A new series of 25 rejected SAB Contradictions. Can God do anything? Is childbearing sinful? Is circumcision required? Did Jesus say before the cock crows or before the crock crows twice? And More.
76. Should every man bear his own burden?
No (Galatians 6:5)
Partly right. In Greek is used the word ‘phortion’: load, lading (of a ship). Meaning from the context: We live together with imperfect people, we have to accept from each other some inconveniences apart from our own problems.
Yes (Galatians 6:2)
Right. In Greek is used the word ‘barè’: burden. Meaning from the context: everybody has to live his own life. Nobody can take it over. The answer must be “Yes”.
See the article: To bear or not to bear?
No Contradiction
77. Who buried Jesus?
Joseph of Arimathaea (Matthew 27:57-60)
Right. It was Joseph who had got permission from Pilate to do that, and Jesus came in his tomb.
Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus (John 19:38-42)
Right. It was Nicodemus, Joseph’s acquaintance, who helped him bury Jesus.
The Jews and their rulers (Acts 13:27-29)
Wrong. There was no approval of “the Jews” concerning Jesus’ death or funeral. This way of anti-Semitic thinking should lay far behind us and it is also not deducible from the text.
Jesus was buried with the approval of the Jewish and Roman authorities – It is accepted use of language to say than that “they buried him …”. (Better: One buried him …)
No Contradiction
78. On what day did the temple burn?
On the seventh day (2 Kings 25:8-9)
Wrong. On the seventh day … Nebuzaradan “came to Jerusalem”. Here is the ingressive form of the verb without the (Hebrew) preposition “be”, meaning: “to undertake a journey to Jerusalem”.
On the tenth day (Jeremiah 52:12-13)
Right. On the tenth day … Nebuzaradan “entered into Jerusalem”. Here is the resultative form with the (Hebrew) preposition “be” (be-Jerusalem: into Jerusalem). Maybe Nebuzaradan came from Ribla, in that case he needed 3 – 4 days to arrive at Jerusalem.
Note. Many theologians suppose a scribal error “tenth versus seventh”, but there is absolutely no reason for this assumption.
No Contradiction
79. Did God command the Israelites to make him burnt offerings?
God commanded the Israelites to make him burnt offerings. (Exodus 8:27, 10:25, 20:24, 29:16-18)
Right.
God did not ask for any burnt offerings. (Jeremiah 7:22)
Wrong. Jeremiah states that God did not give the commandments for sacrifices when they left Egypt. Indeed, they got these commandments when they were at Mount Sinai. The first commandment after the exit of Egypt was (Exodus 15:26) to hear and obey the voice of the Lord and to this voice Jeremiah refers in verse 7:23. It ends with the marvellous words: … that it may be well unto you.
No Contradiction
80. Who appeared to Moses in the burning bush?
God (Exodus 3:4, Mark 12:26)
Right. Moses knew it was God who was speaking to him as he heard: ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
An angel (Exodus 3:2, Acts 7:35)
Right. And of the angels He says, ‘who makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.’ (Hebrews 1:7, Psalm 104:4)
It is “and …, and …”, instead of “or …, or …”. And God (through the spoken word), and an angel (through the unnatural fire).
See the article: Who appeared to Moses in the burning bush?
No Contradiction
81. What became of Cain?
He was a fugitive and a vagabond. (Genesis 4:11-12)
Right. Everybody who saw him thought: That is the killer of his brother. That was the meaning of being a fugitive and vagabond during all his life.
He settled down, married, had a son and built a city. (Genesis 4:16-17)
Right. But all knew during his life that he had killed his brother. And that made him still a fugitive in the eyes of the people.
No Contradiction
82. Was Jesus taken to Caiaphas or Annas first?
Caiaphas (Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, Luke 22:54)
Wrong. He was taken to the residence of Caiaphas and there he first met Annas as John clearly states. The residence; this is obvious from Matthew: “ the high priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled”; and from Luke: “and brought him into the high priest’s house”; and from Mark: “ led Jesus away to the high priest …” without the remark who Jesus met first.
