LudvanB writes:
Those passages clearly demonstrate that the writers thereof firmly believed that the earth was flat and stationary.
Hello Ludvan, long time no see.
We are handicapped in our understanding of the Bible because we read it in English, and during the Space Age.
Our ancient friends did not imagine the universe as we do, and few of us have learned to imagine it as they did. Not that everyone should dumb down to that extent but I think it is important to do so if one intends to understand the words they used to describe the universe they imagined. Because virtually all English translations follow in the tradition of the KJV (AV) with regard to rendering of the Hebrew cosmological narrative, we remain stuck with a 16th century lingo encumbered with 20th century definitions and none of it speaking to the limitations of the underlying Bronze Age terminology.
It is interesting to note that the first 1500 years of recorded astronomical observation and cosmological speculation yielded no published consideration of global theory: the idea that Earth and Sea are a unit and wrapped around a giant ball. Then, around 600 BC controversial papers on the subject began to be published by the think tanks of Grecia. Thus global theory was born. But then you probably already knew that, eh?
What you may not know already is that biblical authors, at least those who wrote before the time of Aristotle, seem to be unaware, unconvinced, or opposed to the notion that the
erets (land, country, ground) should by definition include the
yam (sea) and all that wrapped around a humongous ball. They had never written of
erets that way before and were apparently not particularly interested in writing about it that way now. The concept was foreign to their vocabulary. How were they to describe an
erets which
included all the lands and all the seas known to man. It might help to have a new word. But the evolution of the science outpaced the evolution of the language. And shortly after global theory was put into print, the Hebrew language itself became extinct. It blended with the language of Chaldea and Assyria, the major forces of the land of Aram. Today we call that language (now dead itself)
Aramaic.
I have selected a few verses which you might find interesting in this connection.
quote:
"... they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth." Job 37:12
Just so you know: the word 'world' is given for the Hebrew
tebel "moist" (Strong's #8398) which has its root in
yabal "flow" (#2986) see also
yabal "stream" (#2988) i.e. running water. The sort of thing which makes a place habitable. By some coincidence,
tebel just happens to be defined as: "habitable earth" (Young).
quote:
"His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled." Psa 97:4
"world" is given for
tebel"earth" is given for
erets
One more for now:
quote:
"... I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven." Eze 29:5
Where "field" is given for
erets.
There is more but it is late, I am tired.
So, until next time ...
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