What are the Foundations of the Earth?

Definition : foun·da·tion – the lowest load-bearing part of a building, typically below ground level.
Problem: The Earth is seemingly held up and held in place by nothing. What is keeping it where it is supposed to be? What keeps it perfectly distanced from the sun so it supports life and the inhabitants thereof?

What are NOT the Foundations of the Earth

Let’s start answering this first question by showing what the foundations of the earth cannot be according to the Bible. Verses 5-6 contain important details about the “foundations of the earth” that most people just gloss over.

Job 38:4-7 (KJV) 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

  1. Verses 5 and 6 tell us that the foundations of the earth cannot be the dirt on or in the earth.
    • There is no dirt in outer space holding up the earth itself under Antarctica.
    • The term “of the earth” in context is talking about the planet as a whole and not simply the dirt on the earth or dry land.
  2. The foundations cannot be the dirt because of what Job 38:5 says. “Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?”
    • This is another rhetorical question from God to Job that is impossible to answer. God is asking Job:
      • Who has a tape measure big enough to measure the Foundations of the earth? God is telling Job that no one can or will ever measure it.
    • We can in fact measure all the dirt on the earth and all the physical size aspects of the earth.
  1. The foundations cannot be the dirt because of Job 38:6 “Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;”
    • This is another rhetorical question from God to Job that is impossible to answer.
    • We know it’s not the dirt of the earth because all the dirt of the earth is fastened together, and we can clearly see that. There is no dirt floating around. It’s all held in place by gravity.

What ARE the Foundations of the Earth

Now we know from scripture that the “foundations of the earth” in job 38:4 cannot be the dirt of the earth. So let’s search more and see if the Bible gives us any clues as to what are the foundations of the earth?

  • The Bible does in fact give us clues that tell us what the foundations of the earth are.
  • Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, [and] hangeth the earth upon nothing.
    • It is this NOTHING that is the foundations of the earth…
    • What do we call the nothing that holds the earth floating in space?
      • GRAVITY
  • Remember the last two questions God asked Job rhetorically? ​
    • Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
      • No one (including Science) can measure gravity or how long it is. We don’t even know where the ends of the Universe (Outer Space/2nd Heaven) even are?
      • We have no ability to measure it or “stretch a line upon it…
    • Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?​
      • No one knows (including Science) where gravity starts or ends in the Universe (Outer Space/2nd Heaven)?
      • How can you possibly measure something you don’t know where it starts or ends???

Here is some interesting quotes from a believer that actually saw the earth from space:

  • The Work of His Hands: A View of God’s Creation from Space – Col. Jeffrey Williams – International Space Station Astronaut
    • “Any space traveler who has seen the Earth from orbit completely understands” Job’s words​.
    • “When one views the Earth from orbit through the window of a spacecraft for the first time – and perhaps, most every time – it is normal to be struck by the (obvious) reality that the Earth is a ball in the vastness of space,” he continues. “It is one thing to know that academically, quite another to view it. God really does suspend the Earth on nothing!”​

So in conclusion we see in the Bible what the Bible means when it says “foundations of the earth”

  • The “Nothing” in the universe is Gravity. 

The nothing holding the earth in place is still a not fully understood force which perfectly matches what the Bible has told us for thousands of years. For instance, scientists admit that Einstein’s theory of relativity (gravity) does not align and conflicts with quantum physics.

“A gravitational field cannot be in two places at once,” Sabine Hossenfelder, a theoretical physicist at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. According to Einstein, space-time is warped by matter and energy, but quantum physics says matter and energy exist in multiple states simultaneously — they can be both here and over there. “So where is the gravitational field?” asks Hossenfelder. “Nobody has an answer to that question. It’s kind of embarrassing,” she said.

Was Einstein Wrong? The Case Against Space-Time Theory
Colin Stuart – https://www.space.com/end-of-einstein-space-time

This problem science has is interesting because it perfectly matches what the Bible says in the Job 38:5-6 reference above.

No person can measure it, no person knows where it is fastened, and they will never figure it out.

Today we call it Gravity and God calls it Nothing, either way it’s still a mysterious question no one can answer on this side of eternity.

Next we’ll tackle the 2nd of my three questions, “where are the foundations of the earth laid?”

Next: Where Are the Foundations of the Earth Laid?