Bible contradictions

[grateful heart]

Look at these contradictions, can someone tell me why they are in there?

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim (Giants) lived on earth prior to the Flood.

Genesis 7:23 Only Noah and his family, and the animals on the Ark, survived the Flood.

Numbers 13:33 Long after the Flood, the Nephilim (Giants) still lived.

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Exodus 4:11 God admitted He is the cause of blindness. deafness. dumbness.

Isaiah 53:2 It is sometimes God's will to crush people or to cause them to suffer.

Lamentations 3:33 Yet, God does not willingly cause grief or affliction.

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Genesis 23:1 God tempted Abraham.

James 1:13 God tempts no one.
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How did King Saul die?

I Samuel 31:4-6: I Chronicles 10:4-5 He committed suicide. II Samuel 1:8-10 An Amalekite slew him.

II Samuel 21:12 The Philistines slew him.
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How many horsemen did David take from Hadadezer?

II Samuel 8:4 Seven hundred.

I Chronicles 18:4 Seven thousand.
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II Kings 23:29-30 King Josiah was slain at Magiddo. Servants brought his dead body to Jerusalem.

II Chronicles 35:22-24 He was wounded at Magiddo. Servants brought him alive to Jerusalem, where he died.
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Who requested that James and John, Zebedee's children, should sit beside Jesus in his Kingdom?

Matthew 20:20-21 Their mother requested it.

Mark 10:35-37 James and John made the request.
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Matthew 27:3-8 Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, then hanged himself. The priests used the silver to establish a graveyard.

Acts 1:16-18 Judas purchased land with the silver, and subsequently died in a fall.

 

[HypnoToad]

For the first one:

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim (Giants) lived on earth prior to the Flood.

Genesis 7:23 Only Noah and his family, and the animals on the Ark, survived the Flood.

Numbers 13:33 Long after the Flood, the Nephilim (Giants) still lived.

First, it never says they "survived the flood"; only that they re-emerged after the flood. Do you know what the Nephilim were? If one understands that (even with more than one explanation) it's clear there is no contradiction. One explanation of what the Nephilim were is that they were human princes/warlords who had amassed great power and subject anyone else to their tyrranical rule. If we accept that view, there's nothing prohibiting the eventual rise of other despotic rulers after the flood.

The other explanation is that they were actual "giants", caused by fallen angels reproducing with human women. If we accept that view, there's nothing prohibiting fallen angels from doing the same thing after the flood.

 

[HypnoToad]

Exodus 4:11 God admitted He is the cause of blindness. deafness. dumbness.

Isaiah 53:2 It is sometimes God's will to crush people or to cause them to suffer.

Lamentations 3:33 Yet, God does not willingly cause grief or affliction.

Um, this is Isaiah 53:2 - "He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him."

Before answering this, please provide the correct reference so I know exactly what passage is being refered to.http://www.bible.org/netbible/isa53_notes.htm#538http://www.bible.org/netbible/isa53_notes.htm#537


http://www.bible.org/netbible/isa53_notes.htm#538


http://www.bible.org/netbible/isa53_notes.htm#539

 

[HypnoToad]

Genesis 23:1 God tempted Abraham.

James 1:13 God tempts no one.

I believe the problem here is that people assume a Hebrew word translated into English must mean the exact same thing as a Greek word translated into English. The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. In James, "tempt" means "to lure someone into sin". World of difference.

 

[grateful heart]

Thanks heaps for this, this is great, so its really a problem with the translation ?

 

[HypnoToad]

How did King Saul die?

I Samuel 31:4-6: I Chronicles 10:4-5 He committed suicide. II Samuel 1:8-10 An Amalekite slew him.

II Samuel 21:12 The Philistines slew him.

First, 2Sam.1 only says that the Amalekite CLAIMED to have killed Saul - not that he actually did. Some have concluded that the Amalekite lied in a poor attempt to gain favor with the new king (David).

As to the Philistines, it was while in battle with them that Saul died. They had mortally wounded him (1Sam.31:3), Saul merely finished himself off, so it really depends on how you look at it, but it could be said either way - both the Philistines and Saul can be credited for his death.

 

[HypnoToad]

Thanks heaps for this, this is great, so its really a problem with the translation ?

Partly with the translation, and partly with what people think the translation means. Remember, the KJV was written in 1611 - many English words have slight differences in meaning nowadays.

(And, you're welcome! )

 

[HypnoToad]

How many horsemen did David take from Hadadezer?

II Samuel 8:4 Seven hundred.

I Chronicles 18:4 Seven thousand.

Copyist error. It's likely that, early on, a simple system of counting (something like hash marks) was used in the writing. It would have been EASY for one scribe to inadvertently miscount the marks, or add/subtract one from the thousands/hundreds column, causing this type of error - notice it's exactly 10 times difference.

 

[ImSoBlessed]

Exodus 4:11 God admitted He is the cause of blindness. deafness. dumbness.


