Questions tagged [contradiction]
At points the Bible seems to display contradictions in parallel accounts or the understanding of a given concept. Questions with this tag are (usually) seeking a resolution to the (apparent) contradiction.
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Is there a mathematical contradiction in Ezra 1:9-11?
Ezra 1:9-11 (ESV):
And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; all the vessels of gold and ...
2
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3answers
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Can Jesus decide who will sit next to him on his throne or not? Revelation 3:21 vs. Mark 10:35-40
Revelation 3:21 (ESV):
21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
vs.
Mark 10:35-40 (ESV):
35 And James ...
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2answers
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Is there a contradiction about memorial stones
In Deuteronomy 16:22 God says not to set up a memorial stone, which He hates. Yet in numerous other places, e.g., Joshua 4:8 memorial stones are set up, apparently with God's approval. Is Deut. 16:...
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Contradiction between Ex 4:10 & Acts 7:22? [duplicate]
Is there a contradiction between Ex 4:10 & Acts 7:22?
Ex 4:10 - “Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been
eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your
servant, for I am ...
2
votes
1answer
127 views
Did Paul teach works-based salvation in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27?
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (ESV):
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all ...
asked Dec 26 '21 at 16:48
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7answers
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Is there another explanation for the 'contradiction' on Luke 23:43, John 20:17 instead an incorrect translation?
Luke 23:43 states:
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
John 20:17 states:
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go ...
3
votes
2answers
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Is Jesus gone or present?
According to John 16:7 and Acts 1:9-11, He is gone:
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go,...
asked Dec 12 '21 at 2:07
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2
votes
2answers
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How do we reconcile Isaiah 42:2 With Matthew 27:46?
Isaiah 42:2 - He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
This, if talking about Jesus, seems to prophecy that he would not cry out.
However, as far as I'm aware, ...
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1answer
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Who called Paul: Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for ...
asked Dec 4 '21 at 23:37
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Is there a bible contradiction between 1 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2? [duplicate]
How can we as Christians explain the supposed bible contradiction between both 2 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2, where they both give an entirely different age for the reign of Ahaziah, would this ...
6
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3answers
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Why does the Greek word ἐντρέπω (entrepo) appear to have nearly opposite meanings?
Each of the following verses use this Greek word (English translation of it is bolded)--but a glance at them quickly shows that the word has virtually opposite meanings, with either shame or honor, ...
2
votes
4answers
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Did Jesus eat with idolaters?
Paul instructs believers not to eat with certain classes of sinners, including fornicators, drunkards, and idolaters.
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that
is called a ...
2
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1answer
38 views
Was Paul in Galatians 2, retelling the events in Acts 15?
Gal 2:1 WEB Then after a period of fourteen years I went up again to
Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me.
First question: is this the same time as recorded in the book of Acts 15:2
Or ...
3
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4answers
165 views
Are the accounts of the Sinai revelation in Exodus and Deuteronomy inconsistent?
Deuteronomy says the Israelites heard Yahweh. Exodus implies (I think strongly, in two different ways) that they didn't.
Deut 4:12 ([NASB][8])
Then the Lord spoke to you [the Israelites] from the ...
3
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4answers
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Are signs, wonders and miracles evidence of an authentic divine calling or not?
According to Paul and Jesus, the signs and wonders they performed attested to the authenticity of their callings:
12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with ...
asked Nov 7 '21 at 6:53
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2
votes
2answers
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Why did Matthew omit three generations from his genealogy in Matthew?
In Matthew 1:6-11 Matthew lists 14 generations from David to the Babylon deportation. Yet I Chronicles 3:10-15 lists 17 generations between the two. So my question is why did Matthew claim there were ...
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5answers
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Are evil spirits chained or not?
According to 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6, they are:
4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; [...
asked Nov 4 '21 at 15:23
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3
votes
3answers
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What is the meaning of the word " Judgement" in this verse
Joh 9:39 BSB Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
If this means condemnation then it's is hardly reconcilable ...
2
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1answer
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What does Job 42:1-2 mean in the Hebrew?
We read: “Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.”
Job 42:1-2
My question is: what does the Hebrew mean by “...
5
votes
2answers
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How can we reconcile Matthew 7:14's "few" and Daniel 12:10's "many"?
Matthew 7:14 KJV
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 20:16 KJV
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: ...
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1answer
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Does Isaiah 44:6 present a contradiction with respect to the nature of God, the Father and his Son?
It seems as though much of the evidence in the OT for God having a Son, is fairly ambiguous, such as
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your ...
0
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1answer
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How do we interpret James 5:16 in light of 1 John 1:9?
James says: “So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.”
James 5:16
& 1st John 1:9 says: ...
2
votes
2answers
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In [Judith 10-15], How can God be pleased to allow Judith to speak lies in order to maintain Exodus 20:5, if Proverbs 12:22 is true?
In Judith chapters 10-11, the honest prophetess Judith temporarily becomes a liar to defend Israel by spreading false information about Israel in [Judith 10:12] and [Judith 11:12-19] to deceptively ...
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2answers
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Why are Rev 1:8, Rev 1:17 and Rev 22:13 red letter whilst Rev 21:6 is not? Surely they should be in the same colour?
I know this is splitting hairs, and that the assignment of red lettering is not an exact science.
I have read Red-Letter King James Version: Who is speaking in Revelation 21:5–6?
and Why would the ...
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votes
4answers
376 views
Is Luke 11:9-13 a promise for believers or unbelievers?
Luke 11:9-13 (ESV):
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, ...
asked Sep 21 '21 at 16:00
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2
votes
3answers
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Were tongues for believers or unbelievers?
