Isaiah 40:22

The circle of the earth — i.e., the vault of heaven over-arching the earth (Job 22:14; Proverbs 8:27).

As grasshoppers. — The word indicates some insect of the locust tribe. The comparison may have been suggested by Numbers 13:33.

That stretcheth out the heavens. — A favourite phrase of 2 Isaiah (Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 44:24, et al.), taken probably from Psalms 104:2.

As a curtain... as a tent. — The words indicate a clearer perception of space than the older Hebrew word for the “firmament” of Genesis 1:7. The visible heavens are thought of as a thin, filmy veil of gauze, the curtains of the tent of God.