Annas (John 18:13)
Right. Annas being the father in law of Caiaphas was or lived in the high priests palace where Caiaphas resided. And John clearly says that Jesus first spoke with him.
No Contradiction
83. Will those who call on the Lord be delivered?
Yes (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13)
Right. When they call to him with all their heart (Psalm 119:145).
No (Matthew 7:21, Jeremiah 14:12, Ezekiel 8:18, Micah 3:4)
Wrong. When they don’t call to him with all their heart (Isaiah 29:13), which is obviously the case in all the referred texts.
No Contradiction
84. Can God do anything?
God can do anything. (Genesis 18:14, Job 42:1-2, Jeremiah 32:27, Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, 18:27, Revelation 19:6)
Wrong. Everybody in past, present and future knows that God cannot act against his own character or principles: against his righteousness, against his love etc. It is part of the Biblical meaning of the word “God” and doesn’t require defense (Hebrews 6:18). Judges 1:19, misinterpretation “he” refers to the tribe Judah, not to the Lord. Mark 6:5, God can be limited in his blessings by human misbehavior, unbelief etc.
There are some things that God cannot do. (Judges 1:19, Mark 6:5, Hebrews 6:18)
Right. (see above)
No Contradiction
85. How should the Canaanites be treated?
God will kill or drive them out for you. (7 references)
Kill them all without mercy. (2 references)
Drive them out of Canaan. (1 reference)
Partly right. In all these texts is made clear that the Israelites had the right to follow the general rules of war at that time.
1. If there was an attack one had the right to defend themselves.
2. Women, children and old people remained outside actions of war.
3. If a war was lost, the winning party had the right to take the properties of the enemy.
4. An enemy had the right to flee; if not the war continued until death.
Some descriptions in the book of Joshua make clear that:
– not all Canaanites had been driven out by Joshua (13:1): “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.”
– parts of the land were conquered only by self defence (11:20): “For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them,”
Welcome them as fellow citizens with the same rights as Israelites. (1 reference)
Wrong. Only if Canaanites had accepted the religion of Israel, there was a possibility to integrate in the life of the Israel people. Examples: Rachab (from Jericho), Ruth (from Moab), Uriah (the Hittite), a.o.
See the articles: (1) How should strangers be treated? (2) Is God merciful? (3) Was Moses meek (rules of war)?
No Contradiction
86. How long was the Egyptian Captivity?
400 years (Genesis 15:13)
Wrong. We have to reckon with 215 years in Egypt. It is clear that God is speaking in Genesis 15:13 about all the descendants of Abram; not only about the sons and grandsons of Jacob in Egypt … A clear misinterpretation.
430 years (Exodus 12:40, Galatians 3:17)
Wrong. We have to reckon with 215 years in Egypt. The translation should be: Now the time of (the existence of) the sons of Israel, after/when they had lived in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years (Exodus 12:40).
See the article: How long was the Egyptian captivity?
No Contradiction
87. Does God prefer castrated men?
Yes (Matthew 19:12)
“For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
Wrong. God does never prefer selfmutilation, nor mutilation by others. Jesus’ saying here is metaphorical and not literally as it ends: “He that is able to receive it …” Which refers to a special meaning and not the literal. It was in the old Jewish culture accepted custom if men didn’t marry, but lived only for the religion. Rabbi Simeon ben Azzai (scribe, torah-scholar, flourished 120-140 CE) was not married and said: “I am in love with the Torah; let others fill the world with descendants.” Also Essenes formed religious communities for men following an unselfish way of life for the benefit of the people that lived around them. “They were respected by the common man as well as by kings” (Philo).
Jesus referred to this possibility for men to dedicate themselves only to the Kingdom of God and not also to a married life (e.g. apostle Paul).
No (Deuteronomy 23:1)
“No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.”
Wrong. This has nothing to do with rejection of mutilated (castrated) men by the Lord. This is a multifunctional command with many implications. It was forbidden in Israel to castrate others. That would make undone the circumcision. And by that someone lost in fact his origin, future and rights. They lost their voice in the public assembly. They were less than slaves who also were circumcised and who enjoyed all the religious rights and protection as native Israelites. Jesus’ reference (see up) concerning eunuch by bad birth (or accident) gives the impression that there was a social custom to integrate those in the community.
