Flat Earth in the Holy Bible!

[TashaN]

Hi,

Does the bible mention that earth is flat? please provide the verse if it was mentioned.

By the way, i hope you won't go on the defense. I know many people mock Christianity for believing that earth is flat but i'm asking this because i'm really considering it might actually be correct.

So, i hope you will answer me based on the bible, not what you personally believe in.

Thank you.

 

[Kolibri]

Hi,

Does the bible mention that earth is flat? please provide the verse if it was mentioned.

By the way, i hope you won't go on the defense. I know many people mock Christianity for believing that earth is flat but i'm asking this because i'm really considering it might actually be correct.

So, i hope you will answer me based on the bible, not what you personally believe in.

Thank you.

Nothing I am aware of. Instead I read:

He stretches out the northern sky (Lit., "the north") over empty space, (Lit., "emptiness.")
Suspending the earth upon nothing;
- Job 26:7

and

There is One who dwells above the circle (or "sphere.") of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He is stretching out the heavens like a fine gauze,
And he spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
- Isaiah 40:22

 

[Brickjectivity]

I do not see any evidence of a modern astronomical understanding in the Bible. For example in the same chapter of Job he says "The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof." (Job 26:11) Which suggests that Job is poetically describing things. It is a poem after all. The horizon is the circle mentioned, and the heavens could be like a dome with light shining through holes in it. We now know that there are no pillars needed to hold up the heavens. Where Job supposedly says the "Earth hangs upon nothing" its actually a literary allusion to the "Formlessness" in Genesis 1 which says the Earth was 'Formless' and 'Void' until God separated the 'Waters' which could be ocean from ocean and ocean from sky, to form land. Job is referring to the amazing existence of land in the midst of raging oceans.

Job 38:8-11 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

Here you see again earth suspended upon the confusion of the ocean which is indeed considered to be formless and void and held back from swallowing the land by hidden powers. It is very suitable imagery for a tiny group of people surrounded by violence living through all the madness of the kings around them.

 

[Eliab ben Benjamin]

No not exactly, it mentions 4 corners, as we often use for N S E W , and circular from a Hebrew word that can be either Circle or sphere .. from this the Xian perspective of a flat
earth was devised ,, Mankind had long observed sun, moon and close planets as round.

Ancient Egyptian astronomy goes back to the third millennium BC,
Ancient Greek seafarers of the Ionian culture could read the stars like a map, and understood the patterns and motions of the celestial sphere.
The first geometrical, three-dimensional models to explain the apparent motion of the planets were developed in the 4th century BC by Eudoxus of Cnidus and Callippus of Cyzicus . Their models were based on nested homocentric spheres.

 

[BSM1]

No not exactly, it mentions 4 corners, as we often use for N S E W , and circular from a Hebrew word that can be either Circle or sphere .. from this the Xian perspective of a flat
earth was devised ,, Mankind had long observed sun, moon and close planets as round.

Ancient Egyptian astronomy goes back to the third millennium BC,
Ancient Greek seafarers of the Ionian culture could read the stars like a map, and understood the patterns and motions of the celestial sphere.
The first geometrical, three-dimensional models to explain the apparent motion of the planets were developed in the 4th century BC by Eudoxus of Cnidus and Callippus of Cyzicus . Their models were based on nested homocentric spheres.

Not only did they know the earth was round but Eratosthenes had accurately determined the circumference by then.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Not only did they know the earth was round but Eratosthenes had accurately determined the circumference by then.

You wouldn't know it from reading the Bible though.

 

[leibowde84]

Hi,

Does the bible mention that earth is flat? please provide the verse if it was mentioned.

By the way, i hope you won't go on the defense. I know many people mock Christianity for believing that earth is flat but i'm asking this because i'm really considering it might actually be correct.

So, i hope you will answer me based on the bible, not what you personally believe in.

Thank you.

By inference it does. For the following incident to take place, the earth must be flat. There is no way for everyone on the earth to see the same thing located above them unless the world is flat.