1 Corinthians 14:
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers.
Tongues were for unbelievers and not for believers....
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0answers
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When was the Holy Ghost given? After or before the resurrection? [closed]
After the ressurrection:
The Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the ...
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1answer
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What should a congregation do if it sins through ignorance? Leviticus and Numbers seem to give different commandments
Kill a young bull (According to Leviticus 4:13-21):
Kill a young bull and young goat (According to Numbers 15: 24-26)
How can these laws be reconciled?
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1answer
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Which tribe received the cities of Eshtaol and Zoreah? [duplicate]
According to Joshua 15:20,33, it was Judah.
According to Joshua 19:40,41, it was Dan.
So, which was it?
3
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0answers
602 views
If David was only the ninth generation after a bastard ancestor, how was he allowed to enter the Assembly of the LORD? [duplicate]
In the last verses of Genesis 38, Judah has a bastard son with Tamar, named Perez, and according to Matthew 1, David is the ninth generation after Perez.
But according to Deuteronomy 23:2, if someone ...
2
votes
2answers
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How did Elijah send a letter to King Jehoram, if Elijah had already been taken to heaven?
In 2 Chronicles 21, the wicked King Jehoram of Judah receives a letter from the prophet Elijah. The letter from Elijah said this, in part: “This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: ‘....
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6answers
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How can Isaiah 42:8 possibly be true, if John 13:31-32 is true?
The prophet יְשַׁעְיָ֣הוּ Yeshayahu speaking for God YHVH states אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה ה֣וּא שְׁמִ֑י וּכְבוֹדִי֙ לְאַחֵ֣ר לֹֽא־אֶתֵּ֔ן וּתְהִלָּתִ֖י לַפְּסִילִֽים “I am YHVH, that is My Name; and My glory I ...
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2answers
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God promised a peaceful death to Zedekiah, so why did he die horribly?
In Jeremiah 34:2-5, God tells Zedekiah he will let Babylon conquer Israel, but not to be afraid because he will die peacefully,but in Jeremiah 52:10-11 and 2 Kings 25:6-7, he has his sons slaughtered ...
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votes
3answers
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Does Paul put the Thessalonians under oath in 1 Thessalonians 5:27?
1 Thessalonians 5:27 reads (NKJV):
I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.
According to Albert Barnes, the Greek of the expression in bold above "is ...
4
votes
5answers
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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 ...
asked Sep 7 '21 at 0:51
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1
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1answer
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Will Jesus do anything we ask Him in His name or not? John 14:12-14 vs. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
John 14:12-14 (ESV):
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever ...
asked Sep 5 '21 at 19:19
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4
votes
8answers
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Could Matthew 12:40b and Matthew 17:23a be both true literally? [closed]
Matthew 12:40b
New International Version
the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 17:23a
They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to ...
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3answers
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What's up with the seeming catch-22 of John 6:65 and John 14:6?
John 6:65 and John 14:6 together seems to imply some catch-22. The only place in the entire internet that asks or addresses this that I've found thus far is this reddit post: John 6:65 and John 14:6 ...
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6answers
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Why does the ESV contradict itself in John 1:18 versus John 17:3?
The ESV gives a strange meaning to John 1:18, one which contradicts John 17:3.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side,
he has made him known. (John 1:18, ESV)
And this is ...
2
votes
1answer
193 views
Possible Gospel timeline contradiction regarding John the Baptist's imprisonment and the calling of the disciples [closed]
The chronology in Matthew 4 states that after Jesus' temptation, he heard that John the Baptist had been taken into custody, so he returned to Galilee and began his preaching ministry and called his ...
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3answers
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When did Jesus the Nazarene as King of the Jews (Matthew 27:37) fulfill the requirement for Melakim (Kings) of Yisrael from Deuteronomy 17:18? [closed]
If Deuteronomy 17:18 was the Law required for all Melakim (Kings) of Yisrael stating: "When he is seated on his royal throne, he shall have a copy of this Torah written for him on a scroll by the ...
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1answer
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Acts 1:18 - Matthew 27:5 - Contradiction on Judas death & who purchased the field (silver coins) [duplicate]
Acts 1:18-19
18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity;
and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his
bowels gushed out. 19 And it was known unto all the ...
1
vote
2answers
161 views
How do we reconcile Hebrews 12:2 and Revelation 3:21?
So is Jesus sitting on the right hand of the throne of God... or is he sitting on it?
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the ...
1
vote
5answers
601 views
How could the Jews say "We have *one* father: God", directly after saying "Abraham is our father"?
In the Gospel of John we read what seem to conflicting admissions by Christ's Jewish audience, one on the verse of stoning Him:
John 8:39-41: "They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our ...
2
votes
4answers
501 views
how do we reconcile John 8:14 & 5:31
John 8:14 New International Version
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come ...
6
votes
3answers
124 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 ...
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4answers
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Why does John's account of Jesus' beating differ from the synoptics?
John implies Jesus was scourged before sentence while Matthew and Mark say after. Or was it both?
From Matthew 27:
24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a
tumult was made, ...
3
votes
4answers
56 views
Should the disciples be amazed or not at the coming resurrection?
John 5:
20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and ...
4
votes
3answers
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Why did Pharoah's officials tell Pharoah to let the people go?
Exodus 10:1:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them
Verse 7:
Pharaoh’s ...
asked Jul 22 '21 at 5:04
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3
votes
3answers
81 views
How is Daniel 4:17 to be reconciled with Luke 4:5-6?
In the Book of Daniel the text states that God gives the kingdoms of men to whomever He chooses:
Daniel 4:17: "This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers And the decision is a ...