Difficult Passages
Answers to apparent contradictions in the Bible. Each states the difficulty fairly, quoting the passages, and answers it from the King James text as it stands.
Genesis
Did Josiah die at Megiddo, or at Jerusalem?
He was mortally wounded at Megiddo; Kings counts him slain there, and Chronicles tells of his last journey.
Did the judges rule four hundred and fifty years?
The four hundred and fifty years measure what Paul had told before, from the choosing of the fathers to the dividing of the land; after that God gave them judges.
Does God repent?
God never changes His mind as a man does; Scripture says He repents when He turns His dealings, as He said He would, toward men who have turned.
Does God tempt any man?
God tried Abraham; He never entices any man to sin. “Tempt” in 1611 meant both.
How many souls went down into Egypt with Jacob?
Moses counts Jacob’s house by blood, seventy with Joseph and his sons; Stephen counts those Joseph sent for, with the sons’ wives and without Joseph’s own house.
How was Christ seen of the twelve when Judas was dead?
Matthias, before he was chosen, had to be a witness of the resurrection; so every one of the twelve, as they stood when Paul wrote, had seen the risen Lord.
How was Isaac Abraham’s only son?
Isaac was the only son of Sarah, the only son of the promise, and the only son left in Abraham’s house.
Of every beast two, or of clean beasts seven?
The first command was of pairs of every kind; the later one added more pairs of the clean.
Was Timna a concubine, or a son of Eliphaz?
Chronicles gives Genesis 36:11–12 in short, naming Timna with Amalek her son.
Were the beasts made before man, or after?
Genesis 2 doesn’t retell the six days; it tells of the sixth day in detail, and the beasts God had formed were brought to Adam.
Were the nations divided by their tongues before Babel?
Genesis 10 sets out the nations as they came to be; chapter 11 goes back to tell how the tongues and the scattering began.
Why do the lists of the nations of Canaan differ?
The lists name the nations as each occasion needs; where the number is given, it is seven, and all seven are named.
Exodus
Are children punished for their fathers’ sins?
Deuteronomy is a law for Israel’s judges; Exodus is what God does, and to “them that hate me.”
How many souls went down into Egypt with Jacob?
Moses counts Jacob’s house by blood, seventy with Joseph and his sons; Stephen counts those Joseph sent for, with the sons’ wives and without Joseph’s own house.
Why do the lists of the nations of Canaan differ?
The lists name the nations as each occasion needs; where the number is given, it is seven, and all seven are named.
Leviticus
Did Christ eat the passover before the Jews did?
He kept it as the fourteenth day began, on Tuesday evening; the rulers kept theirs as the same day ended, on Wednesday evening, after He was crucified.
Numbers
Did twenty-four thousand die in the plague, or twenty-three thousand?
Paul gives those who fell in one day; Moses, all who died in the plague.
Does God repent?
God never changes His mind as a man does; Scripture says He repents when He turns His dealings, as He said He would, toward men who have turned.
Deuteronomy
Are children punished for their fathers’ sins?
Deuteronomy is a law for Israel’s judges; Exodus is what God does, and to “them that hate me.”
How many souls went down into Egypt with Jacob?
Moses counts Jacob’s house by blood, seventy with Joseph and his sons; Stephen counts those Joseph sent for, with the sons’ wives and without Joseph’s own house.
Why do the lists of the nations of Canaan differ?
The lists name the nations as each occasion needs; where the number is given, it is seven, and all seven are named.
Joshua
Did Joshua return to Gilgal before Makkedah?
Verse 15 closes the account of the day of Gibeon with where the campaign ended; verse 43 says it again at its place.
Why do the lists of the nations of Canaan differ?
The lists name the nations as each occasion needs; where the number is given, it is seven, and all seven are named.
Judges
Did Abimelech slay seventy of his brethren, when Jotham escaped?
“Being threescore and ten persons” names the brethren, Gideon’s seventy sons; the same verse says one of them escaped.