In short we have to do with an overall protection of Israelite people against social and religious castration in classical times.
Take note. Presumably strangers who were eunuchs were not prevented from entering the temple court of the strangers to pray to Yahweh (Acts 8:27, Isaiah 56:4-5).
No Contradiction
88. Is casting out devils a sign of a true Christian?
Yes, it is a sign of a true believer. (Mark 16:17)
Wrong. Jesus gave this task to his apostles again (Compare Matthew 10:1). He didn’t give this task to all his followers as it should be done cautiously.
No, some who don’t follow Jesus can cast out devils too. (Mark 9:38, Luke 9:49)
Wrong. Jesus endorsed the actions of those who had accepted him and helped others by praying for them and rebuking demon powers in Jesus’ name. But it is not a necessary feature of all Christians to act in that way. One does not have to do this to be a true Christian, which can be an important issue to some.
Note. The word “follow” has two meanings:
– (1) follow physically a person (Jesus) as the disciples did.
– (2) follow with the heart without the physical presence of that person (Jesus).
Both ways of following are accepted in the gospels.
(In Acts 19:13 things went wrong due to wrong application.)
No Contradiction
89. Did God kill all the Egyptian cattle in the sixth plague?
Yes, they were all killed. (Exodus 9:3-6)
Wrong. Only the cattle in the field were killed (Exodus 9:3), not the cattle in stables, cow houses etc.
No he saved some to kill later. (Exodus 9:19, 12:29)
Wrong. There is no relation between the plague of pestilence and of heavy hail.
No Contradiction
90. Is it OK to have a census?
Yes. Solomon had a census (like his father David’s) and God didn’t mind at all. (2 Chronicles 2:17)
Wrong. This was not a numbering of Judah and Israel like David did to know the number of his soldiers. This was a counting of strangers and had nothing to do with military force.
No. God killed 70.000 men because of David’s census. (2 Samuel 24:1-17, 1 Chronicles 21:2)
Right. It was not OK to take a census concerning military power as the wars of Israel were events of necessity and everyone who could fight was called up for war.
Compare the article: Who tempted David to number Israel?
No Contradiction
91. Did the Centurion ask Jesus directly to help his servant?
Yes, he asked him directly. (Matthew 8:5-8)
Wrong. He met Jesus with his question for healing after the messengers he sent first. He certainly followed his last messengers to see the outcome. When Jesus spoke so positively about him, he could not remain hidden. Indeed after his encounter with Jesus, the slave was healed.
No, he sent others to ask for him. (Luke 7:1-7)
Right. Remarkably enough, Luke doesn’t report the healing command of Jesus, as he gave it after the encounter with the Centurion (Matthew 8:13).
No Contradiction
92. What did the Centurion call Jesus when He died?
The Son of God. (Mark 15:39, Matthew 27:54)
Right, as is clear how it is reported: ‘… saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”’
A righteous man. (Luke 23:47)
Wrong. Luke reports ‘saw what had happened’; that doesn’t mean immediately after Jesus’ death.
See the article: What did the centurion call Jesus when He died?
No Contradiction
93. How high was the chapiter?
5 cubits (Jeremiah 52:22)
Right. Measured unfastened (pillar and chapiter upside); two cubits (of the chapiter) could fall into the hollow inside of the pillar (for proper connection).
3 cubits (2 Kings 25:17)
Right. Measured fastened; the two cubits for a proper connection in the hollow pillar were invisible and not reckoned for the outside measuring of the chapiters that had a spherical shape (2 Chronicles 4:13).
Note. It is Jeremiah who refers to the hollow pillars; not 2 Kings.
No Contradiction
94. How many men did David kill?
700 men in chariots and 40,000 horsemen (2 Samuel 10:18)
Right. We have here the counting of the battlefield of the first encounter of the war. The footmen are not yet in the picture; they fled, as the backbone of the army, the cavalry, were wiped out.
7000 men in chariots and 40.000 footmen (1 Chronicles 19:18)
Right. On the pursuit many more enemies lost their lives. We have here the counting of the entire region to where the fight extended.
