The Earth rests on pillars or foundations.

Astronomy 47 passages in this field

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He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to make them sit with princes and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s. He has set the world on them.

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What current science says

Earth doesn't rest on anything - it floats in space, held in orbit by the sun's gravity. There are no pillars holding up our planet. Earth is also constantly moving: spinning on its axis and orbiting the sun at about 67,000 miles per hour.

What the text says

1 Samuel 2:8 states that "the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them" - depicting the Earth as resting on pillars or foundations.

Three honest ways to read this passage

As history

The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
As accommodation

The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
As contradiction

The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.

GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.

The Earth rests on pillars or foundations.

The cited passage

What current science says

What the text says

Three honest ways to read this passage

As history

As accommodation

As contradiction

Also examined in

Contradictions (1)

The same picture elsewhere in Scripture

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