This is just one example of the assumption that the earth is flat in the Bible. Yet another reason why the Bible must always be read in context, just like the Quraan and every other religious text.

Daniel 4:11
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)

 

[leibowde84]

Nothing I am aware of. Instead I read:

He stretches out the northern sky (Lit., "the north") over empty space, (Lit., "emptiness.")
Suspending the earth upon nothing;
- Job 26:7

and

There is One who dwells above the circle (or "sphere.") of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He is stretching out the heavens like a fine gauze,
And he spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
- Isaiah 40:22

Daniel 4:11
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)

 

[Nietzsche]

By inference it does. For the following incident to take place, the earth must be flat. There is no way for everyone on the earth to see the same thing located above them unless the world is flat.

This is just one example of the assumption that the earth is flat in the Bible. Yet another reason why the Bible must always be read in context, just like the Quraan and every other religious text.

Daniel 4:11
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)

Pretty much this. This doesn't work unless we've got a flat world.

 

[Parsimony]

There is one incident that comes to mind which might imply a flat Earth. When Satan carried Jesus up on top of a mountain, it was said that they were able to see all the kingdoms on Earth. I don't see how that would work on a spherical Earth, but it could on a flat Earth. That is, if we take "all" the kingdoms as literal.

 

[Ouroboros]

Hi,

Does the bible mention that earth is flat? please provide the verse if it was mentioned.

There are two things in the Bible that suggests, but not explicitly say, that Earth is flat or close to it at least.

The first one is in Genesis, the world had one day and one night each cycle, which means there wasn't a world on the other side of the horizons, or on the other side when the sun was there. With a spherical Earth we know that during the 24 hour cycle, there's day and night constantly at one point or another. Greenwich standardized time and time zones weren't invented yet because no one even knew about the other side of the planet at that point. However, one could argue that the day and night cycle was only relating to Israel.

The other verse that hints at a flat Earth is the one when Satan takes Jesus to the top of a mountain (I think it was) and showed the whole world in front of him. It's hard to see around corners, even harder to see around a planet. It's impossible to stand on any high ground and see the whole planet. Not even the people on ISS can see all places on the planet at one time. They have to wait for the station to pass over to catch a view.

Oh, there's one more, similar to the last one, Dan 4:10-11, The King dreamt about a tree that was tall enough so the whole world could see it. If you live on the wrong side of the planet, sorry, you can't see it how much you ever try.

--edit

Oops. I see that the last two have been mentioned already.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

Augustine of Hippo wrote an essay on Bible interpretation. He pointed out that if God told some-one to prophesy, it would be about religion, not science, history, or geography. The non-religious statements are the writer's own. Augustine gives as an example the beginning of Genesis, saying that all that needed to be said was that in the beginning, God created heaven and earth; that sentence, however, would hardly attract interest, so the writer added an imaginative description of the work involved. But, said Augustine, it would be childish to believe that the process actually took exactly 144 hours in 6 sessions. There are many things, he added, that we know to be facts but the Biblical writers predated their discovery. He doesn't mention the spherical form of the earth, but that's an obvious case. What would be really surprising would be if the OT writers had known the earth wasn't flat!

 

[viole]

Nothing I am aware of. Instead I read:

He stretches out the northern sky (Lit., "the north") over empty space, (Lit., "emptiness.")
Suspending the earth upon nothing;
- Job 26:7

and

There is One who dwells above the circle (or "sphere.") of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He is stretching out the heavens like a fine gauze,
And he spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
- Isaiah 40:22

If the inhabitants of earth appear to God as grasshoppers, we can easily measure God's distance from earth by using a simple triangulation.

After making the calculation, I wonder why He is not considered a hazard for commercial jet airliners.

Ciao

- viole

 

[ChristineES]

What I don't understand is why, in the many times I've read the books in the Bible, did I never get any idea whatsoever that it was saying that the world/earth is flat.
I have a saying "If people want to see something, they will see it, whether it's really there or not".

