Questions tagged [contradiction]

Questions tagged with this tag seek a resolution to an apparent contradiction in the Bible.

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In Luke 20:36 how does immortality obviate marriage?

In Luke 20:36, Jesus appears to connect the absence of marriage in the resurrection with deathlessness (as shown by the use of the Greek term "gar"), suggesting that marriage and death go together. ...
Palpatine's user avatar
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1 answer
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If Ezekiel is muted by God, why are there records of him talking prior to being given back the power of speech?

Ezekiel 24 in particular (Good News vers.) v.19-20: 'The people asked me, "Why are you acting like this?" So I said to them, "The LORD spoke to me and told me'... Then later: v.27: 'That same ...
cm20g12's user avatar
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6 answers
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Was Ishmael a teenager or a child when he and Hagar were sent away by Sarah?

When Sarah sent Hagar and Ishmael away in Genesis 21, Ishmael is referred to several times as a child: 15When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16Then she ...
B6431's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
548 views

Why did Hebrews 9:4 claim Aharon's Staff was in the Ark- contradicting [Numbers 17:25 | 1 Kings 8:9 | 2 Chronicles 5:10]?

The NT author of Hebrews 9:4 recounts items in the Ark of the Covenant (while at the >> desert tabernacle). [Hebrews 9:4] "Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid ...
חִידָה's user avatar
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6 votes
4 answers
734 views

Does Romans 3:28 of justification by faith contradict with these verses of obedience, endurance & works? [closed]

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:28 KJV) According to Paul is one justified by faith alone both in Rom 3:28 and also mentioned in Gal 2:16....
Daniel Dahlberg's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
969 views

John 14:27 and Matthew 10:34 Reconcile

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Matthew 10:34 “Do not suppose that I have ...
DerekTheVExtreme's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
11k views

Can the word translated as "messiah" be considered a title when referring to Jesus?

The word translated as "messiah" in the Bible can apparently have a few meanings in both Hebrew and Greek. It is usually used to simply say "anointed" or "anointed one". ...
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6 votes
11 answers
2k views

What was wrong with knowing good and evil as per Gen 3:22?

Gen 3:22 - Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever....
Marina's user avatar
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Is there a contradiction between John 6:44 and Matthew 22:14?

John 6:44 (ESV) 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. Matthew 22:8-14 (ESV) 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast ...
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6 votes
7 answers
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Does Philippians 2:12 contradict 3:9?

Philippians 2:12 (NASB) So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; ...
R. Brown's user avatar
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4 answers
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Which fell first the manna or the quail in Exodus 16 & Numbers 11?

(KJV) Exodus 16:13-15 13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 14 And when the dew that lay was gone ...
collen ndhlovu's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
27k views

Why does Jesus refuse to help the Syrophoenician woman, and then help her?

Jon Ericson has already asked a question about the "odd little story" of Jesus' interaction with the Syrophoenician woman, and more could be asked (e.g., What is the main point of the story in context?...
Kazark's user avatar
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2 answers
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Did Noah take two doves, or fourteen?

Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction. In Genesis 6:18 we read the following: And I will make my covenant with you: and those that come on the ark, you and your sons and your ...
Ron Maimon's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
311 views

What did Paul mean when he said 'I Have Done Nothing against the Customs of our Fathers?" Acts 28:17

The Book of Acts relates that when Paul was brought to Rome: After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brethren, though I had ...
Dan Fefferman's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
1k views

In light of Deuteronomy 21 & 24, was the hanging of Saul's descendants in 2 Samuel 21 a violation of the law?

Deuteronomy 21:22:23 (NKJV) 22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall ...
collen ndhlovu's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
10k views

Why does Judges 18:1 say that Dan had no inheritance?

Judges 18:1 says that Dan had no inheritance but Joshua 19:40-48 indicates otherwise. What am I missing? Judges 18:1 ESV In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of ...
Chris Morris's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

What does Paul mean by "if we preach...contrary to [ourselves]"?

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and ...
Jon Ericson's user avatar
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What manuscript tradition do Mark 1:2 & Matthew 11:10 quote from for Malachi 3:1?

In Mark 1:2 we see a quote from Malachi that reads: Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way [before You.] Ἰδού, [ἐγὼ] ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου ὃς ...
Any_mouse's user avatar
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12 answers
3k views

A living soul cannot exist without a body (Gen 2:7; 1 Cor 15:44-45) but killing the body doesn't kill the soul (Matt 10:28). Is this a contradiction?

The Passages Genesis 2:7 (KJV): 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 1 Corinthians 15:44-45 (KJV):...
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6 votes
3 answers
843 views

What did Mary Magdalene tell the Disciples in John 20 vs Luke 24?

Why does Mary Magdalene tell the John and Peter: we do not know where they have laid him (see John 20:2) if she and the other women were already told by the angels that Jesus had risen (see Luke 24:...
brandon corley's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why did Paul get Timothy circumcised,do we have a paradox here? [closed]

Acts 16:1-3 We see Paul getting Timothy circumcised because of certain Jews: [NIV] 1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a ...
collen ndhlovu's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
939 views

Apparent contradiction in Joshua

Joshua 15:63 says: But the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem the Judahites could not dispossess; so the Jebusites dwell in Jerusalem beside the Judahites to the present day. Similarly, Joshua 17:12 ...
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6 votes
2 answers
45k views

Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, Peter, to the Jews... But Peter brought the gospel to the Gentiles?

Why does Paul say the following when Acts 10 shows Peter bringing the gospel to the Gentiles? ... the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was ...
user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
422 views

How did the proverb about Saul and the prophets come about?

I asked a previous question about Saul and the prophets in 1st Samuel 10:9-13, but now I've read on and I see an alternate origin story: David made good his escape, and he came to Samuel at Ramah ...
Jon Ericson's user avatar
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6 votes
4 answers
144 views

Should we honor Jesus or not?

