Bible Contradictions?

[heronimo]

Did Judas die by hanging or by a fall off of a cliff?

Mat 27:5 - “And he cast down the pieces of silver into the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself.”

Act 1:18 - “And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all of his bowels gushed out.”

Who was Jesus paternal grandfather?

Mat 1:16 - “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

Lul 3:23 - “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.”

How many of each type of animal was in the ark?

Gen 7:2 - “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”

Gen 7:8-9 - “Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.”

Did the waters or the ground bring forth birds?

Gen 1:20-21 - “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

Gen 2:19 - “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”

Did Paul’s companions hear a voice at Paul’s conversion?

Act 9:7 - “And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.”

Act 22:9 - “And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.”

 

[Nita]

Try googling “bible contradictions answered” or “bible contradictions explained”. You’ll find lots of sites that give explanations for these seeming contradictions.

 

[Saintlucy]

This is a very good site. www.insidecatholic.com (12 Myths Every Catholic Should Be Able to Answer) It’s not specifically about contradictions but there is one article about this.

 

[codebilly]

The Bible, both Old and New Testament, is filled with paradox and enigma, and yes, contradictions.

Perhaps we should establish a framework in which Bible contradictions can be addressed.

True or false:

1. The bible is a historical document?
2. The bible is a spiritual document?
3. The bible is both a spiritual document and historical document?
4. Can the historical content of the bible be considered equal to the spiritual content?
5. Do Catholics and Christians observe Leviticus 12:1-8?
6. Does any Christian or Catholic meditate and contemplate as daily meditation, Lev. 12:1-8?
7. If “No” to 5,6 above, then why bother keeping this in the Bible?

( History? )

1. If the Bible is to be the book that guides us to God, do we derive any “help” or “consolation” from Lev. 12:1-8?
2. Is Lev. 12:1-8, then a, mightier message (for purposes of helping one along the path of holiness) than the following passage from Svetasvatara Upanishad (Indian sacred literature):

“I know Him, who is the Highest Supreme All Pervading Lord, who is the color of the Sun and beyond darkness. By knowing Him one goes beyond death. There is no other way by which one can go there.” – Svet. 3:8

1. Is the bible to be read, at times, allegorically and is this in fact the proper way in which to “read it”?

 

[broski234]

Did Judas die by hanging or by a fall off of a cliff?

Mat 27:5 - “And he cast down the pieces of silver into the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself.”

Act 1:18 - “And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all of his bowels gushed out.”

Who was Jesus paternal grandfather?

Mat 1:16 - “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

Lul 3:23 - “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.”

How many of each type of animal was in the ark?

Gen 7:2 - “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”

Gen 7:8-9 - “Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.”

Did the waters or the ground bring forth birds?

Gen 1:20-21 - “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

Gen 2:19 - “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”

Did Paul’s companions hear a voice at Paul’s conversion?

Act 9:7 - “And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.”

Act 22:9 - “And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.”

First thing you need to realize is that when you die, your kidneys and your bowels release it’s fluids. IOWs you excrete your urine and #2 products that are in your system when this happens. I don’t see where you think he fell off the cliff when he died. Scripture doesn’t contradict itself, private interpretations do!

 

[joemccarron]

Broski234
That is an interesting interpretation. Is it an interpretation offered by the church? I would be interested in the translation from the Greek. One might argue against your interpretation by saying that the text says his “bowels” gushed out not the “contents of his bowels.” (oh man why is it the disgusting parts of the bible give rise to so many discussions) But in my NAB the Greek is translated as his “insides” gushed out. This could accommodate your interpretation even better than “bowels.” So we would need to know whether the Greek word necessarily meant some sort of organ came out or not.

 

[broski234]

Broski234
That is an interesting interpretation. Is it an interpretation offered by the church? I would be interested in the translation from the Greek. One might argue against your interpretation by saying that the text says his “bowels” gushed out not the “contents of his bowels.” (oh man why is it the disgusting parts of the bible give rise to so many discussions) But in my NAB the Greek is translated as his “insides” gushed out. This could accommodate your interpretation even better than “bowels.” So we would need to know whether the Greek word necessarily meant some sort of organ came out or not.

Good Point Joe! I agree with you.

 

[Esran]

Who was Jesus paternal grandfather?

Mat 1:16 - “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

Luk 3:23 - “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.”

Jacob was not the immediate father of Joseph, but rather an ancestor. Matthew has constructed his genealogy in a 14-14-14 name fashion, and omits other people such as Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah in the second portion of the genealogy, for instance.

Also, note that there are only 13 names in the last section, even though the text insists there are 14. Most scholars think one of the names was dropped accidentally through a copyist error, and the lost name could very well have been Heli, the son of Jacob.

Regarding the other differences in the genealogies, notice that Luke traces Jesus’ Davidic ancestry through the prophet Nathan rather than King Solomon.

 

[Esran]

My Douay Rheims Haydock commentary also relates the following:

Remarks on the two Genealogies of Jesus Christ.

