What is the shape of the earth?

In ancient times, many people thought that the earth was flat. In the fifth century B.C.E., Greek scientists suggested that it was a sphere. But long before that​—in the eighth century B.C.E.​—the Bible writer Isaiah referred to “the circle of the earth,” using a word that may also be rendered “sphere.”​—Isaiah 40:22; footnote.

What holds up planets such as our earth?

Aristotle taught that all the heavenly bodies were encased in crystalline spheres, each one nested tightly within the next, with the earth innermost. By the 18th century C.E., scientists were accepting the idea that stars and planets might hang in a void. But in the book of Job, of the 15th century B.C.E., we read that the Creator is “suspending the earth upon nothing.”​—Job 26:7.