Biblical Cosmology
Earth Created Before the Sun:
Genesis 1:1-19
Universe is complete—not ever expanding:
Genesis 2:1
Earth Measurements Unknown:
Job 38 4-5, Job 38:18, Jeremiah 31:37, Proverbs 25.3
Earth is a disc/circle—not a ball:
Isaiah 40:22, Job 38:13-14
Earth Measured with a straight line—not a curve:
Job 38:4-5
Waters are straight—not curved:
Job 37:10
Earthquakes shake earth—otherwise earth does not move:
2 Samuel 22:8, Isaiah 13:13, Revelation 6:12-13
Earth is fixed and immovable:
1 Chronicles 16:30, Psalm 339, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, Psalm 104:5. Psalm 119:89-90, Isaiah 14:7, Isaiah 45:18, Zechariah 1:11, 2 Peter 3.5
Earth has pillars and hangs on nothing:
1 Samuel 2:8, Job 9:6, Job 26.7, Psalm 75:3
Earth has a face (a geometrical flat surface):
Genesis 1:29, Genesis 4:14, Genesis 6:1, Genesis 6:7, Genesis 7.3. Genesis 7.4, Genesis 8:9, Genesis 11:8, Genesis 11:9, Genesis 41:56, Exodus 32:12, Exodus 33:16, Numbers 12.3, Deuteronomy 7:6, 1 Samuel 20:15, 1 Kings 13:34, Job 37 12, Psalm 104:30, Jeremiah 25:26, Jeremiah 28:16, Ezekiel 34:6, Ezekiel 38:20, Ezekiel 39.14, Amos 9.6, Amos 9.8, Zechariah 5:3, Luke 12:56
Water has a face (a geometrical flat surface):
Genesis 1:2, Genesis 7:18, Job 38:30
Earth has ends:
Deuteronomy 28:49, Deuteronomy 28:64, Deuteronomy 33:17, 1 Samuel 2:10, Job 37:3, Job38:13, Psalm 46:9, Psalm 48:10, Psalm 59:13, Psalm 61:2, Psalm 65:5, Psalm 67:7, Psalm 72:8, Psalm 98:3, Psalm 135.7, Proverbs 8:29, Proverbs 17:24, Proverbs 30:4, Isaiah 5:26, Isaiah 26:15, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 41.5, Isaiah 41.9, Isaiah 42:10, Isaiah 43:6, Isaiah 45:22, Isaiah 48:20.
Isaiah 49.6, Isaiah 52:10, Jeremiah 10:13, Jeremiah 16 19. Jeremiah 25:31, Jeremiah 25 33, Jeremiah 51:16, Daniel 4:22, Micah 5:4, Zechariah 9:10, Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:31, Acts 13:47
Earth has 4 Corners & 4 Quarters:
Isaiah 11:12, Ezekiel 7:2, Ecclesiastes 1:6, Revelation 7:1, Revelation 20:8
Firmament/Dome:
Genesis 1:6-8, Genesis 1:14-18, Genesis 1:20, Genesis 7:11, Genesis 8:2, Job 98, Job 26.7, Job 28:24, Job 37:3, Job 37:18, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 150:1, Isaiah 40:22, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 45:12, Isaiah 48:13, Ezekiel 1:22-26, Ezekiel 10:1, Daniel 12:3, Amos 96, Revelation 4:6, Revelation 6:14
Sun moves—not the earth:
Amos 8:9, Jonah 48, Micah 3:6, Nahum 3:17, Malachi 1:11, Matthew 5:45, Mark 16:2, Ephesians 4:26, James 1:11
Sun stops moving:
Isaiah 60:20, Job 9:7, Joshua 10:12-14, Habakkuk 3:11
Sun moves backwards :
2 Kings 20:8-11
Moon has its own light:
Genesis 1:16, Isaiah 13:10, Isaiah 30:26, Isaiah 60:19-20, Jeremiah 31:35, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13 24, Ezekiel 32.7, Revelation 21:23
Breadth of the earth spread out flat:
Genesis 13:17, Job 38:18, Isaiah 88,
Revelation 20:9
Matthews Bible from 1537 says "flatt earthe":
2 Samuel 11:11
Based on the verses provided, the "firmament" (Hebrew: rāqîa‘, meaning "expanse" or "thing beaten out") is a structure created by God.
Creation and Purpose
Separation: God created the firmament on the second day (Genesis 1:6–8) to separate the "waters above" from the "waters below."
