The Earth Is A Sphere According To The Bible

[CherubRam]

Round Earth

Isaiah 40:22
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in?


חוּג circle
The word translated as circle in the Hebrew, is also translated as sphere, which is what the earth is.


This verse also explains the earth is suspended in the heavens, not contained on something else.

Job 26:7 "He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.








circle

מַעְגָל, חוּג, עִגוּל, סִבּוּב, דוּר, מֵסַב

class

מַחלָקָה, מַעֲמָד, סוּג, כִּתָה, מִין, חוּג

ring

טַבַּעַת, צִלצוּל, זִירָה, מַעְגָל, חוּג, חוֹחַ

orb

גַלגַל הָעַיִן, גַלגַל, עִגוּל, חוּג, תְחוּם, גֶרֶם הַשָׁמַיִם

sphere

כַּדוּר, תְחוּם, סְפֵירָה, חוּג, גַלגַל, הֶקֵף

tropic

חוּג, מַהְפָּך

horizon

אֹפֶק, חוּג, חוּג הָאָרֶץ

boundary

גְבוּל, קַו גְבוּל, תְחוּם, חוּג, שׁוּלַיִם, מֶצֶר

party

צַד, מִפלָגָה, סִיעָה, חֲבוּרָה, חוּג, נֶשֶׁף

 

[Catherineanne]

Round Earth

Isaiah 40:22
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in?


חוּג circle
The word translated as circle in the Hebrew, is also translated as sphere, which is what the earth is.


This verse also explains the earth is suspended in the heavens, not contained on something else.

Job 26:7 "He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.





circle
מַעְגָל, חוּג, עִגוּל, סִבּוּב, דוּר, מֵסַב
class
מַחלָקָה, מַעֲמָד, סוּג, כִּתָה, מִין, חוּג
ring
טַבַּעַת, צִלצוּל, זִירָה, מַעְגָל, חוּג, חוֹחַ
orb
גַלגַל הָעַיִן, גַלגַל, עִגוּל, חוּג, תְחוּם, גֶרֶם הַשָׁמַיִם
sphere
כַּדוּר, תְחוּם, סְפֵירָה, חוּג, גַלגַל, הֶקֵף
tropic
חוּג, מַהְפָּך
horizon
אֹפֶק, חוּג, חוּג הָאָרֶץ
boundary
גְבוּל, קַו גְבוּל, תְחוּם, חוּג, שׁוּלַיִם, מֶצֶר
party

I am afraid not.

If a word can be either circle or sphere then the next thing to look at is the rest of the description. There may have been tents known to the ancients which were erected over a circular space, but there are unlikely to have been any erected over a spherical one; such a 'tent' would be uninhabitable.

Therefore in context what is meant is a flat circle covered by a canopy. This accords with many ancient world views but does not mean that the world is actually flat; only that the description accords with many ancient world views (but not all).

 

[CherubRam]

I am afraid not.

If a word can be either circle or sphere then the next thing to look at is the rest of the description. There may have been tents known to the ancients which were erected over a circular space, but there are unlikely to have been any erected over a spherical one; such a 'tent' would be uninhabitable.

Therefore in context what is meant is a flat circle covered by a canopy. This accords with many ancient world views but does not mean that the world is actually flat; only that the description accords with many ancient world views (but not all).

Did you know that the Hebrew word for breath can also be translated as wind or spirit. Figure that one out.

 

[Heber Book List]

The problem, highlighted in the OP, is that the word on which it depends COULD be used in the sense of a circular plate with limited depth - flat earth. However, with modern life and science, we can see that the world is a globe, or sphere. Ancient nations may well have believed it was flat, purely because they had no means of making any other decision; the heavens being above and hell below was quite a logical view. In the same way, ancient civilisations believed that the sun moved and the earth remained still - now we know the opposite is reality.

Whilst the Bible doesn't prove what we see and know, on these matters, neither does it disprove what we see and know. It was simply a matter of pragmatic observational evidence for ancient peoples. When I tell people I have seen it rain or snow from the ground up, instead of from the sky down, they do not understand until I tell them how it is very natural for that to happen, or for it to rain on one side of the path, and not the other. Had these things happened in ancient times it would, no doubt, have been recorded in the Bible as a warning from the gods, or some strange miracle of an unknown god.