To make some attempt at an elucidation of the present very difficult subject of inquiry, we must carry in our minds, 1. That in the Scripture language the word begat, applies to the remote, as well as the immediate, descendant of the ancestor; so that if Marcus were the son, Titus the grandson, and Caius the great-grandson of Sempronius, it might, in the language of Scripture, be said, that Sempronius begat Caius. This accounts for the omission of several descents in St. Matthew. 2. The word begat, applies not only to the natural offspring, but to the offspring assigned to the ancestor by law. 3. If a man married the daughter and only child of another, he became in the view of the Hebrew law the son of that person, and thus was a son assigned to him by law. The two last positions shew in what sense Zorobabel was the son both of Neri and Salathiel, and Joseph the son both of Jacob and of Heli, or Joachim. — “St. Matthew, in descending from Abraham to Joseph, the spouse of the blessed Virgin, speaks of a son properly so called, and by way of generation, Abraham begot Isaac, &c. But St. Luke in ascending from Jesus to God himself, speaks of a son properly or improperly so called. On this account he make use of an indeterminate expression, in saying, the son of Joseph, who was of Heli. That St. Luke does not always speak of a son properly called, and by way of generation, appears from the first and last he names; for Jesus was only the putative son of Joseph, because Joseph was the spouse of Mary, the mother of Christ; and Adam was only the son of God by creation. This being observed, we must acknowledge in the genealogy in St. Luke, two sons improperly so called, that is, two sons-in-law, instead of sons. As among the Hebrews, the women entered not into the genealogy, when a house finished by a daughter, instead of naming the daughter in the genealogy, they named the son-in-law, who had for father-in-law the father of his wife. The two sons-in-law mentioned in St. Luke are Joseph, the son-in-law of Heli, and Salathiel, the son-in-law of Neri. This remarks clears up the difficulty. Joseph, the son of Jacob, in St. Matthew, was the son-in-law of Heli, in St. Luke; and Salathiel, the son of Jechonias, in St. Matthew, was the son-in-law of Neri, in St. Luke. Mary was the daughter of Heli, Eliacim, or Joacim, or Joachim. Joseph, the son of Jacob, and Mary, the daughter of Heli, had a common origin; both descending from Zorobabel, Joseph by Abiud the eldest, and Mary by Resa, the younger brother. Joseph descended from the royal branch of David, of which Solomon was the chief; and Mary from the other branch, of which Nathan was the chief. by Salathiel, the father of Zorobabel, and son of Jechonias, Joseph and Mary descended from Solomon, the son and heir of David. And by the wife of Salathiel, the mother of Zorobabel, and daughter of Neri, of which Neri Salathiel was the son-in-law, Joseph and Mary descended from Nathan, the other son of David, so that Joseph and Mary re-united in themselves all the blood of David. St. Matthew carries up the genealogy of Jesus to Abraham; this was the promise of the Messias, made to the Jews; St. Luke carries it up to Adam, the promise of the Messias, made to all men.”

Whatever the difficulties attending the genealogies may be, it is evident that they arise from our imperfect knowledge of the laws, usages, and idiom of the Jews, from our ignorance of the true method of reconciling the seeming inconsistencies, or from some corruptions that in process of time may possibly have crept into the text. The silence of the enemies of the gospel, both heathen and Jewish, during even the first century, is itself a sufficient proof, that neither inconsistency nor corruption could be then alleged against this part of the evangelical history. If the lineal descent of Jesus from David were not indisputable, he could not possess the character essential to the Messias, nor any right to the Jewish throne. We may confidently then assert, that his regular lineal descent from David could not be disproved, since it was not even disputed at a time when alone it could have been done so successfully; and by those persons who were so deeply interested in falsifying the first Christian authorities.

 

[heronimo]

Broski234
That is an interesting interpretation. Is it an interpretation offered by the church? I would be interested in the translation from the Greek. One might argue against your interpretation by saying that the text says his “bowels” gushed out not the “contents of his bowels.” (oh man why is it the disgusting parts of the bible give rise to so many discussions) But in my NAB the Greek is translated as his “insides” gushed out. This could accommodate your interpretation even better than “bowels.” So we would need to know whether the Greek word necessarily meant some sort of organ came out or not.

I got that from www.askanatheist.com then click bible contradictions…

 

[Pete_Holter]

Did Judas die by hanging or by a fall off of a cliff?

Mat 27:5 - “And he cast down the pieces of silver into the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself.”

Act 1:18 - “And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all of his bowels gushed out.”

Hey Heronimo!

I discuss the complementarity of these texts beginning here, and COPLAND provides an answer on his Bible Contradictions page here.

How many of each type of animal was in the ark?

Gen 7:2 - “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”

Gen 7:8-9 - “Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.”

This one is also discussed on COPLAND’s Bible Contradictions page here.

Did the waters or the ground bring forth birds?

Gen 1:20-21 - “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

Gen 2:19 - “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”

This might be simply an issue of translation:

Gen 1:20-21 – “And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

Did Paul’s companions hear a voice at Paul’s conversion?

Act 9:7 - “And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.”

Act 22:9 - “And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.”

The Greek word for “hear” is akouo. Within its range of meanings are both “hear” and “understand.” I suggest that the word is being used to mean “hearing” in the first verse and as “understood” in the second verse. This is also handled on COPLAND’s page here.

May the LORD be with you!