1 Samuel
Did Joshua return to Gilgal before Makkedah?
Verse 15 closes the account of the day of Gibeon with where the campaign ended; verse 43 says it again at its place.
Did Saul enquire of the LORD?
Saul asked the LORD once and gave up; he sought the witch as he never sought the LORD.
Does God repent?
God never changes His mind as a man does; Scripture says He repents when He turns His dealings, as He said He would, toward men who have turned.
Was Abiathar or Ahimelech high priest when David ate the shewbread?
Ahimelech gave the bread; it was “in the days of Abiathar,” who was there and became the high priest.
What does “Saul reigned one year” mean?
One year had passed since Saul was made king, and in his second year he chose his army; the KJV reads sense where modern versions print a blank.
Who killed Saul?
Saul fell on his own sword; the Amalekite lied to David for a reward.
2 Samuel
Did David pay fifty shekels of silver or six hundred of gold?
Fifty shekels of silver bought the threshingfloor and the oxen; six hundred of gold bought “the place,” the site of the temple.
Did David take seven hundred horsemen from Hadadezer, or seven thousand?
Samuel counts the companies of horse, seven hundred; Chronicles the men in them, seven thousand.
Did David’s chief captain slay eight hundred at one time, or three hundred?
Two exploits: eight hundred at one time, three hundred at another.
Did Gad offer David seven years of famine, or three?
Chronicles names the three years still to come; Samuel, the seven David would have borne in all, with the three just past and the year then passing.
Did the LORD or Satan move David to number Israel?
Both: Satan tempted David, and God, in judgment on Israel, permitted and overruled it.
How many fighting men did Joab count?
Chronicles adds the king’s standing army to Israel’s count, and Samuel adds the companies under David’s mighty men to Judah’s.
Seven hundred chariots or seven thousand; horsemen or footmen?
Seven hundred chariots carried seven thousand men; forty thousand horsemen and forty thousand footmen both fell.
Was Abiathar or Ahimelech high priest when David ate the shewbread?
Ahimelech gave the bread; it was “in the days of Abiathar,” who was there and became the high priest.
Who killed Saul?
Saul fell on his own sword; the Amalekite lied to David for a reward.
1 Kings
Did Solomon have five hundred fifty chief officers, or two hundred fifty?
Both books count the same 3,850 officers: Kings divides them by rank, Chronicles by nation, and the 300 strangers among the chief officers fall on different sides of the line.
Did Solomon have forty thousand stalls or four thousand?
Forty thousand stalls for horses, in four thousand stables for horses and chariots.
Did the judges rule four hundred and fifty years?
The four hundred and fifty years measure what Paul had told before, from the choosing of the fathers to the dividing of the land; after that God gave them judges.
Did the molten sea hold two thousand baths or three thousand?
It contained two thousand in use; filled to the brim it received and held three thousand.
Does the Bible say pi is three?
The ten cubits were measured across the brim, which turned outward like the brim of a cup; the line of thirty cubits went round the vessel beneath it.
How did Baasha come up against Asa ten years after he died?
The thirty-sixth year is of Asa’s kingdom, the kingdom of Judah, counted from its division from Israel: Asa’s own sixteenth year, the year after Israelites fell to him in abundance.
Were the pillars of brass eighteen cubits high, or thirty-five?
Kings gives each pillar, “eighteen cubits high apiece”; Chronicles, the two together.
2 Kings
Are children punished for their fathers’ sins?
Deuteronomy is a law for Israel’s judges; Exodus is what God does, and to “them that hate me.”
Did Josiah die at Megiddo, or at Jerusalem?
He was mortally wounded at Megiddo; Kings counts him slain there, and Chronicles tells of his last journey.
Did the king of Assyria help Ahaz?
He took Damascus and slew Rezin, as Ahaz asked; but he made Ahaz his vassal, took his treasures, and left him to the Edomites and Philistines: Ahaz was distressed, not strengthened.
