1 Samuel 2:8

The pillars of the earth. — And the gracious All-Ruler does these things, for He is at once Creator and Upholder of the universe. The words of these Divine songs which treat of cosmogony are such as would be understood in the childhood of peoples. The quiet thinker, however, is tempted to ask whether after 3,000 or 4,000 years, now, with the light of modern science shining round us, we have made much real progress in our knowledge of the genesis and government of the universe.

The pillars. — Or columns — Jerome, in the Vulgate, translates this unusual word by “hinges” — cardines terrœ.

Gesenius prefers the rendering “foundations.” On the whole, the word used in the English Version, “pillars,” is the best.