.

 

[Sorn]

When I tell people I have seen it rain or snow from the ground up, instead of from the sky down, they do not understand until I tell them how it is very natural for that to happen

Do tell please.

 

[Heber Book List]

Do tell please.

When I worked in industry, my office was 6 floors up in Shell Centre, London. The building was large, in a square shape - each side was 9 floors high.

On one side, at ground level, there was a small walk way under the offices. When it snowed or rained, and the wind through the walkway was at the right strength, it used to blow the snow and rain upwards. As the wind bounced off the walls of the building, the only place it could go was up and so, whatever was falling out of the sky, in the right conditions, caused it go up, not down.

It used to really confuse visitors to our offices, especially visitors from countries where snow was unknown, and rain was rather scarce! We used to love showing people and see the amazed look on their faces . The reality of nature!

 

[CherubRam]

The problem, highlighted in the OP, is that the word on which it depends COULD be used in the sense of a circular plate with limited depth - flat earth. However, with modern life and science, we can see that the world is a globe, or sphere. Ancient nations may well have believed it was flat, purely because they had no means of making any other decision; the heavens being above and hell below was quite a logical view. In the same way, ancient civilisations believed that the sun moved and the earth remained still - now we know the opposite is reality.

Whilst the Bible doesn't prove what we see and know, on these matters, neither does it disprove what we see and know. It was simply a matter of pragmatic observational evidence for ancient peoples. When I tell people I have seen it rain or snow from the ground up, instead of from the sky down, they do not understand until I tell them how it is very natural for that to happen, or for it to rain on one side of the path, and not the other. Had these things happened in ancient times it would, no doubt, have been recorded in the Bible as a warning from the gods, or some strange miracle of an unknown god.

.

The earliest reliably documented mention of the spherical Earth concept dates from around the 6th century BC when it appeared in ancient Greek philosophy but remained a matter of speculation until the 3rd century BC, when Hellenistic astronomy established the spherical shape of the Earth as a physical given. The paradigm was gradually adopted throughout the Old World during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. A practical demonstration of Earth's sphericity was achieved by Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano's expedition's circumnavigation (1519−1522).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_Earth

 

[Catherineanne]

Did you know that the Hebrew word for breath can also be translated as wind or spirit. Figure that one out.

Yes, I did.

English is the same; catching your wind and catching your breath mean pretty much the same.

 

[Dkh587]

Moses and Prophets teach that the earth is flat with a dome over it, and that the universe is geocentric

The heliocentric globe model comes from sun worshipping gentiles

Moses & the prophets > devil worshipping gentiles making up a cosmology based on sun worship

 

[CherubRam]

Moses and Prophets teach that the earth is flat with a dome over it, and that the universe is geocentric

The heliocentric globe model comes from sun worshipping gentiles

Moses & the prophets > devil worshipping gentiles making up a cosmology based on sun worship

Show us the scriptures please?

 

[Dkh587]

Show us the scriptures please?

In Genesis 1, Moses wrote about God creating a flat earth and a geocentric universe all contained within a dome.

do you believe what Moses wrote, or do you believe sun worshiping Gentiles that fabricated a heliocentric model to compliment their sun(Satan) worship?

 

[JackRT]

Modern or ancient, every culture operates within a certain cosmology or understanding of the universe. This cosmology sets the context of how a people understand their world and their place in it. With very few exceptions our modern day cosmology is shaped by the scientific discoveries of the past 500 years. Some of these discoveries have greatly upset religious understandings and it sometimes takes centuries to reconcile the differences. However, since we live in a culture that has been greatly shaped by the bible and Christian beliefs, it is worthwhile to ask about biblical cosmology.

The biblical understanding of the universe is much the same as that of the surrounding cultures in the ancient Middle East at the time when it was written. Unfortunately, nowhere does the bible attempt to present a comprehensive cosmology, so we are forced to rely upon individual passages and to attempt to understand them in the light of their culture and their history. To begin with, biblical cosmology can be characterized as a three-tiered universe. This strange phrase needs some explanation to make the concept clearer.