Note. It is constantly mentioned in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles that they are to be compared. It means that there is much additional material in these books.
No Contradiction
95. Is childbearing sinful?
Yes (Leviticus 12:6-7)
Wrong. It is not said that it is wrong to bear a child, but an offer was needed to make an atonement for the blood the mother had lost (Leviticus 12:7), not for the child she gave birth.
No (Genesis 1:28, 1 Timothy 2:15)
Right.
No Contradiction
96. Is it a good thing to be childish?
Yes, it is good to be childish. (Matthew 18:3, 19:14, Mark 10:15, Luke 18:17)
Wrong. Jesus doesn’t say in the referred texts to be childish. Speaking about the entrance in the kingdom of heaven Jesus referred to the simple trust of a little child. That is needed to enter the kingdom. (All a child has, is given to him/her. Only grace is needed to enter into the kingdom. Ephesians 2:8-9.)
No, it is not good to be childish. (1 Corinthians 13:11, 14:20, Ephesians 4:14)
Right.
No Contradiction
97. How did Jesus respond when questioned by the high priest?
He did not answer directly. (Matthew 26:63-64, Luke 22:70)
Right. It was common usage in court when there was a confession resulting in a death penalty a second confession was needed to exclude misunderstandings. Matthew gives the second confession which was not verbatim the same as the first, but the tendency was the same as that of Mark. In Matthew he did not use the words “I am.”
He answered directly by saying, “I am.” (Mark 14:62)
Right. Mark gives the first confession of Jesus that would lead to the death penalty; he used the words “I am.”
Note. The confession of Luke was not before the priestly court, but at daybreak before the complete council with the delegates of the people.
No Contradiction
98. Is circumcision required?
Absolutely. (Genesis 17:7, 10, 13, 19, Leviticus 12:3, Acts 16:3)
Right. For the Jews it was a prescript. So who wanted to live as a Jew it was necessary. Becoming a Christian Timothy, who was not circumcised, had the right to be circumcised as his mother was Jewish (Acts 16:3). Travelling with Paul he had to share his life with that of Paul and he decided to accept the Jewish way of life with all the commandments. There is no indication that Paul forced to circumcise all uncircumcised Jews, it remained a matter of personal decision.
Not at all. (Galatians 5:2, Colossians 2:10-11)
Right. For the gentiles. The letters to the Galatians and the Colossians are to non-Jewish churches in Galatia as is clear from Galatians 4:8 “However at the time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.” (Also Colossians 3:5-7 they had lived in idolatry before they became Christians.)
No Contradiction
99. To whom were the cities of Exhtaol and Zoreah given?
They were given to Judah. (Joshua 15:22, 33)
Right.
They were given to Dan. (Joshua 19:40-41)
Wrong. These cities were not given to Dan, but they formed the border of their region. (verse 41, Hebrew: geboul nahalatam – boundery of their inheritance).
No Contradiction
100. Did the cock crow before or after Peter’s denial?
Peter denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed. (Matthew 26:70, 72, 74, Luke 22:57-60, John 18:17, 25-27)
Right.
The cock crowed after Peter’s first denial. (Mark 14:67-72)
Wrong. (1) There are some points to take into consideration. When a cock crows early in the morning, he does so at least two times shortly after each other, and that can be considered as one activity to proclaim the new morning. (2) The first time the cock crowed was not immediately after the first denial, as we read (Mark 14:68-69): “And he went out into the porch. And the cock crew, and the maid saw him again.” An And-sentece always refers to a certain period of time (small or longer) with regard to the former sentence. After some time he had entered into the porch the cock crew; just earlier the former maid appeared in the porch and Peter was distracted by her entering into the porch and was not fully aware of the crowing of the cock far away. What he feared happened, she began to talk to the bystanders about him. Then the second denial of Peter occurred, followed quickly by the third: the bystanders recognized him as a Galilean and as the one who had cut the ear of Malchus (John 18:26). After this third attack Peter heard the cock crowing for the second time. And then he looked Jesus in the face, he broke, and wept.
No Contradiction
No Bible Contradictions