In John 5:23 (NIV): that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. But in the same chapter John 5:41 (NIV): I do ...
User2280's user avatar
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4 answers
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How to reconcile Mark 2:25-26 with 1 Samuel 21:1-5?

1 Samuel 21:1-5 (NKJV) 1 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?” 2 So David said ...
collen ndhlovu's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
7k views

How many days elapsed between Jesus's baptism and his return to Galilee?

Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that a period of at least forty days separated Jesus's baptism from his return to Galilee. Mark (1:9-15) writes, 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee ...
Matthew Miller's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
276 views

Is "Ish-bosheth" a modified form of "Eshbaal?"

A professor of mine made an interesting claim in class today with regard to 2 Samuel 2:8: But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him ...
Zenon's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
176 views

Are there non-Rabbinical hermeneutics that recognize deliberate, non-chronological ordering of texts in the Pentateuch?

In Rabbinic Literature there is a principle of Biblical interpretation known as אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה (Ein Mukdam U'me'uhar B'Torah), which postulates that the Pentateuch does not (necessarily) ...
Alex's user avatar
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6 answers
2k views

After Israel repeatedly sinned, why is it said, "He has not observed iniquity in Jacob" (Num 23:21)?

Num 23:21 says, “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him," How can this be said about Israel, after all the times they rebelled ...
Niobius's user avatar
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6 votes
5 answers
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Did Absalom have 3 sons (2 Samuel 14:27) or none (2 Samuel 18:18)?

Is there a contradiction between 2 Samuel 14:27 and 18:18? There were born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman. (2 Samuel 14:27 ESV) Now Absalom in ...
Ernest Abinokhauno's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
3k views

Who was Moses supposed to say sent him, "Ehieh" or "Yahweh"

Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction. In Exodus 3:13-14, Moses is talking to God: And Moses said to God, "Here I come to the sons of Israel, and I told them, the God of ...
Ron Maimon's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is Mark 9:24 self-contradictory?

Mark 9:24 NKJV Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” How can a person believe and not believe at the same time? Note: This question ...
Mark's user avatar
  • 492
5 votes
11 answers
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Jesus says mustard seeds are the smallest but they are not actually

“It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:31‬ ‭ The mustard seed is not the smallest seed on the earth today, so how ...
Nihil Sine Deo's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
3k views

Has anyone seen God or not?

In Exodus 33:11 So the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart ...
Gonçalo Peres's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
1k views

Reconciling James 1:26 and James 3:8

James 1:26 states the following (NKJV): If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. However, James 3:7-8 ...
The Editor's user avatar
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5 votes
5 answers
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Why did God bless Abraham's marriage with Sarah if she was his sister and incestuous relationships are categorically prohibited in Scripture?

Abraham married his sister: 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister,...
user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
1k views

How can God draw near to us (James 4:8) if He is already wherever we are (Psalm 139:7-12)?

James 4:8 NKJV Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Psalm 139:7-12 NKJV 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or ...
Mark's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
21k views

Does Exodus 22:28 call for child sacrifice?

In Genesis, we see a motif of first-born sons being overly aggressive and ambitious. Kain slays Abel out of a jealous wrath. Firstborn Esau and Jacob have a long-running rivalry that ends with Jacob ...
Ron Maimon's user avatar
5 votes
7 answers
766 views

Who raised Jesus from the dead?

Who raised Jesus from the dead? Father Ephesians 1:20 which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, Jesus John 2:19-21 19 ...
another theory's user avatar
5 votes
6 answers
20k views

How is Deut. 2:29 reconciled with Num. 20:18-21?

After the Exodus, and prior to the conquest of Sihon and Og, Israel attempted to pass through Edom. (The Edomites were the descendents of Esau.) Numbers 20:18-21 records Edom's response as follows: ...
Jas 3.1's user avatar
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4 answers
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Contradiction between Exodus 29:18 and Jeremiah 7:22

What does Jeremiah mean by his statement in Jeremiah 7:22? For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings ...
Miss Lisa 's user avatar
5 votes
7 answers
8k views

In the Gospels, How Should the Hours of the Day be Understood?

Per this question, there was a comment suggesting that the 6th hour may actually be the 3rd hour - or even the noon hour. Being unfamiliar with this, how is the 6th hour possibly the same as the ...
The Freemason's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
566 views

How can we understand the contradiction in Hebrews 11:5 and 13?

Hebrews 11:5 (KJV) 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he ...
collen ndhlovu's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
559 views

Is faith a gift or earned through spiritual practices?

On the one hand, 1 Corinthians 12:9 seems to claim that faith is a gift: 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there ...
user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
2k views

Israelite covenant: everlasting or obsolete?

1 Chronicles 16:6-7,14-18 (NIV) says that the Israelite covenant is everlasting: 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then ...
user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
453 views

Is there a chronological issue in Revelation 20 & 22?

Revelation 20:11-15 (NKJV) 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the ...
collen ndhlovu's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
12k views

Who is Iscah in Genesis?

Gen. 11:29 states: And Abram and Nahor took themselves wives; the name of Abram's was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of ...
Emi Matro's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
3k views

How do we reconcile the morality of Deuteronomy 5:9 with 24:16 regarding punishment of children for their father's crime?

The following two passages from Deuteronomy seem to lend themselves to opposing conclusions about the morality of punishing someone for a crime committed by their father: 8“‘You shall not make for ...
Jack Douglas's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
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Is the punishment for sex during menstrual period banishment or a week's defilement?

There are two passages in Leviticus which discuss the degree of uncleanliness one should associate with sleeping with a woman during her period. Leviticus 15:19 And a woman who will be discharging, ...
Ron Maimon's user avatar

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