Bible Contradictions

Order of creation

Here is the order in the first (Genesis 1), the Priestly tradition:

Day 1: Sky, Earth, light
Day 2: Water, both in ocean basins and above the sky(!)
Day 3: Plants
Day 4: Sun, Moon, stars (as calendrical and navigational aids)
Day 5: Sea monsters (whales), fish, birds, land animals, creepy-crawlies (reptiles, insects, etc.)
Day 6: Humans (apparently both sexes at the same time)
Day 7: Nothing (the Gods took the first day off anyone ever did)

Note that there are “days, “evenings,” and “mornings” before the Sun was created. Here, the Deity is referred to as “Elohim,” which is a plural, thus the literal translation, “the Gods.” In this tale, the Gods seem satisfied with what they have done, saying after each step that “it was good.”

The second one (Genesis 2), the Yahwist
tradition, goes:

Earth and heavens (misty)
Adam, the first man (on a desolate Earth)
Plants
Animals
Eve, the first woman (from Adam's rib)

How orderly were things created?

#1: Step-by-step. The only discrepancy is that there is no Sun or Moon or stars on the first three “days.”

#2: God fixes things up as he goes. The first man is lonely, and is not satisfied with animals. God finally creates a woman for him. (funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)

How satisfied with creation was he?

#1: God says “it was good" after each of his labors, and rests on the seventh day, evidently very satisfied.

#2: God has to fix up his creation as he goes, and he would certainly not be very satisfied with the disobedience of that primordial couple. (funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)

Fowl from waters or ground?

(Genesis 1:20) “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.”

(Genesis 1:21) “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.”

(Genesis 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.”

Snakes, while built low, do not eat dirt

(Genesis 3:14) “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:"

Odd genetic engineering

(Genesis 30:39) “And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.”

War or Peace?

(Exodus 15:3) “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.”

(Romans 15:33) “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

Which first – beasts or man?

(Genesis 1:25) “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

(Genesis 1:26) “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

(Genesis 2:18) “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”

(Genesis 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.”

The number of beasts in the ark

(Genesis 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.”

(Genesis 7:8) “Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,"

(Genesis 7:9) “There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.”

How many stalls and horsemen?

(I Kings 4:26) “And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.”

(II Chron. 9:25) “And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.”

Is it folly to be wise or not?

(Proverbs 4:7) “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

(Eccl. 1:18) “For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”

(1 Cor. 1:19) “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

The sins of the father

(Isaiah 14:21) “Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.”

(Deut. 24:16) “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Rabbits do not chew their cud

(Leviticus 11:6) “And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.”

Insects do NOT have four feet

(Leviticus 11:21) “Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;"

(Leviticus 11:22) “Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.”

(Leviticus 11:23) “But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”

Who Gives the Orders?

(II Sam. 24:1) “The anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.”

(I Chron. 21:1) “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”

Snails do not melt

(Psalms 58:8) “As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.”

(Proverbs 26:4) “Do not answer a fool. To do so makes you foolish too.”

(Proverbs 26:4) “Answer a fool. If you don't, he will think himself wise.”

Who's sepulchers?

(Genesis 23:19) “And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.”

(Acts 7:16) “And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.”

The shape of the earth

(Isaiah 40:22) “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:"

Astronomical bodies are spherical, and you cannot see the entire exterior surface from anyplace. The kingdoms of Egypt, China, Greece, Crete, sections of Asia Minor, India, Maya (in Mexico), Carthage (North Africa), Rome (Italy), Korea, and other settlements from these kingdoms of the world were widely distributed.

Earth supported?

(Job 26:7) “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”

(Job 38:4) “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.”

Heaven supported too

(Job 26:11) “The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.”

Righteous live?

(Psalm 92:12) “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.”

(Isaiah 57:1) “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart.”

Years of famine

(II Sam. 24:13) “So God came to David, and told him, and said unto him, shall SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE come unto thee in thy land? or will thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue. thee?”

(I Chron. 21:11) “So God came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee. Either THREE YEARS OF FAMINE or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee;"

Moved David to anger?

(II Sam. 24) “And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.”

(I Chron. 21) “And SATAN stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”

Can God be seen:

(Exodus 24:9,10)
(Amos 9:1;)
(Genesis 26:2)
(John 14:9

God CAN be seen:

(Exodus 33:23) “And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts.”

(Exodus 33:11) “And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend.”

(Genesis 32:30) “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

God CANNOT be seen:

(John 1:18) “No man hath seen God at any time.”

(Exodus 33:20) “And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live.”

(I Timothy 6:16) “Whom no man hath seen nor can see.”

Cruel, unmerciful, destructive, and ferocious or kind, merciful,, and good:

(Jeremiah 13:14) “I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy.
      “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling.”

(James 5:11) “The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.”

(I Charonicles 16:34) “For his mercy endureth forever.”

(Psalms 145:9) “The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.”

(I John 4:16) “God is love.”

Tempts?

(Genesis 22:1) “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham.”

(James 1:13) “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”

Ascend to heaven

(John 3:13) “No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, ... the Son of Man.”

(II Kings 2:11) “And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

Who bears guilt?

(Gal. 6:2) “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

(Gal. 6:5) “For every man shall bear his own burden.”

Do you answer a fool?

(Proverbs 26:4) “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.”

(Proverbs 26:5) “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.”

How many children did Michal, the daughter of Saul, have?

(II Sam. 6:23) “Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.”

(II Sam. 21:8) “But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.”

How old was Jehoiachin when he began to reign?

(II Kings 24:8) “Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.”

(II Chron. 36:9) “Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.”

Marriage?

(Proverbs 18:22) “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.”

(I Cor. 7) (whole book. See 1,2,27,39,40. Paul is against marrage.)

Judging

(I Cor 2:15) “The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:" (NIV)

(I Cor 4:5) “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that me each will receive his praise from God.”

The mother of Abijah:

(II Chron. 11:20) “Maachah the daughter of Absalom ...”

(II Chron. 13:2) “Michaiah the daughter of Uriel...”

When did Baasha die?

(I Kings 16:6-8 ) “26th year of the reign of Asa...”

(II Chron. 16:1) “36th year of the reign of Asa...”

How old was Ahaziah when he began to reign?

(II Kings 8:26) 22 years

(II Chron. 22:2) 42 years

Who was Josiah's successor?

(II Chron. 36:1) Jehoahaz

(Jer. 22:11) Shallum