I thought the Bible contains no errors? How do you explain these contridictions in the Bible?

Question

JG 4:21 Sisera was sleeping when Jael killed him.
JG 5:25-27 Sisera was standing.

1SA 17:50 David killed Goliath with a slingshot.
1SA 17:51 David killed Goliath (again?) with a sword.

1SA 31:4-6 Saul killed himself by falling on his sword.
2SA 2:2-10 Saul, at his own request, was slain by an Amalekite.
2SA 21:12 Saul was killed by the Philistines on Gilboa.
1CH 10:13-14 Saul was slain by God.

AC 20:35 Quotes Jesus as having said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (No such statement of Jesus is found elsewhere in the Bible.)

Answer 1

I am putting this question on my watchlist. I'm looking very forward to the hilarious "answers" that will be coming.

Answer 2

Judges 4:21 details what happened. Judges 5:25-27 is part of a song that celebrates the victory over Sisera. The reference to his "bowing" refers to his being defeated. It is a common expression used several other times in scripture to refer to "being defeated", not to physically kneeling down.

1 Samuel 17:50 says that first David hit him with a rock and then David slew him. Since he had no sword of his own, it used Goliath's to do the slaying. No contradiciton. Just details of how he did the slaying.

1 Samuel 31:4-6 records the death of Saul.
2 Samuel 1:2-10 records the story that was told to David about the death of Saul. It is true that the Amalekite said he slew Saul. It is not true that he did. The Bible accurately recorded his lie.
2 Samuel 21:12 correctly states that his death was the results of his battle with the Philistines. They were responsible for his death.
1 Chronicles 10:13-14 reveals the REASON the Saul was defeated in the battle and died. God was the one who caused his defeat and death.
So the contradiction is what?

Acts 20:35 is explained in John 21:"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."
This is one of the many statements of Jesus that was not recorded in the gospel. It is not like ever word He ever spoke is in the gospels. During his nearly four years of preaching, the gospels list over 100 times where "he preached", but only two major sermons are recorded.

Answer 3

The long and short.

short:

Many people in war time sleep standing up.

If I fell Goliath with a rock, I would then grab a sword and stab him to be sure he was dead.

It was time for saul's reign to end and for him to go to God. God informed Saul of this. inorder to keep from committing the sin of suicide, on Gilboa, Saul handed an Amalekite, one of the Philistine tribes his own sword and fell into the attacking Amalekite.

Not every word spoken by Jesus is recorded. We have a period of more than 29 years where he was not quoted in the Gospels.


Long:

The Bible is a book writen by people and translated by more people. Many of the books are written from the perspective of the author. God lead the writting but when ever there is a person involved there is a chance for misunderstanding. For example the book od Samuel. Actually had several authors and if one or more was not an eye witness to a specific event it would be easy for them to incorrectly write the details of the event. Although there is a historical documentation nature to the Bible, that is not the purpose of the Bible. The purpose is to offer instruction, direction and guidance to how to achieve an abundant and joyful life. This is done many ways including documenting mistakes people made. Often one mistake covers many lessons as an example. Many times a story is being retold with a specific emphasis. In that case to help get the point across the recounting of events may vary.

Answer 4

Well, maybe Sisera was sleeping standing up on his feet when Jael killed him?

Maybe, David killed Goliath with a slingshot in one hand and a sword in the other?

Maybe, Saul killed himself by falling on his sword. While he did that, Amalekite, the Philistines on Gilboa, and God gang banged him?

Yes, the bible speaks of Jesus as having said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." So Maybe, The rest of the time He was too busy in the bible, collecting the doe? ;)

That is the ONLY way I can explain it. Maybe, it can be two different authors!

Hope this answers your question!

Answer 5

First read these verses from the King James version.

Sisera was sleeping when Jael killed him but Jael was standing at the bedside. JG: 5; 26-27

Goliath was killed with David who threw the stone from the slingshot with the strenght of an army with a thousand swords. 1SA 17;52

Saul ordered an Amalekite in Gilboa, the land of the Philistines, to hold a swerd while he impaled himself forward for turning against the lord, his god. 1Ch 10:14

Jesus gave his life for us to live, what more of a message could he set forth to man kind of his advice that it is better to give than recieve? John 3

Answer 6

1....I dont think judges chapter five, implies that jael could have "snuck" up on sisera. I think "sunk" and "fell" mean "died," in metaphorical, poetic terms. It is a song, dont forget.

2....51. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

3:....1Samuel 31:4-6 Saul fell on his own sword.
2Samuel2:2-10 Has nothing to do with how saul died and Amalekites are not mentioned.
3Samuel21:12 recalls 1samuel:31. Saul killed himself because the Philistines killed many israelites and killed sauls son johnathan and two others at Gilboa. read! :)
4.1Chronicles10:13. Here we see how when things happen in life, it is a direct result of Gods will. Trust in the Lord. verse 13(Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the lord and even consulted a medium for guidence, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and handed the Kingdom over to David, son of Jesse."

I cannot help you with acts, 20:35. I encourage you to pray about it.

I really hope that I helped you somewhat.


ABOVE ALL, remember the message of the gospel.

Jesus said that many read the scriptures hoping to have life but they dont go to him.

Remember that the bible is here from God, for us. But Jesus is the source of life and truth. Go to him with your heart.

Answer 7

So far only checked the first, but I don't see the problem.
NIV 1 Sam 17:50, 51
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

Answer 8

I think it helps a lot to compare verses in question with different translations. The New World Translation if very easy to understand and accurate, but also compare with translations like King James, New Living Bible, or whatever you find. When reading a new bible translation be sure you look at the preface and see if they've replaced word with anything. Like many new translations have replaced God's name Jehovah (YHWH) with Lord or God. Those are not contradictory verses, but you may need to read them closer and read the context of them.

Answer 9

Well I dont have my Bible handy....But I know the one about David. He knocked Goliath out with a slingshot, perhaps killing him. He then killed him forsure with a sword, as he walked over and chopped his big fat head off.

As for acts, those guys hung out with Jesus 3.5 years. They knew alot of waht he said that had not been written before. See the last few sentences of Gospel of John.

Get back on the other 2 later.

Blessings, doubter of truth!
David

Answer 10

and here's another one, Jesus died on a tree right? and somewhere else it says he died on a cross. the answer to your question is 1) differences between translations 2) watch what version you are taking these verses from (people who study the bible in depth could tell you exactly what the original version said between all the verses you listed above, and there wouldnt be any 'contradictions' because their is no translation errors) so there is no contradictions, only errors between translating.

Answer 11

How do you explain that you misspelled the word "contradictions"? Oh, you are human? Guess what? So were the writers of scripture.

The men who wrote the Bible were inspired not the words they wrote. Understand the difference and then let's talk.