Are There Contradictions in the Bible?

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The Bible Has “Apparent Contradictions”

There do appear to be places where the same event is described differently by different writers. There are places where the New Testament (NT) quotes an Old Testament (OT)  passage in a way that doesn’t seem to be consistent with the original OT context. But such passages are in the minority.

How to Approach Apparent Contradictions

The fifth-century bishop St. Augustine of Hippo developed a three-part approach when he came across an apparent contradiction in the Bible.

• Is there a manuscript problem? This is rarely a problem today because we have the benefit of thousands of manuscripts and excellent scholarship on them.
• Did the translator get it wrong? This was more common centuries ago. Modern translations are very reliable and are based on better understanding of translation theory and practice.
• Is my understanding of what I’m reading limited? This is most likely the case. We are separated by centuries of cultural and historical differences from the original text.

Often what seem to be errors in the Bible are resolved as our knowledge about biblical culture, history, and language increases. For example, a number of archaeological findings have explained what were once considered problem passages.

Everyone Brings Assumptions to the Bible

There are two basic approaches when a problem passage is discovered. The reader either assumes that there is an error or that there is an explanation. A scholar with a “low view” of the Bible sees a problem passage, assumes it’s an error, and moves on. A scholar with a high view of scripture recognizes the difficulty and looks for ways to explain it. Scholars with a high view of scripture unravel apparent contradictions because they have a philosophical commitment to getting to the bottom of tough questions. They keep doing research and eventually find a suitable answer. Those with a low view of scripture don’t do the research because they are already sure that an error has occurred. They have no reason to keep digging.

A Problem Passage Solved

As an example of these principles in action, consider the following:

Mark 1:1-2 says, “It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you….” But that quote is not from Isaiah, but from Malachi 3:1. Verse 3 continues: “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!'” This quote is from Isaiah 40. Liberal scholars have always written this off as Mark’s poor understanding of the Old Testament, resulting in an error in scripture. But an evangelical student at Cambridge University recently did a PhD dissertation on the use of the OT in Mark. He studied the way Jewish rabbis and commentators used the OT in the first century. He discovered that these commentators would often explain one OT text by another text. They would commonly quote the main text second and a secondary, supportive text first. So when Mark cited Isaiah, offered the Malachi text as a lead-in, and then got to the primary quote from Isaiah, he was following a method of explaining scripture common in his era that the original readers would not have batted an eyelash at.

A high view of scripture leads to these kinds of discoveries, while scholars who are confident that such passages are in error aren’t motivated to do the scholarship.

This topic is adapted from the Desert Springs Church YouTube channel.