The Foundations of the World

Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

(Psalms 18:15) ESV

It’s very important to understand nuance. It’s what we may call having discernment. Two similar phrases my mean different things because they have different tense or depending on if they are singular or plural.

The foundation of the world, for instance, when it’s singular and translated from Greek refers to the act of conception by which God the son was begotten. This explains the context of the phrase slain from the foundation of the world.

The foundation(s) of the world, in contrast, when it’s plural and translated from Hebrew refers to the crust and mantle of planet Earth.

Foundation(s) of the World/Earth

1. the foundation of the world (Greek, singular)
   • conception
     • before God said let there be light,
     • the act of conception which begat God the Son.
2. the foundation(s) of the earth (Hebrew)
   • gravitational singularity
     • the creative act of the 2nd day,
     • the inception of the core accretion model.
3. the foundations of the world (Hebrew, plural)
   • the earth’s crust and mantle,
     • synonyms:
       1. bottoms of the mountains
       2. foundations of the hills
       3. foundations of the mountains

There’s a clear difference between the Hebrew erets (earth), and tebel (world). In the passage from Psalms above The foundations of the world (tebel) refers to the crust and mantle which were exposed as the ocean floor.

And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

(2 Samuel 22:16) KJV

The passage from the Psalms is a restatement of this verse from 2 Samuel. It’s an excerpt from a prayer that King David prayed after surviving a series of battles with his enemies. He was giving thanks to God for protection and deliverance. The prayer refers to miraculous acts of God which were taught as part of the history of the children of Israel. It’s a reference to parting the Red Sea when the Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt.

This being the case, then the foundations of the world (tebel) was the exposed ocean floor that the children of Israel walked across to escape the Egyptian army. The foundation of the earth (erets) in our model is the core not the mantle. It’s below the lower mantle and separated from it by the great gulf.