Exo 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

He made them but he didnt make them that way.....

 

[HypnoToad]

II Kings 23:29-30 King Josiah was slain at Magiddo. Servants brought his dead body to Jerusalem.

II Chronicles 35:22-24 He was wounded at Magiddo. Servants brought him alive to Jerusalem, where he died.

The Hebrew of Chronicles says "they transported him to Jerusalem and he died", not "WHERE he died". In the Hebrew wording, it still allows for him to have died in transit. This is just a problem with the English.

 

[HypnoToad]

Who requested that James and John, Zebedee's children, should sit beside Jesus in his Kingdom?

Matthew 20:20-21 Their mother requested it.

Mark 10:35-37 James and John made the request.

One thing to always remember - the disciples were 1st-century Jews, so it's simply foolish to expect them to write as 21st-century historians. Notice that in Matthew, after the mother asks, Jesus replies directly to James and John, NOT to the mother. It is likely that James and John had asked their mother to ask Jesus for them. So, the mother was just the "middle man". Mark simply cuts her out, since the question really came from James and John, through their mother.

 

[HypnoToad]

Matthew 27:3-8 Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, then hanged himself. The priests used the silver to establish a graveyard.

Acts 1:16-18 Judas purchased land with the silver, and subsequently died in a fall.

First, "a graveyard" in Matt, and the "land" in Acts are the same piece of land - BOTH Matt. and Acts call it the "field of blood".

Second, it was technically still Judas' money, despite having thrown in back at the priests. So, Acts is still correct in stating that it was "acquired" by Judas, since it was still his money that was used.

Third, Judas hanged himself, and at some point the branch broke, causing him to fall in the manner described by Acts.

 

[herev]

Third, Judas hanged himself, and at some point the branch broke, causing him to fall in the manner described by Acts.

are we not interpreting scripture when we make that assumption? How do we know the branch broke, could not the rope have broken, or could someone or something have removed him from the tree, untied him, etc?

I think the point is well taken. Many of us interpret scripture, accepting that there are in fact contradictions and seek answers, others interpret scripture in a vain attempt to "disprove" that there are NO contradictions in scripture--both sides, however, must interpret--or turn a blind eye.

Good thread

 

[HypnoToad]

are we not interpreting scripture when we make that assumption? How do we know the branch broke, could not the rope have broken, or could someone or something have removed him from the tree, untied him, etc?

I really think you're splitting hairs here. I was relating what was POSSIBLE, not claiming it WAS, to the letter, what happened. The point - he hanged himself and then fell.

 

[God_of_Mercy]

Good job XianJedi, after seeing a lot of threads like this in the past I don't take bible "contradictions" seriously.

 

[HypnoToad]

Good job XianJedi, after seeing a lot of threads like this in the past I don't take bible "contradictions" seriously.

Neither do I. You really don't have to study very long to find out that the "contradictions" are there simply because a skeptic wants them to be there, not because of what the text actually says.

 

[deu58]

Hi all

Genesis 23:1 God tempted Abraham.

James 1:13 God tempts no one.

I agree with xianJedi, And also what is the real purpose of testing? To prove to God or to prove to us?

My point being is that if your faith was never put to the test how would you know if you even had any faith?

How would it grow or how would you know if has grown?

God does test us for own benifit, But he does not tempt us to sin, That is the "other Guys "job.

yours in Christ
deu 58

 

[herev]

I really think you're splitting hairs here. I was relating what was POSSIBLE, not claiming it WAS, to the letter, what happened. The point - he hanged himself and then fell.
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how do you know he hanged himself and then fell?

 

[deu58]

Hi all

how do you know he hanged himself and then fell?

Strangely enough I just read something about this very thing in Josh Mcdowells "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict " last night,

Seems a friend of his was having trouble reconciling the account where Judas hung him self and the account where he fell and his insides burst out,

Even if he hung himself and the branch broke the fall would not have been high enough to cause the type of damage that is described in the bible

this friend of his went to Israel on a vacation and saw the the field and the traditional tree where it is believed that Judas hung himself,

Apparently this tree is right on the edge of a high cliff, Now if this really is the tree that Judas hung himself from and the branch broke then he would have fallen over the edge of the cliff this could have caused the type of dammage that is recorded in scripture

It is extremely possible that the branch broke because of the bodies natural desire to survive would have caused Judas to struggle violently and the wieght of his body could very easily have caused the branch to break or whatever material he used to hang himself with to part or tear

yours in Christ
deu 58

 

[herev]

Interesting, thanks
now, I hope no one gets me wrong. I actually believe that the two can be reconciled, but my point is that we have to be honest about it. The two accounts have a discrepancy, and we have to admit that to make them reconcile, we must read between the lines. If we're honest about that, then we would naturally start to get along better with those who interpret (or more plainly, read between the lines) even more than we. We cannot simply get upset when others make leaps of interpretation if we won't admit that we make little leaps to do the same thing.