Isaiah 40:22

Isaiah 40:22

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

a. NLT: God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.  [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. Amplified Bible: It is God Who sits above the circle (the horizon) of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; it is He Who stretches out the heavens like [gauze] curtains and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in, [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Septuagint: [It is] he that comprehends the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants in it are as grasshoppers; he that set up the heaven as a chamber, and stretched [it] out as a tent to dwell in:

e. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: It is He Who sits on the circumference of the earth, with its inhabitants like grasshoppers; Who spreads the heavens like a thin curtain, and stretches them like a tent to dwell in; [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]

1. “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth…”

a. [It is he that] sitteth [Strong: 3427 yâshab, yaw-shab'; a primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry:--(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, X marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(- tle), (down-)sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.]

b. upon [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

c. [the] circle [Strong: 2329  khoog; from H2328; a circle:—circle, circuit, compass] [Gesenius: circle, circuit, compass.] 

1). The earth is round, not flat. Hello! Shouldn’t the Person who created the earth know its shape?

d. [of the] earth [Strong: 776 ʼerets, eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):--X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X natins, way, + wilderness, world.] [Gesenius: earth, land, continent, country, piece of land, the ground.]

1). Institute Of Creation Research Daily Devotional 10/13/14 The discovery that the world is round is considered one of man’s greatest scientific achievements, often wrongly attributed to Christopher Columbus. Columbus was, indeed, a courageous thinker and explorer, as well as a Bible-believing Christian, but many scholars had long before so concluded, and many people had already migrated to the New World.   As far as the sphericity of the earth is concerned, the “flat-earth” myth of the Middle Ages was not the belief of many scholars of antiquity. The Bible, in particular, never hints of a drop-off point at the earth’s edge or any such notion as that. Its few references to “the four corners” of the earth (e.g., Isaiah 11:12) literally mean “the four quarters of the earth”—that is, the four quadrants of the compass. In our text for the day, the word for “circle” is translated “compass” in Proverbs 8:27: “[God] set a compass upon the face of the depth” (same as “deep,” referring to the ocean). Other occurrences are in Job 26:10: “He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end,” and Job 22:14: “[God] walketh in the circuit of heaven.” All of these passages are best understood in terms of a spherical earth, with its basic shape at sea level determined by its ocean surface as controlled by gravity. The Hebrew word itself (khug) basically means a circle. Any vertical cross-section through the earth’s center is a “great circle,” of course, with any “straight” line on the ocean surface actually representing an arc of such a circle. This is only one of many “pre-scientific” insights of the Bible written by divine inspiration long before the rise of modern science. HMM

2. “…and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers…”

a. [and the] inhabitants [thereof] [Strong: 3427 yâshab, yaw-shab': a primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry:--(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, X marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(- tle), (down-)sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.]

b. [are as] grasshoppers [Strong: 2284 châgâb, khaw-gawb': of uncertain derivation; a locust:--locust.]

3. “…that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain…”

a.  [that] stretcheth out [Strong: 5186 nâṭâh, naw-taw'; a primitive root; to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application (as follows):— afternoon, apply, bow (down, -ing), carry aside, decline, deliver, extend, go down, be gone, incline, intend, lay, let down, offer, outstretched, overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, shew, spread (out), stretch (forth, out), take (aside), turn (aside, away), wrest, cause to yield.]

b. [the] heavens [Strong: 8064 shâmayim, shaw-mah'-yim; dual of an unused singular shameh {shaw-meh’}; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):--air, X astrologer, heaven(-s).]

c. [as a] curtain [Strong: 1852 dôq, doke; from 1852; something crumbling, i.e. fine (as a thin cloth):--curtain.] [Gesenius: veil, curtain.]

    

4. “…and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”

a. [and] spreadeth [them] out [Strong: 4969 mâthach, maw-thakh'; a primitive root; to stretch out:--spread out.] [Gesenius: to spread out.]

b. [as a] tent [Strong: 168 ʼôhel, o'-hel; from 166; a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance):--covering, (dwelling)(place), home, tabernacle, tent.]

c. to dwell in [Strong: 3427 yâshab, yaw-shab': a primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. In ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry:--(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, X marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(- tle), (down-)sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) –uate), take, tarry.]

1). There is an interesting verse further in Isaiah that I believe hints to space travel. In the text Isaiah describes the heavens as a curtain and as a tent to dwell in. 

a). Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

b). The heavens are as a curtain, the ceiling of a tent. This perspective would be the same regardless of the location of the planet that was our viewing platform, no matter where we were in this galaxy or another. The Lord is saying stretch forth the curtains of your habitation, the heavens are as a tent to live in, so enlarge the place of your tent. I do not believe I am reading too much into it, I believe that is why the Scripture says, “of the increase of his government… there shall be no end”. In one form or another, travel to distant galaxies is in mankind’s future, but only under the government of the Messiah.  

2). He not only stretched out the heavens as a curtain, he also created the physical laws that govern them.

a). Jeremiah 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 

3). Though it looks as if they are hanging by nothing.

a). Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.