
Globe”
Jeff Johnson 50 plus years of being a Bible Student at TMS & 4 PSS School(Graduated 1978)
What is the shape of the earth?
In ancient times, many people thought that the earth was flat. In the fifth century B.C.E., Greek scientists suggested that it was a
sphere. But long before that—in the eighth century B.C.E.—the Bible writer Isaiah referred to “the circle of the earth,” using a word that may also be rendered “
sphere.”—Isaiah 40:22
“There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22) The Hebrew word chugh, here translated “circle,” may also be rendered “
sphere.”3 Other Bible translations read, “the
globe of the earth” (Douay Version) and “the
round earth.”—Moffatt.
Barbara LeMaster
...the Bible writer Isaiah referred to “the circle of the earth,” using a word that may also be rendered “
sphere.”—
Isaiah 40:22
The Hebrew word chugh, here translated as “circle,” may be rendered “
sphere.” Interestingly, only a spherical object appears as a circle from every angle. Far ahead of his time... the prophet Isaiah recorded a statement that is scientifically sound and free from ancient myths.
A Concordance of the Hebrew and Chaldee Scriptures by B. Davidson as “
circle, sphere.” This same Hebrew word for circle is found in Job 22:14 and is there translated in many different translations as, “vault” or “dome”, indicating depth. In harmony with this fact, when Isaiah 40:22 says “circle of the earth, then the word “circle” here is in the same Hebrew sense as that found in Job 22:14. So it follows that the word “circle” in Isaiah 40:22 must mean something that is
spherical. At the time this is far from what others believed as to the shape of the earth. So this, among other things shows that the Bible is in harmony with scientific facts.
milog.co.il
