Isaiah 40:22
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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 translated "circle," however, does not mean "sphere" — it is something that can be made by a tradesman using a compass: see Isaiah 44:13.
Flat Earth beliefs arising from the Bible
Extreme Literal Reading of this and other Bible verses was the motivation for many members of the International Flat Earth Society. An extract from this sympathetic obituary for Charles K Johnson, president of the International Flat Earth Research Society (also known as "International Flat Earth Society") for almost 30 years, published by USA National Center for Science Education (NCSE):
As former NCSE president Bob Schadewald stressed, Charlie was "on the level". He sincerely believed that a literal reading of the Bible required one to recognize that the world is flat. His flamboyant newsletter was contemptuous of fellow creationists who accepted GREASEBALL EARTH THEORY (he tended to capitalize every third word or so) because they were not true biblical literalists. "Greaseball" was his universal term for round-earthers who, he noted, would obviously slide off a spherical earth.