 

[Ouroboros]

Augustine of Hippo wrote an essay on Bible interpretation. He pointed out that if God told some-one to prophesy, it would be about religion, not science, history, or geography. The non-religious statements are the writer's own.

What's interesting is that early Church founders could see this and understand not to read the Bible literally or as a history/science book, but today we have these fundamentalist movements pushing the idea that literalism is the true and original form of belief.

 

[leibowde84]

What I don't understand is why, in the many times I've read the books in the Bible, did I never get any idea whatsoever that it was saying that the world/earth is flat.
I have a saying "If people want to see something, they will see it, whether it's really there or not".

There are plenty, mostly in the Old Testament, that are undeniable inferences to a flat earth. Remember the tower that could be seen from everywhere on earth ... not possible unless the world was flat (Daniel). Or, there is mention of the "four corners of the world," spherical objects don't have corners. In the New Testament there is mention of Jesus rising up to the heavens and seeing all the kingdoms of the earth at once ... only possible if looking down on a flat surface. Just a few examples.

 

[ChristineES]

There are plenty, mostly in the Old Testament, that are undeniable inferences to a flat earth. Remember the tower that could be seen from everywhere on earth ... not possible unless the world was flat (Daniel). Or, there is mention of the "four corners of the world," spherical objects don't have corners. In the New Testament there is mention of Jesus rising up to the heavens and seeing all the kingdoms of the earth at once ... only possible if looking down on a flat surface. Just a few examples.

But can't you see? That is not necessarily saying that the earth is flat. A lot of the Bible, even the Prophets, is written in a poetic form (for example). People still say "four corners of the earth" and I don't think anyone who says it believes the earth is flat. People use a figurative way of speaking as well.
But that isn't what I am actually talking about: I've read Daniel, Matthew, etc. and when reading those passages it never entered my mind they were saying the earth is flat. The mistake that is being made, in my opinion, is that people are acting as if the books of the Bible are science books: They are not and were not written for that purpose. They are books about the men and women who followed God, poetry about God, Prophecies written, etc.

 

[leibowde84]

But can't you see? That is not necessarily saying that the earth is flat. A lot of the Bible, even the Prophets, is written in a poetic form (for example). People still say "four corners of the earth" and I don't think anyone who says it believes the earth is flat. People use a figurative way of speaking as well.
But that isn't what I am actually talking about: I've read Daniel, Matthew, etc. and when reading those passages it never entered my mind they were saying the earth is flat. The mistake that is being made, in my opinion, is that people are acting as if the books of the Bible are science books: They are not and were not written for that purpose. They are books about the men and women who followed God, poetry about God, Prophecies written, etc.

That's all well and good, but why would the author's put things in saying that a tower could be seen by everyone on earth unless they assumed that the world was flat. I guess I am not claiming that the authors of the Bible were "saying that the world was flat." It is just clear that they assumed this was the case ... not very important, but it seems apparent.

 

[ChristineES]

That's all well and good, but why would the author's put things in saying that a tower could be seen by everyone on earth unless they assumed that the world was flat. I guess I am not claiming that the authors of the Bible were "saying that the world was flat." It is just clear that they assumed this was the case ... not very important, but it seems apparent.

This will turn into a debate if I keep going, but I will say one last thing: What seems apparent may not actually be apparent. And assumptions can be correct but they can just as easily be wrong. We have no idea what the authors of Bible were thinking of, we have no idea what was lost in translation from the Hebrew and The ancient Greek originals.

 

[RedDragon94]

Hi,

Does the bible mention that earth is flat? please provide the verse if it was mentioned.

By the way, i hope you won't go on the defense. I know many people mock Christianity for believing that earth is flat but i'm asking this because i'm really considering it might actually be correct.

So, i hope you will answer me based on the bible, not what you personally believe in.

Thank you.

Well, even though I personally don't believe in a flat earth it says in Revelation 5:3 "But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it."