The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north;
it whirleth about continually,
and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
Ecclesiastes 1:6
"This is one of the Bible's many scientific insights, written long before such a
process was discovered in the modern science of meteorology. The basic
circulation of the atmosphere (which generates the winds of the world) is
"toward the south" near the ground, which then "turneth about unto the north"
aloft. The heated air near the equator expands and rises, then flows north to
replace the colder, heavier air which has descended to the ground in the polar
regions.
This simple north-south-north cycle is complicated, however, by the
earth's rotation. Further complexities are introduced by the different
topographical features of the surface (oceans, mountains, etc.), but the end
result is a general circulation of the whole atmosphere, which "whirleth about
continually, and . . . returneth again according to his circuits."
None of this was understood at all until very modern times, but this
ancient verse in Ecclesiastes corresponds beautifully to modern science. In
fact, it was not even known until recent times that air had weight, but the
patriarch Job had noted about 4,000 years ago that For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; Job 28:24,25" ICR
