The NIV translation communicates the meaning of “drawing a circle on the face of the deep”: “I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep.” There is no “circle” drawn on the sea, but there is a horizon that has a circular appearance as one looks out on the sea.

In Proverbs 8:27, “Wisdom” says, “When he established the heavens, I was there when he drew a circle on the face of the deep” (ESV). The universe goes out billions of miles in all directions, but, in staring up at the sky on a starry night, we do see the sky as a circular dome overhead with definite boundaries. Most modern translations translate it as “the vault of heaven.” If taken literally, this verse would be scientifically inaccurate because there is no vault over the earth. In Job 22:14, God is described as walking in the “circuit of heaven” (KJV).

The same Hebrew word is used three times in the Bible as a noun. However, the NIV captures more of the original intent and avoids the use of the word circle altogether: “He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.” If one is looking out at the sea, the horizon does appear to be circular.

If one looks at the earth from space, there is indeed a circular boundary between light and darkness. Those who hold to the “scientific secrets” approach often think “sphere” when they hear “circle.” In the Old Testament, the word is used once as a verb in Job 26:10: “He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness” (ESV). A circle is flat like a disc or a dinner plate. The first point to understand regarding the “circle” is that the word (Hebrew root chug) does not mean “sphere” but rather refers to a circle or sometimes a dome. Isaiah 40:22, with its reference to the “circle of the earth,” is just one example. If they are all interpreted literally, then there would be far more scientific inaccuracies than accuracies or “scientific secrets.” If they are all interpreted metaphorically or phenomenologically, then each of the passages would still make sense in its original context. To be consistent, it would seem that all such passages should either be interpreted literally or metaphorically. The problem with the “scientific secrets” approach is that it reads scientific precision into certain passages that seem to fit our modern scientific concepts while ascribing phenomenological language (language of appearance) or metaphor to those passages that do not.

Proverbs 30:4 speaks of the “ends of the earth,” an expression we still use today to refer to the remotest extremes. The Bible speaks of the rising and setting of the sun (as do we), but it is simply the language of appearance and not intended to communicate scientific accuracy (see Psalm 113:3.) The Bible also speaks of the “ four corners of the earth,” yet no one thinks that the Bible is teaching that the earth is square (see Isaiah 11:12). According to this view, the Scripture is demonstrated to have a divine origin by revealing “scientific secrets” before they were commonly known. Later, as scientific discoveries were made, the Bible was shown to be incredibly correct, recording truth that only God could have known. Some see this phrase as evidence that God revealed to ancient Israel something of the physical layout of the universe long before anyone had discovered that the earth was round. The reference to the “circle of the earth” in Isaiah 40:22 is the source of much speculation.

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