After going thru these 1 by 1 and providing sources, it becomes *clear* that Berkley's "101 *clear* contradictions" are *clearly* not contradictions (at least so far). When I'm done with all 101, I will re-evaluate. I heard heard that Berkley is very much pro-atheist so I totally understand why they're interested in pointing out "contradictions" in the Bible to shatter the faith of current believers as well as to instill much doubt into "seekers of Jesus". The common running themes of these "contradictions" are:
- Not using the King James Version (as other contemporary translations butchered the bible and even left out verses (ie, NIV))
- Not putting the verses into their full context (which changes it from a "contradiction" to "no more a contradiction"
- Not understanding the various calendars/times used back then as they are a bit different than our modern calendars/times.
- Not understanding that being "appointed" and "reign" can have gaps of years.
My sources used are as follows
- It looks like this article from Berkley was addressed here so I'll also refer to it for most
- Highly recommended: https://www.amazon.com/Errors-King-James-Bible-ebook/dp/B007Y8HT5A
- https://faithfoundedonfact.com/irrefutable-contradictions-in-the-bible/
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This will be a multi part post going thru the 101 contradictions that was uploaded at berkley. You can see their PDF here
1.Who incited David to count the fighting men of Israel?
(a) God did (2 Samuel 24: 1)
(b) Satan did (I Chronicles 2 1:1)
SOLUTION: Both statements are true. Although it was Satan who immediately incited David, ultimately it was God who permitted Satan to carry out this provocation. Although it was Satan’s design to destroy David and the people of God, it was God’s purpose to humble David and the people and teach them a valuable spiritual lesson. This situation is quite similar to the first two chapters of Job in which both God and Satan are involved in the suffering of Job. Similarly, both God and Satan are involved in the crucifixion. Satan’s purpose was to destroy the Son of God (John 13:2; 1 Cor 2:8). God’s purpose was to redeem humankind by the death of His Son (Acts 2:14–39).2. In that count how many fighting men were found in Israel?
(a) Eight hundred thousand (2 Samuel 24:9)
(b) One million, one hundred thousand (I Chronicles 21:5)
3. How many fighting men were found in Judah?
(a) Five hundred thousand (2 Samuel 24:9)
(b) Four hundred and seventy thousand (I Chronicles 21:5)
SOLUTION: This discrepancy involves the difference in who was included in each report. In the report in 2 Samuel, the number of men of valor who drew the sword was 800,000, but did not include the standing army of 288,000 described in 1 Chronicles 27:1–15, or the 12,000 specifically attached to Jerusalem described in 2 Chronicles 1:14. Including these figures gives the grand total of 1,100,000 men of valor who composed the entire army of the men of Israel. The figure of 470,000 in 1 Chronicles 21 did not include the 30,000 men of the standing army of Judah mentioned in 2 Samuel 6:1. This is evident from the fact that the Chronicler points out that Joab did not complete the counting of the men of Judah (1 Chron. 21:6). Both calculations are correct according to the groups which were included and excluded from each report.4.God sent his prophet to threaten David with how many years of famine?
(a) Seven (2 Samuel 24:13)
(b) Three (I Chronicles 21:12)
I tend to believe the first option.
There are two possible ways to reconcile these accounts. Some commentators propose that the prophet Gad actually confronted David on two occasions. This proposal is based on the difference in language used to present the alternatives to David. In the 2 Samuel passage, Gad presents the alternatives as a question, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land” (v. 13). In the 1 Chronicles passage the alternatives are presented more along the lines of a command, “Choose for yourself, either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated” (vv. 11–12). Those who offer this solution assume that perhaps the 2 Samuel passage records the first encounter of Gad and David in which the alternatives are presented for David’s consideration, and that after some fasting and prayer, Gad returned for David’s decision by which time God had reduced the duration of the famine from seven to three years in response to David’s supplication.
Another group of commentators suggests that the record in 2 Samuel is a copyist error. They point out that there are more reliable manuscripts which preserve the number “three” for the duration of the famine and that the niv has employed this manuscript reading in its translation.5.How old was Ahaziah when he began to rule over Jerusalem?
(a) Twenty-two (2 Kings 8:26)
(b) Forty-two (2 Chronicles 22:2)
SOLUTION: This is clearly a copyist error, and there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign in Judah. In 2 Kings 8:17, we find that Joram, father of Ahaziah and son of Ahab, was 32 years old when he became king. Joram died at age 40, eight years after becoming king. Consequently, his son Ahaziah could not have been 42 when he took the throne after his father’s death, otherwise he would have been older than his father.6. How old was Jehoiachin when he became king of Jerusalem?
(a) Eighteen (2 Kings 24:8)
(b) Eight (2 Chronicles 36:9)
Resolved here from https://www.amazon.com/Errors-King-James-Bible-ebook/dp/B007Y8HT5A
You can also see this:
7.How long did he rule over Jerusalem?
