Does the Bible Really Contradict Itself?

Several years ago, someone wrote a letter to the newspaper in my city saying that people who claim the Bible contains contradictions cannot show even one. Here are two that I looked up very quickly in response to that letter:

1. The 26th chapter of Proverbs gives contradictory advice in two consecutive verses. Verse 4 says "Answer not a fool according to his folly,..." The following verse explicitly contradicts this: "Answer a fool according to his folly, ..."

2. Another clear example is the stated age of King Jehoiachin, when he began to rule over Jerusalem. Was he eight, or was he eighteen? II Kings 24:8 says "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, ...". II Chronicals 36:9 states that " Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, …"

As noted in the Terms of Service page, all my Bible references on this site are from the Authorized King James Version (KJV), unless otherwise noted.

Many American Christians and a few in other countries claim the KJV is “the Word of God.” They believe it is God’s infallible message to humankind, and that God protected it and kept it error-free even in its translation into English. So they use it exclusively, in spite of its archaic language.

Many others make similar claims for the Bible “as originally written,” admitting only that there may be minor errors in copying and translating it.

It is NOT my purpose to belittle or ridicule these people, but to stamp out bull wherever I find it.

A book that clearly contradicts itself cannot possibly be the infallible word of God. Even if there happens to be a God. In this particular article, therefore, I want to show just a few of the MANY blatant contradictions in the KJV, many of which also appear in various other versions of the Bible.

Searching Google for the phrase “Bible contradictions” currently turns up 9,630 hits (33,100 hits, as I revise this page a little bit on 7-2-09). Some of these pages list literally hundreds of supposed contradictions. Many are genuine, of course; but it seems clear to me that many others are the result of misunderstanding, and not genuine contradictions. I am making every effort to avoid that kind of mistake.

There are undoubtedly many scores (at the very least) of contradictions and other serious problems in the KJV Bible that I could list here in good conscience, but that I will NOT list for the simple reason that it's not always absolutely clear.

Many passages that I think contradict each other are simply too unclear to be positive about exactly what they mean. I may mention some of them in a different context sometime; but my purpose here is to list clear, convincing, specific, named passages where the KJV contradicts itself.

There are plenty of real contradictions and other problems with the Bible. Nobody ought to try to manufacture artificial ones. Here are just a very few of the many contradictions that seem clear and obvious to me. There are many others, and I’ll add more here occasionally.

Note: When it is not entirely clear who is talking, I have inserted names into some of the Bible references on this page. They are always in parentheses to make it clear what I have done. If you look up the references in your own Bible and read a few verses before and after, I think it will always be clear that my parenthetical notes are correct.

But a true skeptic will not take my word for it. I urge you to look up all these references for yourself and see whether I am telling the truth or not.

1. What kind of creature swallowed Jonah? A fish or a whale?

Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah of the Old Testament was called Jonas in the New Testament, but they are clearly the same man. The Book of Jonah says he was “in the belly of the fish three days and three nights,” but Matthew says he was “three days and three nights in the whale's belly.”

Every school kid should know that a whale is not a fish; it is a mammal. Fish and mammals are very different animals.

Should we suppose that Jonah was swallowed twice? Once by a fish and once by a whale? Or doesn’t God know the difference between a fish and a mammal?

Note: I understand that some other versions of the Bible correct this contradiction by simply referring in both passages to a great sea creature. I've also read that's what the old manuscripts still available say in their own languages. I have made no effort to verify or deny this, because this particular article refers specifically to the KJV. Regardless what any other version says in English or any other language, this is a very clear contradiction in the KJV. Either God made a mistake, or the KJV is NOT His perfect message to humankind.

2. Does God ever repent of anything?

Genesis 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

1 Samuel 15:11 It repenteth me (God) that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.

I Samuel 15:35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:

Genesis 6:6 and two separate references in I Samuel clearly describe God repenting of something He had done. He repented of even creating mankind, and we are told twice (once in His own words) that he repented for making Saul the king of Israel. Then Numbers 23:19 tells us that God is not one to repent.

Which is it? Does God ever repent or not?

3. Abraham lived a long life, according to the scripture; and he had many wives. But was Keturah one of his wives, or was she a concubine?

Genesis 25:1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

1 Chronicles 1:32 Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan.

Genesis says she was his wife; I Chronicles calls her his concubine. I’m very sure somebody will say she must have been his concubine first and then he married her, but there is no mention of this. The very first time we hear of Keturah, we are told that Abraham is marrying her.

