Apologetic

101 Biblical Contradictions Cleared!

Is the Holy Bible from Revelation or from Inspiration?

By Mark Andrew

Based on Oxford Dictionary, "Revelation" is defined as "Disclosing knowledge or knowledge disclosed, to man by divine or supernatural agency" e.g. the Revelations of St. John. In my personal opinion, whatever has been revealed to mankind by God will not be revealed again through another man once the finale is declared. In the Revelations of St. John, we are reminded not to add any revelations to it neither to subtract any words from the book through these final words therein:-

Quran claims to be a revelation from Allah and there is an original copy in heaven. Quran exists to "confirming" whatever has been revealed before it and never meant to contradict with the Bible. What is revelation in the context of Quran? 

A Definition of Revelation    

Definition of Inspiration    

The Qur'an gives authority to the Bible

The Bible is based on the manuscripts written between 1450 B.C. and  95 A.D. over a span of 1,500 years.  There is no contradiction found in the Bible. However, some critics pointed out that there are some seemingly 101 contradictions found in the Bible. Jay Smith, Alex Chowdhry, Toby Jepson and James Schaeffer did a good job to expound on the difficult passages in the Bible as follows:-

1. Does God incite David to conduct the census of his people (2 Samuel 4:1), or does Satan (1 Chronicles 21:1)?

2. 2 Samuel 24:9 gives the total population for Israel as 800,000, whereas 1 Chronicles 21:5 says it was 1,100,000.

3. 2 Samuel 24:9 gives the round figure Of 500,000 fighting men in Judah, which was 30,000 more than the corresponding item in 1 Chronicles 21:5

4. 2 Samuel 24:13 mentions that there will be seven years of famine whereas 1 Chronicles 21:12 mentions only three.

5. Was Ahaziah 22 (2 Kings 8:26) or 42 (2 Chronicles 22:2) when he began to rule over Jerusalem?

6. Was Jehoiachin 18 years old (2 Kings 24:8) or 8 years old (2 Chronicles 36:9) when he became king of Jerusalem?

7. Did king Jehoiachin rule over Jerusalem for three months (2 Kings 24:8), or for three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9)?

8. Did the chief of the mighty men of David lift up his spear and killed 800 men (2 Samuel 23:8) or only 300 men (1 Chronicles 11:11)?

9. Did David bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem after defeating the Philistines (2 Samuel 5 and 6), or before (1 Chronicles chapters 13 and 14)?

10. Was Noah supposed to bring 2 pairs of all living creatures (Genesis 6:19-20), or was he to bring 7 pairs of 'clean' animals (Genesis 7:2; see also Genesis 7:8,9)?

11. Did David capture 1,700 of King Zobah's horsemen (2 Samuel 8:4), or was it 7,000 (1 Chronicles 18:4)?

12. Did Solomon have 40,000 stalls for his horses (1 Kings 4:26), or 4,000 stalls (2 Chronicles 9:25)?

13. According to the author, did Baasha, the king of Israel die in the 26^th year of king Asa's reign (1 Kings 15:33), or was he still alive in the 36^th year ( 2 Chronicles 16:1)?

14. Did Solomon appoint 3,600 overseers (2 Chronicles 2:2) for the work of building the temple, or was it only 3,300 (1 Kings 5:16)?

15. Did Solomon build a facility containing 2,000 baths (1 Kings 7:26), or over 3,000 baths (2 Chronicles 4:5)?

16-21. Are the numbers of Israelites freed from Babylonian captivity correct in Ezra (Ezra 2:6, 8, 12, 15, 19, 28) or in Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:11, 13, 17, 20, 22, 32)?

22. Both Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the totals for the whole assembly was 42,360, yet when the totals are added, Ezra - 29,818 and Nehemiah - 31,089?

23. Did 200 singers (Ezra 2:65) or 245 singers (Nehemiah 7:67) accompany the assembly?

24. Was King Abijah's mother's name Michaiah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2 Chronicles 13:2) or Maachah, daughter of Absalom (2 Chronicles 11:20 & 2 Samuel 13:27)?

25. Joshua and the Israelites did (Joshua 10:23,40) or did not (Joshua 15:63) capture Jerusalem?

26. Was Jacob (Matthew 1:16) or Heli (Luke 3:23) the father of Joseph and husband of Mary?

27. Did Jesus descend from Solomon (Matthew 1:6) or from Nathan (Luke 3:31), both of whom are sons of David?

28. Was Jechoniah (Matthew 1:12) or Neri (Luke 3:27) the father of Shealtiel?

29. Which son of Zerubbabel was an ancestor of Jesus Christ, Abiud (Matthew 1:13) or Rhesa (Luke 3:27), and what about Zerubbabel in (1 Chronicles 3:19-20)?

