DISCREPANCIES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT,
SAME SUBJECT BUT DIFFERENT EXPRESSIONS
·
Did God “Have a rest” or Doesn’t He Grow Weary?
“He had a
rest”
“...he
rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” [1]
“He
doesn’t grow weary”
“Have you
not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary …”[2]
·
Does God belong to “Jews” or to “Everyone?
He
belongs to Jews
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel …”[3]
He
belongs to everyone.
“Or is God the God
of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also...”[4]
·
Did God “regret” or “not”?
(Three
different views in the same chapter)
“The word
of the Lord came to Samuel: ‘I regret that I made Saul king…”[5]
… “And Samuel said to him (Saul): “….the Glory of Israel will not recant or
change his mind[6]; for he
is not a mortal, that he should change his mind. …”[7]
… “And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel ...”[8]
·
God’s being heard- seen
He has
been heard and seen
“Look,
the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his
voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that God may speak to someone and the
person may still live”…” [9]
“So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face,
and yet my life is preserved.’”[10]
He cannot
be heard or seen
“...You
have never heard his voice or seen his form.”[11]
·
God’s sleeping
“He awoke
from sleep”
“Then the
Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior...”[12]
“He will
neither slumber not sleep”
“… he who
keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber
nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper… ”[13]
·
Are the children responsible or not?
They are
responsible
“I am
Lord… visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s
children, to the third and the fourth generation.”[14]
They
aren’t responsible
“A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of
a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of
the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his
own.”[15]
·
Adam lived for a thousand years although he was
said to be died immediately after eating from the prohibited tree.
“And the
Lord God commanded the man, ‘… but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die”[16] … “The man said, ‘… she gave me fruit from
the tree, and I ate.”[17]
…“Thus all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he
died.”[18]
·
The number of people who were taken to the ship
during the flood.[19]
Two of
every kind
“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. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the
animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground
according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them
alive.”[20]
Seven
pairs of all clean animals, a pair of all unclean animals, seven pairs of the
birds
“Take
with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of
the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the
birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of
all the earth.”[21]
·
Birthright [25]
Decision
of God
“Isaac
prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted
his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. … And the Lord said to her, ‘Two
nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; one
shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.’ When
her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first
came out red … they named him Esau. Afterwards his brother came out … he was
named Jacob.”[26]
Esau sold
his right to his brother Jacob
“Jacob
said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ Esau said, ‘I am about to die; of what
use is a birthright to me?’ Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore to
him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil
stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his
birthright.”[27]
Jacob has
taken Esau’s blessing deceitfully
“So he
(Jacob) went in to his father, and said, ‘My father’; and he said, ‘Here I am;
who are you, my son?’ Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau your firstborn. I
have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless
me.’…‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’ He did
not recognize him … so he blessed him … when Jacob had scarcely gone out from
the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting …
Then Isaac trembled violently and he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully, and
he has taken away your blessing.”[28]
·
The woman to whom Esau married.
Ishmael’s
daughter Mahalath
“Esau
went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, and sister
of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.”[29]
Ishmael’s
daughter Basemath and Elon’s daughter Adah
“Esau
took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite and …
Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.”[30]
Elon’s
daughter Basemath
“When
Esau was forty years old, he married … Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.”[31]
·
People who sold Joseph in Egypt
Ishmaelites
“When
some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the
pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took
Joseph to Egypt.”[32]
Midianites
“Meanwhile
the Midianites had sold him in Egypt
to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials...”[33]
·
Name of Moses’ father-in-law
Reuel
“The
priest of Midian had seven daughters … Moses got up and came to their defence
and watered their flock. When they returned to their father Reuel … Moses
agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in
marriage.”[34]
Jethro
“Moses
was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro...”[35]
Hobab son
of Reuel
“Moses
said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law …”[36]
·
Was God seen by Moses or not?[37]
“Lord
speak to Moses face to face”
“Thus the
Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”[38]
“You cannot see my face”
“But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and
live”[39]
·
For how many days should unleavened bread be
eaten?
Seven
days
“You
shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. For seven days you shall eat
unleavened bread …”[40]
Six days
“For six
days you shall continue to eat unleavened bread,”[41]
·
The things to be given to
Levites
“48
towns”
“The towns that you give to the
Levites shall include the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit a slayer
to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two towns. The towns that
you give to the Levites shall total forty-eight, with their pasture lands.”[42]
“Nothing
but sacrifices”
“The levitical priests, the whole
tribe of Levi, shall have no allotment or inheritance within Israel. They
may eat the sacrifices that are the Lord’s portion but they shall have no
inheritance among the other members of the community; the Lord is their
inheritance, as he promised them.”[43]
·
Where did Aaron die?
In the Mount Hor
“Moses did as the Lord had commanded; they
went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole
congregation. Moses stripped Aaron of his vestments, and put them on his son
Eleazar; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain.…”[44]
In
Moserah
“The
Israelites journeyed from Beeroth-bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and
there he was buried; his son Eleazar succeeded him as priest.”[45]
·
Which (How manyth) son is David of Jesse?
