Isaiah 40:22
→Bible→Old Testament→Isaiah
KJV
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
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 like a tent to live in;
This verse is sometimes read as meaning that the Earth is spherical (not circular). If this were true it might suggest that the Bible is divinely inspired, since it was not known that the Earth is spherical when the Bible was written. Similarly, Job 26:7 is taken to refer to the Earth's orbit in space.
See Did the Bible anticipate modern science?
The word translate "circle," however, does not mean "sphere" — it is something that can be made by a tradesman using a compass: see Isaiah 44:13.
