Ecclesiastes 1:5

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BibleOld TestamentEcclesiastes

NRSV

The sun rises and the sun goes down,

and hurries to the place where it rises.

KJV

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

The clear literal meaning of this verse necessitates Geocentrism — the earth rests on its foundations while the sun rises and sets and hurries back to rise again. Ancient rabbis disagreed as to whether it continues around after sunset from west to east under the earth, or does a U-turn and goes back during the night behind the Firmament to the east, where it does another U-turn, coming down below the firmament at dawn and becoming visible to us again. (See The Sun's Path at Night.)

As Cardinal Robert Bellarmine wrote to Paolo Foscarini, a supporter of Galileo, it was the wisest man of all who taught us this:

... the words the sun also riseth and the sun goeth down, and hasteneth to the place where he ariseth, etc. were those of Solomon, who not only spoke by divine inspiration but was a man wise above all others and most learned in human sciences and in the knowledge of all created things, and his wisdom was from God. Thus it is not too likely that he would affirm something which was contrary to a truth either already demonstrated, or likely to be demonstrated.


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