Originally posted by Gup20:
These words describe the rotation of the earth as you cannot have evening or morning without movement.
Note the jump in logic: you cannot have evening or morning without
movement, so this must describe the
movement of the earth. This assumption is made based on what Gup knows of science, not on what the text says. Of course, we could also have evening and morning because of movement of the light source in relation to Earth -- at least, hypothetically we could, but science has shown that this isn't the case for Earth. But, using Gup's logic: "The earth rotates around the moon because you cannot have moonrise or moonset without movement."
Moreover we see from other verses that not only is the earth round, but that it moves in a specified circuit -
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Pro 8:27 When he prepared the heavens, I [was] there: when he set a compass [circuit or circle] upon the face of the depth:
Isa 40:22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle [circuit, compass] 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:
I don't want to misinterpret you, Gup, so which of these verses do you read as stating that Earth moves in a specified circuit? Is it Genesis 1:2, where "the earth was without form, and void" and "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters"? This seems to describe the Spirit of God moving (or hovering), not Earth, and no hint is given of the movement being circuitous. Is it Proverbs 8:27, where God placed a compass on the face of the waters? Since the depths of the sea are part of Earth, if this is an orbit it would seem to be a rather constricted one. You may want to cross-reference Job 26:10 where the same imagery is used to define either the boundary of light and darkness (NIV, NASB, ESV) or the boundary of the seas (KJV, NKJV).
Or, is Isaiah 40:22 the verse that shows Earth's orbit, where it says that God "sitteth upon the circle of the earth"? If so, then one of the most common prooftexts for a round Earth is gone, since that means the "circle" in this verse is actually talking about the "circuit" of Earth and not its shape. Also, why would God be described as sitting on Earth's orbit? If the "circle" in this verse actually refers to the dome of the heavens (the firmament in Genesis 1) then that seems to be a much more appropriate place for God to sit in a poetic passage. (It also has the advantage of being stationary in relation to Earth, unlike a point in orbit.)
I realize you think the literal meaning of these verses is clear and that anyone who reads them should see exactly what you see. But, I don't. Can you explain how you get a description of Earth's orbit from these verses?
So we see that the Bible advocates the earth is a sphere that moves in a circuit. Couple this with the references to evening and morning and day and night and we are starting to see the big picture. We definately get a good idea that the Jews definately knew the earth was round and not a flat earth.
Note the claim that is made. Because Gup interprets those passages as proving Earth is round and rotates, that proves that this is what the passages really mean, and so the Jews must have known that Earth is round and rotates too, since they also had access to those passages and must have interpreted them the same way.
Gup's claim is proved wrong by history. His interpretation of those passages is more creative (although vague) than he gives himself credit for, and many before him interpreted them far differently. In fact, many Christians and Jews in centuries past (and present) would probably have found his interpretations as dubious and unbelievable as he now finds theirs.
