Does the Bible declare a Flat or Globe Earth?

 Does the Bible declare a Flat or Globe Earth?

This is is an interesting question. One that is on the minds of many as they are starting to face challenges to the conventional modern view of a globe earth by those who proclaim not only is the earth flat and shaped like a disc surrounded by an ice wall, but that the Bible itself affirms this notion.  

The first thing we must do to remain objective when evaluating claims is to begin the inquiry "tabula rasa" (from a blank slate) in order that we might examine the evidence more clearly.  Because to conduct a scholarly inquiry into any matter we must first do what is necessary to remove any sort of Confirmation Bias that we might bring to the inquiry.

The evidence should be sufficient to lead us to the answers we seek.  We should not begin with a position and then find ways to collate data that supports that position or we risk missing valid and constructive counterpoints, and further risk making errors of judgment based on a limited over-qualified, and biased perspective.  

Therefore, we must not approach this question by saying that "The Earth IS such and such..." because the Bible or Science says "thus and such...".  RATHER, WE MUST ASK THE BETTER QUESTION: 

"What is the Earth?  And what evidence is there to help us define it."  

For this exercise I am not going to address ALL evidence from a material/scientific/physics standpoint, I am ONLY going to address the challenge presented to me by a friend who presented to me a list of scriptures as "proof-texts" for the Flat-Earth position.  This exercise will first examine the list he provided and then will continue to examine the remainder of Scripture to determine if there are any other texts worth considering along the same subject line and why.

CAVEAT:

It should be stated that the PURPOSE of the Bible is NOT to give mankind a clear, specific, and precise scientific view of the universe and all it contains.  The Scriptures are silent and unspecific on many topics that are commonplace in modern knowledge. Nuclear Fission, Cell Anatomy, Quantum Physics, Genetics are only a few of these subjects.  

And for other topics, Bible prophets may describe their visions allegorically to explain what they "see" such as in Revelation where the "image of the beast" is made to "speak".  This could be interpreted as television, robotic androids, streaming internet video, and myriad other possibilities - none with absolute certainty.

The Bible does touch on describing certain aspects of Creation, but it is typically written in a manner that is adaptive in form so that it could be understood by the author's contemporaries.  Jesus Himself had to use agrarian parables to teach lessons to common people who were largely illiterate.  

Also certain other "scientific" topics in the Bible are not fully extrapolated for the modern scientific reader.  Here are three strong examples:

EXAMPLE 1 - Mark 5

The story of resurrection of Jairus' daughter in Mark 5:21-24, 35-43. 

When Jesus arrived on the scene, He obviously had way more knowledge than the onlookers about what was really going on with Jairus' Daughter.  Jesus says unequivocally that "the child is not dead". He understood that she was in what we would refer to now as a "coma" or in a similar unresponsive state, perhaps after a prolonged fever. She may have had meningitis, but it's more likely that she was diabetic because in verse 42 after Jesus heals her, He gives everyone "strict orders to feed her". 

In any case, the onlookers certainly did not understand blood sugar and diabetic comas. Neither would they have known how to mitigate prolonged fever, nor to check for a pulse. The endocrine and cardiovascular systems were not understood by medicine at that time in history. 

EXAMPLE 2 - 1 Timothy 

We also see interesting medical remedies in the Bible like in 1 Timothy 2:3 where Paul instructs Timothy to drink wine instead of water because of his frequent stomach trouble.  Paul had no knowledge of parasitology or bacteriology but God influenced him to have Timothy drink a liquid that was fermented, perhaps even distilled, and therefore not likely to contain harmful micro-organisms.

EXAMPLE 3 - 1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18 recounts the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal as to which god should be worshipped, YHWH or BAAL.  It was a contest to see, when called upon by their respective prophets, which god would respond with fire and consume a sacrifice of bulls on a wooden altar. This all took place during an extreme drought.  

The prophets of Baal did their thing and no answer came.  But then, Elijah did a curious thing.  He ordered barrels of water to be heaped upon the altar. First four jars. He saw it wasn't enough and demanded more water. 8 more jars were added until the trough around the altar was filled. THEN the whole thing ignited and it was consumed in flames. 

Science has two possible explanations for how this could have happened:  

1) When anvil lightning stretches across the sky as if from nowhere, pouring tons of water on wood on a mountain would certainly make the altar a major conductor of electricity. The story does show a storm moved in just after this event. Or,

2) Because conditions of the altar were completely desiccate and likely already full of ash and minerals, there would be extremely high levels of phosphorus present at the base of the altar.  When water is added to highly concentrated Phosphorus it creates a chemical reaction that produces invisible and highly intense heat. A heat MORE than sufficient to light a fire without an incendiary source.

Now, did Elijah have Doppler weather radar to view and predict cloud systems many days off? Did he understand the chemistry of catalysts? No.  We can only infer that God influenced Elijah with what to say and do. God does not explain to either Elijah, or the reader for that matter, the ways and mechanisms that God used to produce the "miracle" right on time.

