It shows that God had him use a term consistent with reality rather than what Isaiah thought was reality. Secondly, even if this is what Isaiah had in mind when he wrote this verse, the fact that the term that is actually used fits a spherical Earth still supports Divine inspiration.

Nevertheless, there appears little justification for assuming it has to mean 'circle' rather than 'sphere', and 17th century King James English may not have even made that much of a distinction between the words 'circle' and 'sphere' when deciding which word to use. It appears to carry the concept of an encompassing circuit or sphere, especially as seen from Job 26:10 (KJV) and Job 22:14 (KJV), but the rare usage makes it tough to tell. The word it comes from, 02328, is used just once in Job 26:10 (KJV) ('He hath compassed the waters with bounds'). The word is rarely used in the Bible, and found in just 3 places, Job 22:14 (KJV) ('he walked in the circuit of heaven'), Proverbs 8:27 (KJV) ('he set a compass upon the face of the depth'), and Isaiah 40:22 (KJV) ('he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth'). (BDB) vault (of the heavens), Word Origin: from (02328) Strong's Number: 02329, Transliterated Word: Chuwg, Definition: circle, circuit, compass The Hebrew word is 'chuwg' defined by Strong's Hebrew dictionary as the following: Rather, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the KJV translators in trying to translate that word used the word 'circle'. This passage may reasonably be interpreted as referring to a flat circular earth with the heavens forming a dome above it.įirst of all, the English word 'circle' is not the one that Isaiah originally used. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. The passage saying the earth is round is Isaiah 40:22 (KJV): Toronto: Frontier Research Publications, p. Claim CH131: The Bible says the earth is round, showing that its authors were inspired to understand science beyond their time.

Is the earth flat or round in bible