First, the surface of the earth is circular and flat except for geographical features like hills and valleys. This of course was the belief of the Sumerians. To these people it was theoretically possible to go high enough to see the entire earth, or to envision a tree tall enough that it could be seen from everywhere on the earth's surface, or even to build a tower to reach the sky. The sky was thought of as a solid bowl, called the firmament, that was upended over the circular earth to enclose a volume in the shape of a hemisphere. I should add that there are some bible verses that speak of the four corners of the earth. This was the view of the Babylonians. This would make the firmament look more like a tent than a bowl. The lights of the sky (sun, moon, planets and stars) were inside the firmament and were very much smaller than we presently understand. In fact they were very much smaller than the earth itself. The mechanism by which these celestial objects moved about is not really explained. The noncanonical Book of Enoch (mentioned in the bible as authoritive and part of the canon of Ethiopian Christians) speaks of gates in the east and west for the sun and the moon to enter and leave. Enoch also suggests that their movements are caused by winds.

What I have just described is the middle tier of the three. Above the firmament are waters. This region is described as heaven, the abode of God and the angels. There were also gates in the firmament to permit water to enter as rain. Below the earth are also waters. This region is described as sheol or hell. There were also gates in the earth to permit water to spring up from below. This three level universe is variously described as either hung on nothing or supported by pillars. Storehouses are also envisioned in heaven for the snow and hail.

How should a of Christian today react to this biblical cosmology? The vast majority of what might be described as 'mainline' Christians are actually quite comfortable with this seeming dichotomy. They recognize that the bible is the product of a relatively unsophisticated people with an entirely pre-scientific understanding of nature, who used poetic or metaphorical language to convey their spiritual understandings. On the other hand there is the minority point of view of those Christians who regard the bible to be inerrant and to be understood literally. This group has been forced into extreme apologetic efforts in order to reconcile the bible with modern scientific understandings.

Speaking personally, I find these apologetic attempts to be rather inventive and very strained. I believe that if the scripture writers and early target audience were to read these apologetics, they would find them extremely puzzling and entirely foreign. This is not to say that they were not intelligent people or not keen observers of nature but rather that that they lacked the intellectual basis to form scientific hypotheses and even the instrumentation to gather accurate data --- all that came about some 2,000 years later.

Isaiah 11:12And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH. (KJV)

Revelation 7:1And after these things I saw four angels standing on FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (KJV)

Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ENDS OF THE EARTH, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? (KJV)

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ENDS OF THE EARTH, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. (KJV)

Daniel 4:11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the ENDS OF ALL THE EARTH: (KJV)

Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (KJV)

Psalm 104:5 "He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved."(NIV)

Psalm 93:1"The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved." (NIV)

Psalm 96:10 "Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity." (NIV)

Ecclesiastes 1:5 "The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises." (NIV)

Isaiah 40:22 "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in." (NIV)

Job 9:6 He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. (NIV)

Job 26:11 The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. (NIV)

Job 38:22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail," (NIV)

Amos 9:6 The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens and has founded His VAULTED DOME over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, The LORD is His name. (NASB)

The biblical flat earth cosmology persisted into New Testament times. However by the mid second century Christianity had largely lost its Jewish roots and understandings and had become a gentile Greek speaking movement. Of course the Greeks knew that the earth was a sphere thanks to Eratosthenes who actually was able to calculate the circumference around 240 BC. This knowledge gradually percolated into Jewish and Christian thought especially after Ptolemy introduced his cosmology in the mid second century. The earth became the center of the universe with the moon and then the sun and then the planets, with complicated epicycles, and then the “fixed” stars all in orbit around it. This was the cosmology accepted by Christianity until the revolution of Copernicus, Kepler. Galileo and Newton. This was resisted by Christianity largely on the basis that the earth was not the center of God’s creation. In a relatively short time even this scientific insight was not only accepted but accepted to the extent that the biblical cosmology of a flat earth was rejected. The flat earth was not only rejected but ridiculous arguments were even invented to suggest that the bible was not even suggesting a flat earth at all. Such, all too often, is the way some Christians react to new understandings and insights.

 

[JackRT]

or do you believe sun worshiping Gentiles that fabricated a heliocentric model to compliment their sun(Satan) worship?