These three examples are only a few citations where scientific principles are manifested in Scripture but the author does not expound on the underlying knowledge or mechanisms that caused the event.  We are left simply with a historic narrative, not a manual of scientific proofs.  The purpose of the texts are to record events where God interacted with his people in a transcendent way that defied conventional understandings and expectations at the time. 

The Bible often deals more with the "what" and the "why" and sometimes the "when". Not so much the "how".

Evaluating the texts

With a foundation laid and our hermeneutic principles established, I can now turn more confidently toward our task of evaluating the list of scriptures provided in order to determine whether or not they speak of a flat earth, a globe, either or perhaps even neither.  

Therefore, after I evaluate each of these scriptures proffered in defense of Flat-Earth Theory, I will give them a final rating of whether they support: 

• FLAT earth; 
• GLOBE earth; 
• EITHER theory; or 
• NEITHER theory.

I have chunked the evaluation list into groups for the type of book they are found within. This understanding will help me better what hermeneutic principles to apply.  I have also indicated when in history each book was written for additional historical context.  

The tricky bit being, some narratives like Genesis are written in a certain time period about a prior time period. We know Moses was not present at Creation, unlike the Gospels wherein we are privileged to read eye-witness accounts and recorded first-hand testimonies.  

PROPOSED FLAT EARTH PROOF-TEXTS

Narrative Books

Genesis: 1450-1410 B.C.

• Genesis 1:1-31 GLOBE

I will deal with Genesis 1:1-31 in a separate post which I've preparing for some time.

• Genesis 7:11 NEITHER. Geology confirms that there are extensive cave systems in the earth. We see modern evidence of geysers, springs, underground rivers and biomes and more.  Noah's cataclysm cites a collapse of the water canopy referenced in Gen 1:6 and an upheaval of the waters below within the earth.  Neither of these events speak to the shape of the earth being globe or flat as the events could happen in either scenario. And because neither flat-ness or globe-ness are required to support event, this text fails as evidence.  

• Genesis 8:2 NEITHER (See Genesis 7:11)

Deuteronomy: 1407-1406 B.C. NEITHER

• Deuteronomy 28:49, 64 NEITHER

V.49 Israel's enemy would come against them "from the end(s) of the earth" this is almost universally regarded by Bible Scholars as a figure of speech, implying "coming from all over & from a far distance away". Josephus connects the dots for us.

From Barnes' Commentary: "The description (compare the marginal references) applies undoubtedly to the Chaldeans, and in a degree to other nations also whom God raised up as ministers of vengeance upon apostate Israel (e. g. the Medes). But it only needs to read this part of the denunciation, and to compare it with the narrative of Josephus, to see that its full and exact accomplishment took place in the wars of Vespasian and Titus against the Jews, as indeed the Jews themselves generally admit."  

From the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary: "The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far—the invasion of the Romans—"they came from far." The soldiers of the invading army were taken from France, Spain, and Britain—then considered "the end of the earth." Julius Severus, the commander, afterwards Vespasian and Hadrian, left Britain for the scene of contest. Moreover, the ensign on the standards of the Roman army was "an eagle"; and the dialects spoken by the soldiers of the different nations that composed that army were altogether unintelligible to the Jews."

Moses spoke prophetically, but we have the benefit of hindsight to know precisely who Israel's enemy was that fits this description perfectly. 

v64 "from one end of the earth to the other". We fail if we try and interpret this as pertaining to geography for neither a disc nor a globe have an "end", neither do they have two"ends" between which to traverse.  What there was, was a known extent of mapped lands which were considered the "end of the earth" because the Atlantic and Pacific oceans had not yet been accurately mapped. They only knew of the western lands from Iberia south to Africa and east to the orient. Hence from one "end" (Iberia or West Africa) to the other "end" (East Asia).

1 Chronicles: 430 B.C. EITHER

• 1 Chronicles 16:30 "The world also is firmly established,
  It shall not be moved. 
  
  For Globe Theory, one could claim that the position of the earth in its orbit is on a fixed path. Nothing can dislodge it from its orbit and position relative to sun and other planets and therefore there is no contradiction to what they have observed so far. They would cite Copernicus and Galileo to dispute that the earth is completely fixed.    
  
  For Flat Earth theory, one could suggest that the disc of the earth is on some sort of immovable platform or that it is in a fixed position in the cosmos with no rotation. They may claim that earth does not move at all and that Copernicus' heliocentric model is wrong.  But what is the platform connected to? What affixes the disc to a singular immutable place in the cosmos.What keeps that affixed?  Further questions arise as well that do not help the position such as having to explain the phenomena of tides, magnetic pole wobbling, and wind currents, and more with a static earth.

1, 2 Samuel: 930 B.C. NEITHER

• 1 Samuel 2:8. NEITHER “For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, And He has set the world upon them"

To-date, great holes have been bored into the earth to extreme depths and no pillars have been found. The burden to prove physical "pillars" lies with the Flat-Earth Theorist.  Many many deep caves feature aspects like "pillars" with their stalagmite and stalactite formations. An ancient person having familiarity with deep caves would undoubtedly view the under-earth as being formed of "pillars" These can exist in either model so this fails as a proof text.

