Does the Bible teach that the Earth is flat?

No mainstream Christian tradition teaches this today, but the honest answer about the ancient text itself is more nuanced than a simple yes or no.

Some Old Testament language—"the four corners of the earth," "the circle of the earth," a solid "expanse" holding back water above the sky—resembles how other ancient Near Eastern cultures pictured the world. Some scholars think biblical writers may have shared elements of that common ancient picture. Others argue this language is poetic and functional, not a scientific claim, the same way we still say the sun "rises" without believing it orbits us.

Either way, this is a real, ongoing scholarly conversation about ancient Israelite cosmology—not a live theological debate. Modern flat-earth belief is a fringe movement rejected across every major Christian tradition, and nothing about historic Christian doctrine depends on the earth's shape.