30. Was Joram (Matthew 1:8) or Amaziah (2 Chronicles 26:1) the father of Uzziah?

31. Was Josiah (Matthew 1:11) or Jehoiakim (1 Chronicles 3:16) the father of Jechoniah?

32. Were there fourteen (Matthew 1:17) or thirteen (Matthew 1:12-16) generations from the Babylonian exile until Christ?

33. Who was the father of Shelah; Cainan (Luke 3:35-36) or Arphaxad (Genesis 11:12)?

34. John the Baptist was (Matthew 11:14; 17:10-13) or was not Elijah to come (John 1:19-21)?

35. Jesus would (Luke 1:32) or would not (Matthew 1:11; 1 Chronicles 3:16 & Jeremiah 36:30) inherit David's throne?

36. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on one colt (Mark 11:7; cf. Luke 19:35), or a colt and an ass (Matthew 21:7)?

37. Simon Peter finds out that Jesus was the Christ by a revelation from heaven (Matthew 16:17), or by His brother Andrew (John 1:41)?

38. Jesus first met Simon Peter and Andrew by the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22), or on the banks of the river Jordan (John 1:42-43)?

39. When Jesus met Jairus, his daughter 'had just died' (Matthew 9:18), or was 'at the point of death' (Mark 5:23)?

40. Jesus allowed (Mark 6:8), or did not allow (Matthew 10:9; Luke 9:3) his disciples to keep a staff on their journey?

41. Herod did (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:16) or did not (Luke 9:9) think that Jesus was John the Baptist?

42. John the Baptist did (Matthew 3:13-14) or did not (John 1:32-33) recognize Jesus before his baptism?

43. John the Baptist did (John 1:32-33) or did not (Matthew 11:2) recognize Jesus after his baptism?

44. When Jesus bears witness to himself, is his testimony not true (John 5:31) or is his testimony true (John 8:14)?

45. When Jesus entered Jerusalem he cleansed (Matthew 21:12) or did not cleanse (Mark 11:1-17) the temple that same day, but the next day?

46. Matthew 21:19 says that the tree which Jesus cursed withered at once, whereas Mark 11:20 maintains that it withered overnight.

47. In Matthew 26:48-50 Judas came up and kissed Jesus, whereas in John 18:3-12 Judas could not get close enough to Jesus to kiss him.

48. Did Peter deny Christ three times before the cock crowed (John 13:38), or three times before the cock crowed twice (Mark 14:30, 72)?

 49. Jesus did (John 19:17) or did not (Matthew 27:31-32) bear his own cross?

50. Did Jesus die before (Matthew 27:50-51; Mark 15:37-38), or after (Luke 23:45-46) the curtain of the temple was torn?

51. Did Jesus say everything openly (John 18:20) or did he speak secretly to his disciples (Mark 4:34, Matthew 13:10-11)?

52. Was Jesus crucified on third hour (Mark 15:25) or about the sixth hour (John 19:14) on the day of Preparation?

53. The two thieves crucified with Jesus either did (Mark 15:32) or did not (Luke 23:43) mock Jesus?

54. Did Jesus ascend to Paradise the same day of the crucifixion (Luke 23:43), or two days later (John 20:17)?

55. When Paul was on the road to Damascus he saw a light and heard a voice. Did those who were with him hear the voice (Acts 9:7), or did they not (Acts 22:9)?

56. When Paul saw the light and fell to the ground, did his traveling companions fall (Acts 26:14) or did they not fall (Acts 9:7) to the ground?

57. Did the voice tell Paul what he was to do on the spot (Acts 26:16-18), or was he commanded to go to Damascus to be told what to do (Acts 9:7; 22:10)?

58. Did 24,000 Israelites die in the plague in 'Shittim' (Numbers 25:1, 9), or was it only 23,000 Israelites who died (1 Corinthians 10:8)?

59. Did 70 members of the house of Jacob come to Egypt (Genesis 46:27), or was it 75 members (Acts 7:14)?

60. Did Judas buy a field (Acts 1:18) with his blood-money for betraying Jesus, or did he throw it into the temple (Matthew 27:5)?

The books of the Old Testament were written between the 17^th and the 5^th century BC on the only parchments available at that time, pieces of Papyrus, which decayed rather quickly, and so needed continual copying. Much of the Old Testament was copied by hand for 3,000 years, while the New Testament was copied for another 1,400 years, in isolated communities in different lands and on different continents, yet the content still remain basically unchanged. The scribes who were responsible for the copies were meticulously honest in handling Biblical texts. They delivered them as they received them, without changing even obvious mistakes, which are few indeed. The scribes or copyists were prone to commit two types of scribal errors, well known and documented by those expert in the field of manuscript analysis; One concerned the spelling of proper names (especially unfamiliar foreign names), and the other had to do with numbers. 

Is the content of the Bible confusing and without coherence?

1. " God is not the author of confusion..." (1 Corinthians 14:33)

   God is not the author of confusion. There is very little that is confusing in the Bible once we understand all the original readings and the context behind them. Of course we need scholarship to understand everything in there and the culture at the time it was written, as we are 2,000 to 3,500 years and a translation removed from the original hearers.