Who succeeded Josiah, Jehoahaz or Shallum?
Jehoahaz and Shallum are one man, Josiah’s son who reigned three months and died captive in Egypt.
Why is Ahaz called king of Israel?
Chronicles calls Judah’s kings kings of Israel, Judah being the house of David and the temple; and Ahaz walked in the ways of Israel’s kings.
1 Chronicles
Did David pay fifty shekels of silver or six hundred of gold?
Fifty shekels of silver bought the threshingfloor and the oxen; six hundred of gold bought “the place,” the site of the temple.
Did David take seven hundred horsemen from Hadadezer, or seven thousand?
Samuel counts the companies of horse, seven hundred; Chronicles the men in them, seven thousand.
Did David’s chief captain slay eight hundred at one time, or three hundred?
Two exploits: eight hundred at one time, three hundred at another.
Did Gad offer David seven years of famine, or three?
Chronicles names the three years still to come; Samuel, the seven David would have borne in all, with the three just past and the year then passing.
Did Saul enquire of the LORD?
Saul asked the LORD once and gave up; he sought the witch as he never sought the LORD.
Did the LORD or Satan move David to number Israel?
Both: Satan tempted David, and God, in judgment on Israel, permitted and overruled it.
How many fighting men did Joab count?
Chronicles adds the king’s standing army to Israel’s count, and Samuel adds the companies under David’s mighty men to Judah’s.
Seven hundred chariots or seven thousand; horsemen or footmen?
Seven hundred chariots carried seven thousand men; forty thousand horsemen and forty thousand footmen both fell.
Was Timna a concubine, or a son of Eliphaz?
Chronicles gives Genesis 36:11–12 in short, naming Timna with Amalek her son.
Who succeeded Josiah, Jehoahaz or Shallum?
Jehoahaz and Shallum are one man, Josiah’s son who reigned three months and died captive in Egypt.
2 Chronicles
Did David pay fifty shekels of silver or six hundred of gold?
Fifty shekels of silver bought the threshingfloor and the oxen; six hundred of gold bought “the place,” the site of the temple.
Did Josiah die at Megiddo, or at Jerusalem?
He was mortally wounded at Megiddo; Kings counts him slain there, and Chronicles tells of his last journey.
Did Solomon have five hundred fifty chief officers, or two hundred fifty?
Both books count the same 3,850 officers: Kings divides them by rank, Chronicles by nation, and the 300 strangers among the chief officers fall on different sides of the line.
Did Solomon have forty thousand stalls or four thousand?
Forty thousand stalls for horses, in four thousand stables for horses and chariots.
Did the king of Assyria help Ahaz?
He took Damascus and slew Rezin, as Ahaz asked; but he made Ahaz his vassal, took his treasures, and left him to the Edomites and Philistines: Ahaz was distressed, not strengthened.
Did the molten sea hold two thousand baths or three thousand?
It contained two thousand in use; filled to the brim it received and held three thousand.
Does the Bible say pi is three?
The ten cubits were measured across the brim, which turned outward like the brim of a cup; the line of thirty cubits went round the vessel beneath it.
How did Baasha come up against Asa ten years after he died?
The thirty-sixth year is of Asa’s kingdom, the kingdom of Judah, counted from its division from Israel: Asa’s own sixteenth year, the year after Israelites fell to him in abundance.
Was Jehoram’s youngest son Jehoahaz or Ahaziah?
They are one man: Jehoahaz and Ahaziah are the same two words, “the LORD” and “hath laid hold,” in the other order.
Were the pillars of brass eighteen cubits high, or thirty-five?
Kings gives each pillar, “eighteen cubits high apiece”; Chronicles, the two together.
Who succeeded Josiah, Jehoahaz or Shallum?
Jehoahaz and Shallum are one man, Josiah’s son who reigned three months and died captive in Egypt.
