Major goof in the Sept 1 WT article on Babel and the origin of languages

by marmot 44 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  AnnOMaly

  If the Bible were honest, it would mention that the Greeks already figured out the earth is a sphere (yes, a sphere is not the same as a circle) well before Job was written and had calculated its circumference within a reasonable degree of what scientists have proven it to be.

  OK. My turn.

  The popular view is that Job was written between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.

  Although the Greeks had ideas about the Earth being spherical by the 4th century BCE, the approximate circumference of the Earth was calculated by Eratosthenes who lived in the 3rd century BCE - later than the book of Job's composition.
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  FadeToBlack

  AnnOMaly, I was under the impression that Job was actually based on much older non-Hebrew texts, but must recheck references. Hey, eveyone likes a good story, right?
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  "The concept of a spherical Earth dates back to ancient Greek philosophy from around the 6th century BC,[1] but remained a matter of philosophical speculation until the 3rd century BC when Hellenistic astronomy established the spherical shape of the earth as a physical given. The Hellenistic paradigm was gradually adopted throughout the Old World during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages." (Wikipedia)

  I still contend that the point is a sphere is not a circle (pedantry, LOL). If the Bible was truly 'scientifically accurate when it touches on science', then it seems logical it would use the correct terminology to establish its divine origin beyong question.

  The popular view is that Job was written between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.

  Which means the correct knowledge of the earth was contemporary to the Book of Job's time, possibly pre-dating it, so the claim that ONLY the Bible was correct, therefore proving divine inspiration, is tenuous at best.
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  notjustyet

  And I had read somewhere that there was a Hebrew word that could be used for sphere, but it was not and this would help show that

  they (Bible writers) thought that the Earth was not a sphere.

  NJY
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  AnnOMaly

  Shirley, I didn't contradict you regarding the concept of a spherical Earth being knocked around before the 4th century BCE (and Aristotle had provided sound arguments for a spherical Earth based on observation in the 4th century BCE). I pointed out that the circumference of the Earth wasn't calculated before the book of Job was written, contrary to what you indicated above.