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To: Colonel Kangaroo
Maybe Eratosthenes learned that the earth was round from the Bible. Isaiah 40:22 states that the earth is round.

Isaiah 40:22 says, "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth..." The Earth, though, is not a circle, it is an oblate spheroid.

121 posted on 06/20/2005 1:37:05 PM PDT by WildHorseCrash
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To: WildHorseCrash
Isaiah 40:22 says, "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth..." The Earth, though, is not a circle, it is an oblate spheroid.

True, that might be a problem if the original language had been modern English but Isaiah was written in ancient Hebrew. Strong defines the Hebrew word meaning circle, circuit or compass. You may disagree, but to me that sounds like a good approximation of oblate spheroid in an ancient language. I'm not sure how advanced the ancient Hebrews were in mathematics, but if the earth is a sphere and you head east on a constant latitude you will make a circuit or circle back where you started. If the earth is flat, you have no such circuit or circular path.

124 posted on 06/20/2005 4:42:05 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
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