Does the Bible Teach a Flat Earth?



Gerardus D. Bouw, Ph.D.

•Historical Backgound

•Foundation of the Earth and World

•The Corners and the Ends of the Earth

•The Pillars of the Earth



“The Bible is not a textbook on science.” This saying, common among the Christian intelligentsia, seems to have originated with Augustine and is generally quoted to “explain away” some sort of apparent conflict between science and the Bible; in particular reconciling evolution with Genesis chapter one, and the idea that the Bible teaches that the earth is flat. The saying is subsequently invoked as an excuse for why the Bible need not be believed (i.e., “taken literally”) on that particular scientific point. However, II Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Bible is authoritative in all that it touches upon, science included. So one might well question the validity of Augustine’s claim insofar as those areas of science upon which the Bible does make pronouncements are concerned. Creationists have recently dealt quite well with the evolution versus Genesis chapter one issue; but there is one area on which the Bible does touch which has not been well-covered and that is the shape of the earth.


Historical Background



Scholarly opinion throughout the Renaissance was divided on the issue of the shape of the earth with adherents of the spherical earth in the majority. In 1578 the French academician and naturalist Lambert Daneau in his book The Wonderfvll VVoorkmanship of the World, wrote of the flat earth controversy as it existed in his day. After defending the sphericity of the earth on the grounds of Scripture, he turned to a geometrical argument, noting that the geometer’s speaking of the higher and lower parts of a sphere parallels the Biblical references to the “higher” and “lower” parts of the earth. Daneau concludes his discussion with:


It should be pointed out in the above text that Daneau’s use of the word “receite” means “acceptance” (literally, “recitation”). Daneau was saying that he had summarized the different positions of his time on the shape of the earth and that because of said positions, there was no consensus in the world. But since Daneau wrote his book, exploration of the Bible has revealed even stronger Bible passages than those used by Daneau in support of a spherical earth. So just what does the Bible have to say about the earth’s shape? In order to ascertain the Bible’s teaching on the shape of the earth we need to look at the underlying parts of the earth, too. The Bible speaks of the foundations of the earth, the pillars of the earth, the corners of the earth, and the ends of the earth.

The Foundations of Earth and World

The Bible speaks of both the world and the earth as having foundations. The term, “world,” speaks of the order of man in the earth. As such, references to foundations and pillars of the world cannot be held as very authoritative when it comes to speaking about the shape of the earth. The term “earth,” on the other hand, can not only refer to the whole earth, but also to “ground” and, as we shall see, “land” or “country.” So it is that a complete picture of the form of the earth in Scripture will not be manifest until all these are considered.


And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. and Psalm 18:15:



The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. — Psalm 24:1-2.


When it comes to the foundations of the earth, there are many more Bible verses from which to draw. Many of these references state that God laid the foundations of the earth, but each verse adds a little to that simple fact. Psalm 102:25 tells us that God laid the foundations “of old” with Hebrews 1:10 echoing the thought that God laid the foundations of the earth “in the beginning.” Job 38:4 simply states that God laid the foundations of the earth, but the sixth verse indicates that the foundations are themselves fastened upon something else. Hebrews 1:3 names this “something else” as the Lord Jesus Christ who “upholds all things by the word of his power.” Proverbs 8:29 tells us that the earth’s foundations were appointed. Proverbs 3:19 indicates that the earth was founded by wisdom while Jeremiah 31:37 indicates that the foundations are unsearchable. Micah 6:2 tells us that they are strong; so strong that the earth should never be removed (Psalm 104:5).



Whenever there is an earthquake, shock waves are propagated throughout the interior of the earth. But there is one area which the waves fail to penetrate. That area is the earth’s core, the very central part or “foundation” of the earth. Is this not the very thing that the prophet Jeremiah indicates? Until recently seismologists assumed that the center of the earth was composed of molten iron. Scientists now believe that the core may be rocky. No one knows for certain. Man’s concept of the outer layers of the earth’s crust has significantly changed in recent years: how much more so his ideas of the earth’s interior?
Corners and ends of the earth



The word “corner” comes from a Latin root cornu, meaning “horn.” That this is so survives in English via such words as “cornet,” “corn,” and “cornucopia.” Hence, the four corners of the earth can be interpreted as referring to the four cardinal directions — north, south, east and west. In addition, the “four corners of the earth” can also be interpreted as four “horns” of the earth. One obvious example of such a “horn” is Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America. So the usage of the phrase “four corners of the earth” does not signify a flat, rectangular earth.

In addition to referring to the “four corners of the earth,” the Bible also mentions “the ends of the earth.” When it comes to the consideration of the ends of the earth the above dictionary definition contains the resolution within it. Another way of saying the “ends of the earth” is to refer to the “extremites of the earth.” In this case, as is also the case for the four corners of the earth, the word “earth” refers to the land mass, country, or continents (as opposed to the globe). For an example of “earth” being used as “land” or “country,” compare Exodus 10:15:
For [the locusts] covered all the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; … and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt [Emphasis added.] with verses 12 through 14:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt …. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt. [Emphasis added.]

Since the word “earth” can be used as synonymous with “land,” the “ends of the earth” thus refer to the points of land most distant from some central point. For the Bible, this central point is the land of Israel. The reader can satisfy himself by examing a globe that a great circle, passing through Jerusalem and the north and south poles, very nearly cuts the Pacific Ocean in half and leaves four continental “corners” or “ends,” namely the Chukchi Peninsula of the Soviet Union (opposite the Bering Straits of Alaska), Alaska, the southeastern tip of Australia, and Cape Horn of South America. These four geographical locations, as much as any other proposal, can account for the four corners of the earth. Alternatively, since there was probably a land-link between Siberia and Alaska at the time the Bible was written, the four corners of the earth could be Norway, Newfoundland, Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope.






The word “compass” can mean a circular enclosure or a spherical envelope. Since the verse speaks of an extended area — some three-quarters of the surface of the earth — the spherical enclosure for “compass” is a better interpretation than a circular enclosure.


In that day, he which shall be upon the house top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not turn back …. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left…. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.


Likewise in Acts 1:8, Jesus gives His commission to His disciples to be witnesses “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Note here that the word “part” is singular. A flat earth with four corners should be indicated by “uttermost parts;” but a spheroidal earth would have only one uttermost part, its opposite side or antipodes. Thus the Bible does not necessarily teach that the earth is flat.
The Pillars of the Earth

If the Biblical view of the earth is that of a spheroidal earth, what then of the “pillars of the earth” which are mentioned in three passages. The first of these three is in the prayer of Hannah which can be found in I Samuel 2 starting at verse 8:





A flat earth, upon pillars and foundations, hanging upon nothing is very difficult to imagine since one usually imagines the foundation to be the primary support for an structure. But here we note that according to this verse, in addition to the pillars and foundations underneath, the earth also hangs upon nothing. The pillars are under pressure. That they support the surface of the earth (where the world is) is clear from Hannah’s song. We have already noted the earth to be spheroidal in shape and so the earth’s pillars must be located between the earth’s surface and the core. In particular, the pillars of the earth could simply be vertically-oriented crystalline rock.




The Biblical Astronomer

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