• 2 Samuel 22:8, 16. NEITHER 

v8 "Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken"

First of all, this is a song and a figurative embellished and fanciful retelling of David's victory against Saul. Not a narrative.  Earthquakes are common. Heaven is invisible, but we easily can hear and feel the impact of loud thunder in the skies up in the atmosphere during a storm.

v 16 "Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered"

Today the ocean floor has been mapped as well as all of the "sea channels" Foundations of the world can simply refer to the interior structures of the globe earth, or a Flat-Earther can say, (without empirical or photographic evidence, mind you) that earth literally rests on giant pillars (see 1 Sam 2:8)

 

Joshua: 1405-1383 B.C. EITHER

• Joshua 10:12-13 EITHER "So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped."

I have seen two major theories from Christian scientists. 

1) that there was a visible solar eclipse in the sky on the precise day of that battle, or that 

2) some cite a reversal of earth's orbit and a major shift in the polarity of the earth's magnetic axis.

"The language that Joshua uses in addressing the sun and moon is the language of ordinary observation still used today in the scientific age. Probably Joshua and his contemporaries thought of the sun as moving around the earth, but his language should not be pressed to construct a "view of the universe" any more than should todays reference to the rising and setting of the sun (Marten Woodstra, The Book of Joshua, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans: 1981, p. 175)."

This study and explanation by Don Stewart is the finest of any I've seen thus far

As far as Flat and Globe Earth theories, both have explanations for eclipses but the Globe Theory explanation of eclipses is far more plausible and proven out by Galileo's work in Sidereus Nuncius. Despite this, I am going to be generous to Flat-Earth and say "either".

Matthew: A.D. 60-65

• Matthew 4:8 NEITHER

"the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory."

(See Luke 4:5 below) 

• Matthew 24:29, NEITHER 31

v 29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken..."

v31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Luke: A.D. 60 NEITHER

• Luke 4:5 NEITHER

"Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time."

Clearly satan is spiritually projecting a vision for Jesus in a way that you or I cannot see normally or unaided.  The telescope was invented in 1608. NOT AD 30.  Even with the keenest eyes possible, it would be physically impossible to view ALL the kingdoms of the world from a mountain top whether the earth was globe or flat.  

Many prophets (Moses, Abraham, Elijah) climbed mountains to converse with God.  The mountain has aught to do with Jesus' field of vision but rather because Satan was ever trying to subvert God, he was isolating Jesus to have a private conversation as His heavenly father would.  

John: A.D. 85-90  NEITHER

• John 17:24 NEITHER

"Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

The word John uses here for "foundation" in Greek is καταβολῆς κόσμου (Katabolés Kosmou)which literally means the "laying down" or better the "establishment","of the world/cosmos" it is not at all speaking of the physical constructs within the earth.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED...

Poetic Books

Job: 2100-1800 B.C.

• Job 9:6-8
• Job 22:12, 14
• Job 26:7, 10
• Job 28:24
• Job 37:3, 8, 10
• Job 38:7, 13, 18

Psalms: 1440-586 B.C.

• Psalm 18:15
• Psalm 19:1, 4-6
• Psalm 59:13
• Psalm 61:2
• Psalm 65:5
• Psalm 67:7
• Psalm 75:3
• Psalm 93:1
• Psalm 96:10
• Psalm 98:3
• Psalm 102:25
• Psalm 104:1-2, 5
• Psalm 136:6
• Psalm 148:4
• Psalm 150:1

Prophetic Books

Daniel: 535 B.C.

• Daniel 4:10-11
• Daniel 4:20
• Daniel 8:10

Ezekiel: 571 B.C.

• Ezekiel 1:22-26
• Ezekiel 10:1

Isaiah: 700-681 B.C.

• Isaiah 11:12
• Isaiah 13:13
• Isaiah 22:18
• Isaiah 24:18
• Isaiah 38:8
• Isaiah 40:22
• Isaiah 42:5
• Isaiah 43:6
• Isaiah 44:24
• Isaiah 45:12
• Isaiah 45:18
• Isaiah 45:22
• Isaiah 48:13
• Isaiah 66:1

Jeremiah: 627-586 B.C.

• Jeremiah 16:19
• Jeremiah 25:31-33
• Jeremiah 51:16

Zechariah: 520-480 B.C.

• Zechariah 1:11

Amos: 760-750 B.C.

• Amos 9:6

Habbukuk: 612-589 B.C.

• Habbukuk 3:11

Revelation: A.D. 95

• Revelation 1:7
• Revelation 4:6
• Revelation 6:13
• Revelation 7:1
• Revelation 20:8

Epistles

2 Peter: A.D. 66

• 2 Peter 3:5

Wisdom Literature Books

Proverbs: 970-930 B.C.

• Proverbs 8:27, 29
• Proverbs 30:4

Ecclesiastes: 935 B.C.

• Ecclesiastes 1:5