Name: God called the firmament "Heaven" (Genesis 1:8).
Function: It holds the sun, moon, and stars (Genesis 1:14–18) and birds fly across its "face" (Genesis 1:20).
Floodgates: It contains "windows" (Genesis 7:11, Genesis 8:2) which were opened for the great flood.
Description and Structure
Material: It is described as "hard as a molten mirror" (Job 37:18).
Appearance: It looks like "awesome crystal" (Ezekiel 1:22–26) or a "sea of glass" (Revelation 4:6).
Shape: God "stretches out the heavens like a curtain" and "spreads them like a tent" (Isaiah 40:22, Isaiah 44:24). This structure is referred to as God's "vault" or "dome" (Amos 9:6, assuming 9:6 was intended).
Divine Relation
Glory: The firmament "proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1) and is where God is praised (Psalm 150:1).
Destruction: In eschatology, the heaven (firmament) is seen "rolled up like a scroll" (Revelation 6:14).
Based on the verses provided:
Creation Order
Earth (Genesis 1:1) and light (Genesis 1:3-5) were created on Day 1. The sun and moon were created on Day 4 (Genesis 1:14-19).
Universe Status
The heavens and earth were "finished" (Genesis 2:1).
Earth's Measurements
The "breadth of the earth" (Job 38:18) and its foundations (Jeremiah 31:37) are "unsearchable" (Proverbs 25:3). Man is questioned on who "laid its measures" or "stretched the line upon it" (Job 38:4-5).
Earth's Shape
God sits on the "circle [Hebrew: chug] of the earth" (Isaiah 40:22). The earth "takes form like clay under a seal" (Job 38:13-14).
Water's Shape
By God's breath, the "broad waters are frozen fast" (Job 37:10).
Earth's Stability
The earth is "firmly established; it shall not be moved" (Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, 1 Chronicles 16:30). God "laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever" (Psalm 104:5).
Earth's Motion
The earth only shakes or moves from its place during cataclysmic events or when God is angered (2 Samuel 22:8, Isaiah 13:13, Revelation 6:12-13).
Earth's Structure
God "hangs the earth on nothing" (Job 26:7). The "pillars of the earth are the LORD’s" (1 Samuel 2:8, Psalm 75:3), and God can shake them (Job 9:6).
Earth's "Face"
The surface of the earth is consistently referred to as the "face of the earth" (Genesis 1:29, Genesis 6:1, Genesis 7:4, Ezekiel 38:20, etc.).
Water's "Face"
The surface of the water is called the "face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2, Job 38:30) or "face of the waters" (Genesis 7:18).
Earth's Boundaries
The earth is described as having "ends" (Deuteronomy 28:64, Job 37:3, Isaiah 40:28) and "four corners" (Isaiah 11:12, Revelation 7:1) or "four quarters" (Revelation 20:8).
Sun's Motion
The sun's movement is described phenomenologically. It is shown "rising" (Matthew 5:45, Mark 16:2) and "going down" (Amos 8:9, Micah 3:6, Ephesians 4:26).
Sun Stops Moving
God "commands the sun, and it does not rise" (Job 9:7). At God's command, the sun "stood still" (Joshua 10:12-14, Habakkuk 3:11). In prophecy, the sun "will no more go down" (Isaiah 60:20).
Sun Moves Backwards
As a sign for Hezekiah, the sun "went back ten steps" on the dial of Ahaz (2 Kings 20:8-11).
Moon's Light
The moon is created as the "lesser light" (Genesis 1:16) and given "for light by night" (Jeremiah 31:35). In judgments, the moon "will not give its light" (Isaiah 13:10, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, Ezekiel 32:7). In the New Jerusalem, there is no need for the moon's light (Isaiah 60:19-20, Revelation 21:23).
Breadth of the Earth
The provided "Isaiah 88" is an invalid citation; the book of Isaiah has 66 chapters.
The valid verses provided refer to:
The "breadth [Hebrew: rachab] of the earth" (Job 38:18, Revelation 20:9).
The "length and... breadth" of the land (Genesis 13:17).
Matthews Bible (1537)
The citation 2 Samuel 11:11 in the 1537 Matthews Bible does not contain the phrase "flatt earthe." The verse, Uriah's response to David, reads:
"...my lorde Joab and the seruauntes of my lorde lye in the open felde..."