The Pillars of the Earth

There are people out in the world who use the Scriptures that refer to the "pillars of the earth" to try to justify the "flat earth theory" which has somehow began to regain popularity in recent days. I would note that we also have video footage from NASA and multiple astronaut witnesses that can confirm that the earth is spherical. I have to no sound reason to believe all those eye witnesses are liars. Let's examine the Scriptures to see if this "flat earth theory" holds any ground at all. The "pillars of the earth" are mentioned in the book of 1 Samuel verse 8.

1 Samuel chapter 2 verses 1 through 10 is simply a prayer spoken by Hannah. I would suggest it's a big stretch to make hard doctrine out of a prayer spoken by a mortal which likely in parts reflects her own understanding of the day.

1 Samuel 2:8 reads:

"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory.

For the foundations/pillars of the earth are YHWH’s,

and He has set the habitable world on them."

(1 Samuel 2:8)

The King James Version reads:

"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them."

Young's Literal Translation reads:

"He raiseth from the dust the poor, from a dunghill He lifteth up the needy, to cause them to sit with nobles. Yea, a throne of honour He doth cause them to inherit, for to YHWH are the fixtures of earth, And He setteth on them the habitable world."

There are 2 Hebrew words in this verse that generally cause confusion in relation to the subject of the earth based on their translation. Those words are:"matsuq (pillars/foundations)"and "tebel (inhabited world)."

The Hebrew word "Matsuq" can literally translate to "pillars" but it can also translate to "foundations," "molten support," or "fixtures." We know that God laid the foundations/pillars of the Earth, but does this mean that the Earth is actually sitting on top of pillars? Absolutely not!

The book of Job chapter 26 verse 7 says:

"He stretches out the north over empty space. He hangs the earth on nothing!"

This verse in the book of Job makes it clear that the earth "hangs on nothing," meaning it is floating in space.

Strong's Concordance:

Matsuq: molten support, pillar

Original Word: מָצוּק Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration: matsuq Phonetic Spelling: (maw-tsook') Short Definition: pillars

NAS Exhaustive Concordance:

Word Origin- from tsuq Definition: molten support, pillar

Although the Hebrew word "Tebel" can translate to "earth/world," it is more fully represented when translated as "inhabited world" or "habitable world." The Hebrew word implies that it is speaking of an inhabited place and not the entire planet as a whole. We know that the areas of land we live on, continents and islands, are just the tip of a larger pillar or landmass that is under water. Those larger underwater pieces of landmass are the pillars/foundations that the inhabited world rests on.

Strong's Concordance:

tebel: world

Original Word: תֵּבֵל Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Transliteration: tebel Phonetic Spelling: (tay-bale') Short Definition: world

NAS Exhaustive Concordance:

Word Origin from yabal Definition world NASB Translation inhabited (1), inhabited world (1), world (34).