Cosmology in the Book of Job
I write this because so many critics point to these passages as demonstrating a lack of scientific appreciation. On the contrary they demonstrate a scientific appreciation centuries ahead of conventional science. It is just that they are poorly translated in almost all versions. I will just focus on the passages relating to the planet.
Job 26:7-10
God stretches out the direction of North over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing.
The first part tells us that the surface of the earth in a northerly direction comes to an end. Apart from a layer of atmosphere we are told it ends in empty space. Of course the same could be said of the direction of South but for a person in the Northern hemisphere that would be further away and of less relevance. It is not the same, of course, for East or West directions because they are not absolute. They cannot point beyond the surface of the earth into space. We cannot for example define East as the direction of the sun because the sun can appear in the West.
The second part is very clear. The earth is not supported. It hovers unaided in empty space.
He binds up water vapour into clouds but the clouds do not fall under the weight.
They can even obscure the face of his throne. (ie. the heavens Isa 66:1).
He has formed a circle on the oceans at the boundary between light and darkness.
It is clear that the author understands the dividing line between day and night is a circle around the planet which is predominantly over oceans. As we shall see further on, the author also understands the earth is spinning. If it spins and maintains a circle between day and night it has to be spherical. So the author understood the earth to have a spherical shape.
Job 38:1-15
1-8. Then God answered Job out of the storm and said Who is this that obscures my motives by ignorant words. Smarten up your clothes like a man for I will question you and expect a proper answer.
Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me if you are so knowledgeable.
Who calculated its dimensions if you know so much and who stretched out a measuring line upon it?
What is it supported on and who laid its corner stone?
When the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy. This is pure art.
Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst forth from the womb? This too is pure art.
9. “When I made the clouds the garment of the earth, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it”
The passage is referring to the planet. It tells that the clouds are like a garment on the earth. This is important because it clarifies the meaning of a garment on the earth further on.
God made a swaddling band of darkness for the planet. A swaddling band is a band that closely encircles an infant leaving its head free. It tells us the earth is encircled by a wrapping of darkness or night on one side and is open to light, namely the sun on the other side.
10-11. When I broke up the oceans and seas as I chose and placed sandbars and doors.
And said This far you may come but no further and here shall your proud waves stop. This uses the word “doors” in a technical sense ie. Over time land masses rise and fall, opening and closing access to oceans in effect becoming massive doors. For example around 10,000 years ago, Tasmania was part of mainland Australia, but the land subsided creating Bass Strait and opening a door for the ocean.
Now pay attention to the following. Job 38:12-15 is probably the most mis-translated passage in the Bible.
In this particular passage the general thrust is that Job presumed to know what God aught to do, so God says if you know so much you should be able to answer these questions.
Here is God’s next question.
“Have you commanded morning to come and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might grasp the ends of the earth, so that those in darkness (figuratively the wicked Proverbs 4:19) might be conveyed out of the darkness?”
This is deep. Anyone who knows anything about celestial physics will instantly realize the place of dawn is a line that divides light from dark and that it extends to the opposite ends of the planet. From a specific vantage point in space the dawn appears as a curved line grasping the ends of the earth like a caliper. The second revelation in the question is that the planet is turning and continuously conveying things hidden in darkness into the light.
God tells Job how it works.
“The earth turns like clay (on a pottery wheel) from the seal of darkness, revealing the clouds that clothe the planet. Light is withheld from those in shadow until the bright crescent arm is transformed (to a disk).”
This is reality. This is exactly what you would observe if you were for example in a geostationary orbit in space. That is if you kept pace with the planet as it rotates. You would see the crescent earth morph into a disk in the same way the moon transitions from new moon to full moon. You would see it from most other orbits as well.
It is fairly generally agreed that job was written between 2,000BC to 600BC, although there are numerous factors that favour a 2,000BC to 1,300BC dating. In that time period the shape of the earth, the fact that it rotates and its appearance from space as a crescent (limited to dawn) grasping the ends of the earth were completely unknown. It was further unknown that an observation from space would show a crescent morphing into a disk and bringing light to those in darkness in the process. But we are told God knew. It wasn't until around 300BC that credible science began to support a spherical earth.
This was written in the days when conventional science taught that the earth was flat.
As with much of scripture there is an implied spiritual overlay to this passage. Namely that it is darkness where wickedness abounds but it is God who causes those in darkness to be brought into light.
Notes:
I have a theory that any passage of scripture must have made sense to the person who wrote it. Therefore if the translation does not make sense to us we can be fairly certain it has not been translated correctly. It should not only make sense, it should be internally consistent and consistent with the preceding verses and the following verses.
Accordingly every phrase of Job 38:12-15 should relate to the question of the dawn line knowing its place.
1. Most paraphrased translations render Verse 13b with the meaning “that the wicked might be shaken out of the earth”. Although this is close to literal they have missed the point.
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It fails to contribute to the question of the dawn knowing its place.
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It is blatantly obvious that the wicked are not shaken out of the earth so we know it’s wrong.
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It is out of context with everything around it.
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The word translated “shaken” may be an artistic exaggeration or it may be a scribe’s well meaning attempt to improve on the language while retaining his perception of the meaning. Modern translators do that all the time. However that is not where the problem is. The passage is not referring to the earth at all. It is referring to darkness behind the dawn line.
A correct translation has this meaning “that those in darkness (figuratively the wicked Proverbs 4:19) might be conveyed out of the darkness of night as the earth turns”
2. Most translations render Verse 14a as “The earth is changed as clay by a seal” or similar.
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It fails to contribute to the question of the dawn knowing its place
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In reality the earth is not changed as clay by a seal so we know it’s wrong.
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It is out of context with everything around it.
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The word translated “changed” is used by the same author in Job 37:12 “
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The word translated seal is used by the same author in Job 41:15 “shut up together a close seal” where it is more aligned with the idea of being covered over and hidden.
A correct translation goes like this “The earth turns like clay (on a pottery wheel) from the seal of darkness”.
3. Most translations render Verse 14b as “and they stand out like a garment” to follow from “the earth being changed as clay by a seal”. (Verse 9 has already told us the garment represents clouds.)
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It fails to contribute to the question of the dawn knowing its place.
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There is no logical connection between the earth being changed and clouds standing out.
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The reason the clouds stand out is that they come out of darkness into sunlight because of the place of dawn moving on the planet. A consistent rendering is “The earth turns like clay (on a pottery wheel) from the seal of darkness, revealing the clouds that clothe the planet” because that is the effect of the movement of the place of dawn due to the earth’s rotation relative to the sun.
4. Most translations render Verse 15 as “From the wicked their light is withheld, And the uplifted arm shall be broken.”
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The first part is not true. There is no general principle whereby light is withheld from the wicked.
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The second part is not true. There is no general principle whereby the uplifted arms are broken.
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Both parts fail to contribute to the question of the dawn knowing its place.
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The second part has no logical connection to the first part.
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A consistent rendering is Light is withheld from those in shadow as the bright crescent arm is transformed (to a disk)” just as we see the dawn line on the moon transform the new moon to full moon.