Why is Ahaz called king of Israel?
Chronicles calls Judah’s kings kings of Israel, Judah being the house of David and the temple; and Ahaz walked in the ways of Israel’s kings.
Ezra
Were there two hundred singing men and women, or two hundred forty-five?
Ezra gives the list taken when the people set out from Babylon; Nehemiah, the register of the company as it came up, with those who joined it on the way.
Why do Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s lists of the returning families differ?
Ezra gives the list taken when the people set out from Babylon; Nehemiah, the register of the company as it came up.
Nehemiah
Were there two hundred singing men and women, or two hundred forty-five?
Ezra gives the list taken when the people set out from Babylon; Nehemiah, the register of the company as it came up, with those who joined it on the way.
Why do Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s lists of the returning families differ?
Ezra gives the list taken when the people set out from Babylon; Nehemiah, the register of the company as it came up.
Proverbs
Answer a fool, or answer him not?
The two proverbs stand together on purpose: don’t answer the fool in his own manner, but answer him so as to show his folly.
Isaiah
Did the king of Assyria help Ahaz?
He took Damascus and slew Rezin, as Ahaz asked; but he made Ahaz his vassal, took his treasures, and left him to the Edomites and Philistines: Ahaz was distressed, not strengthened.
Does God repent?
God never changes His mind as a man does; Scripture says He repents when He turns His dealings, as He said He would, toward men who have turned.
Jeremiah
Does God repent?
God never changes His mind as a man does; Scripture says He repents when He turns His dealings, as He said He would, toward men who have turned.
Were the pillars of brass eighteen cubits high, or thirty-five?
Kings gives each pillar, “eighteen cubits high apiece”; Chronicles, the two together.
Who succeeded Josiah, Jehoahaz or Shallum?
Jehoahaz and Shallum are one man, Josiah’s son who reigned three months and died captive in Egypt.
Why does Matthew credit Jeremy with words found in Zechariah?
Matthew says the prophecy was spoken by Jeremy; the potter, the field, and the innocent blood are Jeremiah’s, and the thirty pieces Zechariah’s.
Ezekiel
Are children punished for their fathers’ sins?
Deuteronomy is a law for Israel’s judges; Exodus is what God does, and to “them that hate me.”
Habakkuk
Will the vision tarry, or not tarry?
It may seem to tarry to those who wait; it won’t tarry past its appointed time.
Zechariah
Why does Matthew credit Jeremy with words found in Zechariah?
Matthew says the prophecy was spoken by Jeremy; the potter, the field, and the innocent blood are Jeremiah’s, and the thirty pieces Zechariah’s.
Matthew
After His baptism, did Christ go into the wilderness, or to Galilee?
John tells what followed the forty days: the Baptist speaks of the baptism as past when Jesus comes to him again.
Did both thieves revile Christ?
Both did at first; then one repented as they hung there, and Luke tells of the change.
Did the centurion come to Jesus himself, or send elders?
He came by his messengers; what a man does by those he sends, he does himself.
How did Judas die, and who bought the field?
He hanged himself, and his body fell and burst; the priests bought the field with his money.
How was Christ three days and three nights in the heart of the earth?
He was crucified on Wednesday, the preparation of the passover, and rose at the end of the weekly sabbath: three full days and three full nights.
One blind man or two, leaving Jericho or coming near it?
Luke tells of a man healed before Jesus entered Jericho; Matthew and Mark of two as He left, Mark naming one of them.
One man with an unclean spirit, or two?
Matthew tells of two; Mark and Luke of the fiercer one, who spoke with Christ and was sent home to tell of Him.
What did Pilate write over the cross?
It was written in three languages, and each Gospel gives the charge; together they read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.”
When did the fig tree wither?
It withered at His word; the disciples saw it the next morning. Matthew tells the account in one place, and Mark gives the days in order.
Why do Matthew and Luke give different genealogies of Christ?