You are attributing motivations that are not in evidence.

 

[Dkh587]

You are attributing motivations that are not in evidence.

It depends on what someone considers to be evidence.

For example, I've found plenty of evidence through researching to come to the conclusion that the heliocentric model is fabricated & based on worshipping the sun.

The Torah & Prophets are geocentric. They're definitely not heliocentric. WHether you accept them or not, you acknowledge that the Torah & Prophets teach that the earth is flat. There's really not much more for me to say because you actually help me make my case.

Heliocentrism is a model based on the universe revolving around the sun god, Helios - hence the term "Heliocentric"

 

[Open Heart]

a circle is not a sphere.

The Bible uses phenomenological language, meaning a specific type of figurative language that describes things as we see them (rather than how they actually are) such as the sun rising. It is with this kind of language that the Bible says the Earth is a circle.

 

[CherubRam]

a circle is not a sphere.

The Bible uses phenomenological language, meaning a specific type of figurative language that describes things as we see them (rather than how they actually are) such as the sun rising. It is with this kind of language that the Bible says the Earth is a circle.

Do to the rotation of the Earth the Sun does rise in the East.


Pope Innocent III, of the Catholic Church of England, believed that the earth was flat.

 

[Dkh587]

a circle is not a sphere.

The Bible uses phenomenological language, meaning a specific type of figurative language that describes things as we see them (rather than how they actually are) such as the sun rising. It is with this kind of language that the Bible says the Earth is a circle.

This reasoning is a common excuse to dance around the Torah & Prophets presenting a flat earth, rather than accepting them for what they plainly teach.

For example, instead of accepting the book of Joshua for what it says, that Joshua commanded the sun & moon to stand still.
- eg that the sun and moon are moving above us - people make excuses as to why it doesn't really say that, such as "they were only writing what they saw". This is insulting to the Ruach who was there at creation, who also inspired the writers of Scripture to write what we now have.

If anybody would know the correct cosmology, it would be Moses & the Prophets, NOT sun worshipping Greeks who fabricated a cosmology model based on sun worship.

The globe earth and helicentric model is fictional. It's not real, and it's definitely not biblical, and it has never been proven. Nobody can prove the earth is a ball going around the sun because it's not. You definitely can't prove it via the Torah & Prophets & Renewed Covenant writings because they present a flat, geocentric earth. Even @JackRT acknowledges this, but he does his best to discredit it.

 

[Heber Book List]

This reasoning is a common excuse to dance around the Torah & Prophets presenting a flat earth, rather than accepting them for what they plainly teach.

For example, instead of accepting the book of Joshua for what it says, that Joshua commanded the sun & moon to stand still.
- eg that the sun and moon are moving above us - people make excuses as to why it doesn't really say that, such as "they were only writing what they saw". This is insulting to the Ruach who was there at creation, who also inspired the writers of Scripture to write what we now have.

If anybody would know the correct cosmology, it would be Moses & the Prophets, NOT sun worshipping Greeks who fabricated a cosmology model based on sun worship.

The globe earth and helicentric model is fictional. It's not real, and it's definitely not biblical, and it has never been proven. Nobody can prove the earth is a ball going around the sun because it's not. You definitely can't prove it via the Torah & Prophets & Renewed Covenant writings because they present a flat, geocentric earth. Even @JackRT acknowledges this, but he does his best to discredit it.

So present us with a photo of the eastern and western edges of the earth, showing what holds the oceans in place - no further evidence needed then and this thread can die a natural death.
Over to you... the whole of creation waits on your evidence.

 

[CherubRam]

חוּג circle
The word translated as circle in the Hebrew, is also translated as sphere, which is what the earth is.

 

[Open Heart]

Do to the rotation of the Earth the Sun does rise in the East.


Pope Innocent III, of the Catholic Church of England, believed that the earth was flat.

The sun isn't moving at all. Only the earth is moving. The sun APPEARS to move, hence phenomenological language.

Yes, there were certainly Catholics, even the pope, that believed a flat earth. But remember that a spherical earth was proven way back in Grecian times, and all through the middle ages and renaissance, there were those who continued to believe it.