1 Chronicles 16:30: Does the Bible say the earth doesn't move?

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Skeptics will often attack the words of the Bible in an effort to undermine the faith of Christians. A common criticism is to allege the Bible teaches the sun orbits the earth (a model called, “geocentrism”). To support their claims, critics will sometimes quote some verse out of Psalms (which is a book of poetry) and assert the Bible is stating it as fact.

One verse not – not from Psalms – that is often cited is 1 Chronicles 16:30:

“Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.”

At first hearing, this criticism seems to have legs. Attention, skeptics; I'm using a figure of speech – it doesn't “literally” have legs. //RKBentley chuckles// Anyway, unlike the highly figurative book of Psalms, the genre of 1 Chronicles is historical narrative. So in the midst of a historical event, the Bible seems to say the earth doesn't move. A quick look at the context, however, quickly dispels that notion.

First, the passage is clearly introduced as a psalm (that is, a “song” or “prayer”) by David. 1 Chronicles 16:7 says, “Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD....” As in the Book of Psalms, David is using a poetic description to convey a spiritual truth – not necessarily a literal truth. Notice in the same passage, David also says the sea “roars,” the fields “rejoice,” and the trees “sing.” Why do the critics ignore these obvious metaphors and pounce on how the earth “be not moved”? I think we all know the answer – trees “singing” is so obviously metaphoric that if critics claimed it was literal, they would be laughed at.  Yet they still claim the Bible is teaching geocentrism. It's a clear case of quote-mining.

Another thing we must consider is what the Bible means by words like “world” or “earth.” Notice how David started his prayer saying, “fear before Him all the earth...” David may be talking about the literal planet, but even then, it would still qualify as a metaphor. Commanding the to earth fear Him is not unlike saying the fields rejoice. But the passage is more likely it's referring to the people of the earth! Certainly the planet earth itself isn't going to literally fear the LORD. It most likely means, the people of the earth should fear Him. There are several passages in the Bible where “world” or “earth” are used to describe its inhabitants rather than the planet itself.

Isaiah 13:11 “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity....”

1 Chronicles 16:33 “Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth.”

In both of these verses, it is clear that God is going to judge the people of the world/earth – not the planet itself. In Luke2:1, when Caesar commanded that, “all the world should be taxed,” who do you think was expected to pay taxes?

We must also ask what is meant by “not moved.” The most ordinary meaning, of course, is that it means “stationary” and that is what critics claim it means here. However, “not moved” can also mean, “not moved from it's course” or “unpersuaded.” Psalm 21:7 says, “For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.” This passage is not saying “the king will remain motionless.” It's saying, rather, that the king will not be turned away from trusting the Lord.

In a sincere poem of praise and thanks, David seems to be saying that God has established the ways of the earth (or its people) and it/they will not waver or stray from the ways He established. Yet critics want to ignore the entire context of the passage, and assert that the Bible intends a poetic expression to be a statement of fact. Don't they teach the use of literary devices in 6^th or 7^th grade English? It's no wonder that skeptics see the Bible as rife with errors; they must have trouble reading!