4. Who sold Joseph into slavery?

Genesis 37:33, 36 And he (Jacob) knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. … And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

Genesis 39:1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.

So, was it the Midianites or the Ishmaellites who sold Joseph to Potiphar? In case you’re wondering, the Midianites and the Ishmaellites are not two names for the same people, though both groups were supposed to be descended from Abraham.” Midian was one of his sons by Keturah. Ishmael was his son by Hagar.

These people were all distant cousins. The whole thing was a family matter. Obviously, dysfunctional families are nothing new.

But the question still remains: was it the Midianites or the Ishmaellites who sold Joseph to Potiphar?

5. Who inscribed the ten commandments on stone?

Exodus 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

Exodus 31:18 And he (God) gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exodus 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he (Moses) came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Exodus 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

Deuteronomy 4:13 And he (God) declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he (God) wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Deuteronomy 10:1-4 At that time the LORD said unto me (Moses), Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he (God) wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.

Exodus 34:27-28 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

According to the story, the ten commandments were written on two stone tablets. And not once, but twice! Exodus 24:12 and Exodus 31:18 both refer to the first time, and clearly tell us that they were “written with the finger of God.” There is no contradiction here, but that’s not the end of the story.

When Moses brought the commandments down from Mt. Sinai and found the people worshipping a golden calf, according to Exodus 32:19 he became so violently angry that he threw down the stone tablets and broke them. I can believe it. I’ve known people with tempers like that. Incredibly, God was so patient He gave them the commandments a second time.

In Exodus 34:1 the LORD commanded Moses to make two new stone tablets and promised “I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.” Deuteronomy 4:13 says He did just that. Deuteronomy 10:1-4 confirms the story.

According to Exodus 34:27-28, the LORD told Moses to write the words; and he did.

So who actually wrote down the words of the ten commandments the second time? Did Moses chisel them into the stone? Or were they written again by the finger of God?

Does it even matter? Certainly, it matters. Whether God wrote it or told Moses to write it, it would be God’s words either way. The problem is that the whole Bible is supposed to be “God’s word.” Then why can’t God get it right about who did the actual writing?

6. How many sons did Jesse, the father of King David, have?

I Samuel 16:10-13 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him (David) in. Now he (David) was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.

I Chronicles 2:13-15 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:

According to I Samuel, Jesse had seven sons older than David; so David was the eighth. I Chronicles tells us David was the seventh. I dunno. Your guess is probably as good as mine.

7. How much did David pay for his wife?

1 Samuel 18:27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.

2 Samuel 3:14 And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

We could wonder why God’s anointed future king of Israel was using dead body tissue to buy the current princess for his wife. If human flesh was required for some barbaric reason, we might still wonder why severed ears or thumbs from the enemy wouldn't be acceptable. Why the sick fascination with penises and foreskins?

For that matter, neither severed foreskins, thumbs, or ears would prove the enemies were dead. Only temporarily defeated. Maybe severed heads would have made more sense, even though they would have been more difficult to haul around. Or gouged-out eyes showing the enemies were either dead or blind. They would have been light and portable.

Regardless, the real issue here is not why, but how many. One passage says 100 foreskins; the other says 200 foreskins.

Once more, God can’t seem to remember how many men David mutilated.

8. How old was King Ahaziah when he began to reign over Judah?

II Kings 8:25-26 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

II Chronicles 22:1-2 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

So was he 22 as II Kings 8:25-26 says, or 42 as II Chronicles 22:1-2 says?

Notice these two passages refer to the same man – not two kings that just happen to have the same name. Both passages identify him as the son of Athaliah, who was the daughter of King Omri.

Summary

There are many contradictions in the Bible. Probably several hundred or more. Besides that, there are many other errors of fact; and I'll address some of them in a future article.

This is to be expected in a large book with sections written in different languages by many separate authors over a period of many centuries. To make things worse, the original was translated into other languages, including both Latin and Greek. Finally, long after the original manuscripts had disappeared, some of the translations were re-translated into English.

However, a book verbally inspired by an omnipotent and omniscient God who preserves his message even through all this would be expected to contain no contradictions or other errors.

The obvious truth is that the Bible is mostly an uncoordinated conglomeration of conflicting stories, fairy tales, laws and rules, histories, creation stories, and other messages, some of which are about a mythical deity. They were written by more than 40 very different men and women over a period of more than 1000 years beginning deep in the Bronze Age.

And it shows.

For discussions of many additional contradictions and similar discrepancies in the Bible, visit Biblical Errancy.

This page was last updated 08/21/09 04:43 PM.

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