Matthew gives Joseph’s line, the legal right to David’s throne; Luke gives Mary’s, Christ’s descent by blood.
Why does Matthew credit Jeremy with words found in Zechariah?
Matthew says the prophecy was spoken by Jeremy; the potter, the field, and the innocent blood are Jeremiah’s, and the thirty pieces Zechariah’s.
“Not with me is against me,” or “not against us is on our part”?
One speaks of a man’s stand toward Christ, where there is no middle ground; the other of the disciples’ toward one who was doing Christ’s work.
Mark
After His baptism, did Christ go into the wilderness, or to Galilee?
John tells what followed the forty days: the Baptist speaks of the baptism as past when Jesus comes to him again.
Did Christ ascend from Bethany, or from the mount of Olives?
Bethany lay on the mount of Olives; Luke, who wrote both books, names the place each way.
Did Christ eat the passover before the Jews did?
He kept it as the fourteenth day began, on Tuesday evening; the rulers kept theirs as the same day ended, on Wednesday evening, after He was crucified.
Did both thieves revile Christ?
Both did at first; then one repented as they hung there, and Luke tells of the change.
How was Christ three days and three nights in the heart of the earth?
He was crucified on Wednesday, the preparation of the passover, and rose at the end of the weekly sabbath: three full days and three full nights.
One blind man or two, leaving Jericho or coming near it?
Luke tells of a man healed before Jesus entered Jericho; Matthew and Mark of two as He left, Mark naming one of them.
One man with an unclean spirit, or two?
Matthew tells of two; Mark and Luke of the fiercer one, who spoke with Christ and was sent home to tell of Him.
Was Abiathar or Ahimelech high priest when David ate the shewbread?
Ahimelech gave the bread; it was “in the days of Abiathar,” who was there and became the high priest.
Was Christ crucified at the third hour or the sixth?
John counts the hours as the Romans did, from midnight; Mark as the Jews did, from sunrise.
What did Pilate write over the cross?
It was written in three languages, and each Gospel gives the charge; together they read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.”
When did the fig tree wither?
It withered at His word; the disciples saw it the next morning. Matthew tells the account in one place, and Mark gives the days in order.
“Not with me is against me,” or “not against us is on our part”?
One speaks of a man’s stand toward Christ, where there is no middle ground; the other of the disciples’ toward one who was doing Christ’s work.
Luke
Did Christ ascend from Bethany, or from the mount of Olives?
Bethany lay on the mount of Olives; Luke, who wrote both books, names the place each way.
Did Christ eat the passover before the Jews did?
He kept it as the fourteenth day began, on Tuesday evening; the rulers kept theirs as the same day ended, on Wednesday evening, after He was crucified.
Did both thieves revile Christ?
Both did at first; then one repented as they hung there, and Luke tells of the change.
Did the centurion come to Jesus himself, or send elders?
He came by his messengers; what a man does by those he sends, he does himself.
How was Christ seen of the twelve when Judas was dead?
Matthias, before he was chosen, had to be a witness of the resurrection; so every one of the twelve, as they stood when Paul wrote, had seen the risen Lord.
How was Christ three days and three nights in the heart of the earth?
He was crucified on Wednesday, the preparation of the passover, and rose at the end of the weekly sabbath: three full days and three full nights.
One blind man or two, leaving Jericho or coming near it?
Luke tells of a man healed before Jesus entered Jericho; Matthew and Mark of two as He left, Mark naming one of them.
One man with an unclean spirit, or two?
Matthew tells of two; Mark and Luke of the fiercer one, who spoke with Christ and was sent home to tell of Him.
What did Pilate write over the cross?
It was written in three languages, and each Gospel gives the charge; together they read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.”
Why do Matthew and Luke give different genealogies of Christ?
Matthew gives Joseph’s line, the legal right to David’s throne; Luke gives Mary’s, Christ’s descent by blood.
“Not with me is against me,” or “not against us is on our part”?