(a) Three months (2 Kings 24:8)
(b) Three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9)
Admittingly, this one is good but it's resolved here.
This appears to be a very ancient error that crept into the manuscript tradition of 2 Chronicles, yet in this case we have a pretty good idea what happened to create the discrepancy.
First, the single Hebrew word עשרה ("ten") that turns "eight" into "eighteen" dropped out by homoeoteleuton error, namely, the scribe wrote שמונה (eight) and then accidentally skipped the next word עשרה ("ten" or "teen") due to the identical ending of the words.
Second, a scribe corrected the error by adding עשרה ("ten") into the text in between the lines.
Third, a scribe copying from this manuscript mistook the added gloss עשרה ("ten") to go with the line below instead of the line above, and then adds the word ימים ("days") to make the gloss sensible in its new location.
Fourth, the final product is a text that removes the correction from the line above and implements it into the line below, thus the omission of "teen" from "eighteen" and the addition of "and ten days" in the Chronicler's manuscript tradition.
It is easy to see that the original, however, was not corrupt, but rather aligned perfectly with the account in 2 Kings. The corruption only occurred by the error of human scribes.Also you can see this which validates the above. One has to remember that the scribes back then had a different style of writing. This just confirms to me the Bible is real.
8. The chief of the mighty men of David lifted up his spear and killed how many men at one time?
(a) Eight hundred (2 Samuel 23:8)
(b) Three hundred (I Chronicles 11: 11)
This is resolved here
Both are correct. Yes. Both 800 and 300 are correct.
But how?
A careful reading shows that there is approximately a 30-year difference between the two claims. These are two different chiefs at two different times. The chief in 1 Chronicles 11:11 is Jashobeam -a Hacmonite.
He raised his spear against 300 men at the beginning of David’s reign.
The other chief was Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite.
He raised his spear against 800 men and his exploits are recorded after the Last Words of David just a few verses earlier in the same chapter.
One is near the beginning of David’s reign. The other is near the end of David’s reign.
And these men have two different names and come from two different families.
At the end of David’s reign he was an old man -and in no shape to fight. So his chief from 30 years prior would -by that time- have been replaced by a younger warrior.
When I say “a careful reading” all I mean is any reasonable person can simply read the passages and immediately come to the conclusion it is two different people.
This doesn’t require an advanced degree. No special Biblical knowledge needed.
You don’t have to have a degree in Biblical Hebrew.
An elementary school-aged child can read the passage and easily come to the correct conclusion.
The contradictionists embarrass themselves again and again.9. When did David bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem? Before defeating the Philistines or after?
(a) After (2 Samuel 5 and 6)
(b) Before (I Chronicles 13 and 14)
(2 Samuel 5 & 6; 1 Chronicles 13 & 14)
This "problem" is easily resolved when we look at the events in their proper sequence.
1. 2 Samuel 5:1-5 is a summarized history of the reign of David.
2. 2 Samuel 5:6-16 is the conquest of the Jebusite stronghold - Jerusalem.
3. 2 Samuel 5:17-25 is the battles between David (and his Israelite armies) and the Philistines at Baal Perazim and the Valley of Rephaim.
4. 2 Samuel 6:1-11 is the bringing of the ark of the covenant from the house of Adinadab on a new cart (which was an unauthorized method that costs the life of Uzzah) into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
5. 2 Samuel 6:12-13 is the second time of the bringing of the ark of the covenant from the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite into Jerusalem, the city of David.
1. 1 Chronicles 13:1-13 is the bringing of the ark of the covenant from the house of Adinadab on a new cart (which was an unauthorized method that costs the life of Uzzah) into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
2. 1 Chronicles 14:1-16 is the Chronicles writer deciding selectively to place the battles between David (and his Israelite armies) and the Philistines at Baal Perazim and the Valley of Rephaim.
3. 1 Chronicles 15:1-29 is the second time of the bringing of the ark of the covenant from the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite into Jerusalem, the city of David.10.
How many pairs of clean animals did God tell Noah to take into the Ark?
(a) Two (Genesis 6:19, 20)
(b) Seven (Genesis 7:2). But despite this last instruction only two pairs went into the ark (Genesis 7:8-9)
Genesis 7:2-3 and Genesis 6:19-20
Two (Genesis 6:19-20)–“And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.”
Seven (Genesis 7:2-3)–“You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; 3also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth.”
Genesis 6:19-20 simply instructs Noah to preserve two of every kind.
Genesis 7:2-3 is additional information where seven of the clean animals were to be taken and two of every other kind. The reason for this is that the extra animals were for sacrifice. “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” (Gen. 8:20).
Logically, to have seven pairs also means that there are two pairs since the two are included in the seven. If one verse said to take only one pair and another verse said seven pairs, that would be a contradiction.
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