   The very purpose of the revelation is to enable man to understand and come to know the one true God. If what has been written is known to God only, then it has failed to serve its purpose. On first (and tenth) readings of the Qur'an there are many things which are not apparent. The mysterious letters at the beginning of the Suras are only known to Allah. It seems that after 1,400 years of scholarship, people can only take a good guess at what on earth they might be there for. Or take the many historical Biblical characters whose stories do not parallel to the Bible but seem to originate in second century Talmudic apocryphal writings. This is indeed confusing. 

   However, it is because we can go to the historical context of those writings that we now know that Quran could not have been authored by God, centuries after the authentic revelation of God had been canonized. Quran came from so-called revelations by angel and was profoundly doctrines of angelic worship of man - Adam (Sura 7:11, 17:61, 18:50, 20:116) found nowhere in the Bible. God cannot contradicts his own words! If Quran claims to supersede the prophets of the Bible, then the revelations in Quran must be superior and in greater details than the Bible. We see that Quran is nowhere superior than the Bible. For instance,  Adam and his wife were tempted by Satan and the passages are disorderly organized.  Sura 7:19-25, Sura 2:36-38 and Sura 20:120-123 are of the same context but located at 3 different chapters.  These passages are not quoting the earlier prophecy as compared to the Bible. God of the Bible is a God of order.

Sura 7:19  "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression." [007:020]  Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever." [007:021]  And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser.[007:022]  So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?"[007:023]  They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost."[007:024]  (Allah) said: "Get ye down. With enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood,- for a time." [007:025]  He said: "Therein shall ye live, and therein shall ye die; but from it shall ye be taken out (at last)."

Sura 2:36 Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: "Get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood - for a time." [002:037] Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. [002:038] We said: "Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Sura 2:120  But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, "O Adam! shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?" [020:121]  In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced. [020:122]  But his Lord chose him (for His Grace): He turned to him, and gave him Guidance. [020:123]  He said: "Get ye down, both of you,- all together, from the Garden, with enmity one to another: but if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whosoever follows My Guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall into misery.

We notice that Sura 7:20 and Sura 20:120 contradicts with each other. Could Satan said both things to Adam? If yes, then both verses should be together.

It is very unlikely because you can see that there is similarity in both verses such as "this tree" versus "Tree of Eternity" and "live forever" versus "kingdom that never decays". To any learned man, one can tell the above inconsistency without any interpretation.

Quran claims to confirming what has been revealed before it. Sura 61:6 And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the apostle of God (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of an Apostle to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, "this is evident sorcery!" (Yusef Ali)  Sura 3:3 He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel. (Pickthall)

Remarks: 

No one can say Ahmad and Muhammad are the same generic name. Are Jonah and John the same name? The coming of Muhammad was not foretold.

If Allah forgave Adam and his wife for their disobedience, why they were still expelled from Garden (of Eden)? This is known as original sin because man lost the original dwelling place in Garden of Eden. 

Secondly if they ate the fruit from Tree of Eternity, why shall ye die? Based on the Holy Bible, an older book of authority, there were 2 trees in the midst of the Garden and one of them is known as Tree of Life which fruits lead to life of Eternity. Adam and his wife ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and not from Tree of Life which clearly contradicts with the Bible (Genesis 2:7 - 3:24). In view of the above Quran contradicting within itself and with the Holy Bible but not confirming the truth. Therefore either Muhammad had been deceived or it was the doctrines of angel and not of God. 

2. "...A house divided against itself falls" (Luke 11:17)

   The Bible is not divided against itself. The context of the verse that Jesus was talking is about a major division, i.e. Satan destroying his own demons. This is far removed from the Bible. A book four times the size of the Qur'an, with the remaining problems able to be counted on your fingers and toes, a 99.9% agreement! That indeed is remarkable! 

Holy Bible is an older book of authority. It is a compilation of 39 books of Old Testaments and 27 books of New Testaments, i.e., 66 books written by over 40 authors and yet there is coherence from first chapter of Genesis to the last book of Revelations of St. John. On the other hand, Noble Quran has 114 Chapters written by Muhammad's 4 companions or so and compiled in disorderly manner by Uthman. The Quran has 6,236 verses (ayat). The numeric 6 23 6 when converged to 3 digits of equal value, it becomes the special number 666 (Revelation 13:18). That number is a number of a man. Does it means Quran has the source from a man? I cannot say for sure, it is up to the readers to decide. 

There are many seemingly contradictions in Quran. I  shall expose it one by one and segregate the truth from lies. Whatever Quranic verses contradict with the Bible shall be identified as lies of Satan just like he tempted Adam and his wife Eve to disobey God. I can accept the passages that conform with the Bible which is an older book of authority. There are sufficient Quranic verses to point towards Messiah Jesus as the Saviour and Lord of the Universe after filtering out the interpolations. Worship Lord Jesus and accept Him as Lord of your life.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through Him.

Is there any contradiction in Quran or it was misunderstood?