One speaks of a man’s stand toward Christ, where there is no middle ground; the other of the disciples’ toward one who was doing Christ’s work.
John
After His baptism, did Christ go into the wilderness, or to Galilee?
John tells what followed the forty days: the Baptist speaks of the baptism as past when Jesus comes to him again.
Did Christ eat the passover before the Jews did?
He kept it as the fourteenth day began, on Tuesday evening; the rulers kept theirs as the same day ended, on Wednesday evening, after He was crucified.
How was Christ seen of the twelve when Judas was dead?
Matthias, before he was chosen, had to be a witness of the resurrection; so every one of the twelve, as they stood when Paul wrote, had seen the risen Lord.
How was Christ three days and three nights in the heart of the earth?
He was crucified on Wednesday, the preparation of the passover, and rose at the end of the weekly sabbath: three full days and three full nights.
Is Christ’s witness of Himself true or not?
His witness alone would not be taken as proof under the law; yet it is true in itself, and it isn’t alone.
Was Christ crucified at the third hour or the sixth?
John counts the hours as the Romans did, from midnight; Mark as the Jews did, from sunrise.
What did Pilate write over the cross?
It was written in three languages, and each Gospel gives the charge; together they read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.”
Acts
Did Christ ascend from Bethany, or from the mount of Olives?
Bethany lay on the mount of Olives; Luke, who wrote both books, names the place each way.
Did Saul’s companions hear the voice?
They heard the sound of a voice, but not the words of Him that spake to Saul.
Did the judges rule four hundred and fifty years?
The four hundred and fifty years measure what Paul had told before, from the choosing of the fathers to the dividing of the land; after that God gave them judges.
How did Judas die, and who bought the field?
He hanged himself, and his body fell and burst; the priests bought the field with his money.
How many souls went down into Egypt with Jacob?
Moses counts Jacob’s house by blood, seventy with Joseph and his sons; Stephen counts those Joseph sent for, with the sons’ wives and without Joseph’s own house.
How was Christ seen of the twelve when Judas was dead?
Matthias, before he was chosen, had to be a witness of the resurrection; so every one of the twelve, as they stood when Paul wrote, had seen the risen Lord.
What does “Saul reigned one year” mean?
One year had passed since Saul was made king, and in his second year he chose his army; the KJV reads sense where modern versions print a blank.
Romans
Does Paul please men, or not?
Paul won’t please men at the cost of the gospel; he does please them for their good, in things indifferent, that they may be saved.
1 Corinthians
Did twenty-four thousand die in the plague, or twenty-three thousand?
Paul gives those who fell in one day; Moses, all who died in the plague.
Does Paul please men, or not?
Paul won’t please men at the cost of the gospel; he does please them for their good, in things indifferent, that they may be saved.
How was Christ seen of the twelve when Judas was dead?
Matthias, before he was chosen, had to be a witness of the resurrection; so every one of the twelve, as they stood when Paul wrote, had seen the risen Lord.
Galatians
Does Paul please men, or not?
Paul won’t please men at the cost of the gospel; he does please them for their good, in things indifferent, that they may be saved.
Must we bear one another’s burdens, or every man his own?
The Greek has two words: the weights that press on a brother, which we help bear, and each man’s own load, for which he answers.
1 Thessalonians
Does Paul please men, or not?
Paul won’t please men at the cost of the gospel; he does please them for their good, in things indifferent, that they may be saved.
Hebrews
How was Isaac Abraham’s only son?
Isaac was the only son of Sarah, the only son of the promise, and the only son left in Abraham’s house.
Will the vision tarry, or not tarry?
It may seem to tarry to those who wait; it won’t tarry past its appointed time.
James
Does God repent?
God never changes His mind as a man does; Scripture says He repents when He turns His dealings, as He said He would, toward men who have turned.
Does God tempt any man?
God tried Abraham; He never entices any man to sin. “Tempt” in 1611 meant both.