Eighth
“Jesse
made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord
has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’
And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’” [46]
Seventh
“Jesse
became the father of … David the seventh …”[47]
·
Did Michal have a child or not?
“She had
no child”
“And
Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.”[48]
“She had
five sons”
·
Who incited David against counting people?
“God
incited David”
“Again
the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,
and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”[51]
“Satan
incited David”
“Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to count the people of
Israel.”[52]
·
The number of soldiers from Israel and Judah[53]
“800.000 Israel soldiers and 500.000 Judah soldiers”
“Joab
reported to the king the number of those who had been recorded: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand
soldiers … and those of Judah
were five hundred thousand...”[54]
“1.100.000
Israel soldiers and 470.000 Judah
soldiers”
“Joab gave the total count of the people to
David. In all Israel there
were one million one hundred thousand men … and in Judah four hundred and seventy
thousand...”[55]
·
What did David take from Hadadezer?
“One
thousand seven hundred horsemen”
“David
took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand
foot-soldiers.”[56]
“One
thousand chariots, seven thousand cavalry”
“David took from him one thousand chariots,
seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand foot-soldiers.”[57]
·
The names of the cities where bronze was taken
Betah and
Berothai:
“From
Betah and from Berothai, towns of Hadadezer, King David took a great amount of
bronze.”[58]
Tibhath
and Cun :
“From
Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a vast quantity of
bronze...”[59]
·
Horses of
Solomon
“40.000
stalls”
“Solomon
also had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots...”[63]
“4.000
stalls”
“Solomon
had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots...”[64]
·
The number of supervisors
working in the construction of the temple
“3.300
supervisors”
“Solomon
also had seventy thousand labourers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the
hill country, besides Solomon’s three thousand three hundred supervisors who
were over the work.”[65]
“3.600
supervisors”
“Solomon conscripted seventy thousand
labourers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, with three
thousand six hundred to oversee them.”[66]
·
Thickness and volume of the cast sea
“Its
thickness was a handbreadth, it held 44.000 litres”
“Its thickness was a handbreadth; its brim was
made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held two thousand
baths (approximately 44.000
litres).”[67]
“Its
thickness was a handbreadth, it held 66.000 litres”
“Its
thickness was a handbreadth; its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the
flower of a lily; it held three thousand baths (approximately 66.000 litres).”[68]
·
How many days did the festival last?
14 days
“And
Solomon proceeded to carry on that time the festival and all Israel with him, a great congregation from
entering in of Ha’math down to the torrent valley of Egypt,
before Jehovah our God seven days and another seven days, fourteen days”[71]
7 days
“At that
time Solomon held the festival for seven days.”[72]
·
The number of the chief officers of Solomon
“550
people”
“These
were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty,
who had charge of the people who carried on the work.”[73]
“250
people”
“These
were the chief officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty of them, who
exercised authority over the people.”[74]
·
How old was Jehoiachin when he became king?
“18 years
old”
“Jehoiachin
was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned for three months in Jerusalem.”[75]
“Eight
years old”
“Jehoiachin
was eight[76] years
old when he began to reign; he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem.”[77]
·
How old was Ahaziah when he became king?
“Twenty-two
years old”
“Ahaziah
was twenty-two years old[78]
when he began to reign; he reigned for one year in Jerusalem.”[79]
“Forty-two
years old”
“Ahaziah
was forty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned for one year in Jerusalem.”[80]
·
Was the name of the king Azariah or Uzziah?
Azariah
“King
Azariah son of Amaziah of Judah began to reign ... He was sixteen years old
when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of
Jerusalem.”[81]
Uzziah
“Then all
the people of Judah took
Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king to succeed his father
Amaziah … he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of
Jerusalem.”[82]
·
Another bizarre dilemma
Wine
should be drunk by poor people not by kings.
“It is
not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink; or else they
will drink and forget what has been decreed … and will pervert the rights of
all the afflicted. … Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine
to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty, and
remember their misery no more.”[83]
Yusuf Ulucan
Translation: H. Neslihan Demiriz
[1]Genesis : 2 / 2 – 3
[2] Isaiah: 40 / 28
[3] 2 Kings: 5 / 15
[4] Romans: 3 / 29
[5] 1 Samuel: 15 / 10 – 11
[6] God himself says that he
regretted and the person narrating these sentences states that God won’t change
his mind. This is a total dilemma.
[7]1 Samuel: 15 / 28 – 29
[8] 1 Samuel: 15 / 35
[9] Deuteronomy: 5 / 24
[10] Genesis: 32 / 30
[11]John: 5 / 37
P.S. In Qur’an it is stated
that “Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision” (al-An’am (6):
103). Seeing Allah is one of the debated subjects among Muslim scholars. Sunni
Islam members think that it is very difficult to understand the real meaning of
the ayah. While some of the scholars claim that “it is impossible to see in
this world”, some claim that He will be seen in the after death world” with
regard to al-Qiyamah (75): 23 and to a hadith from Sahih-al Bukhari with the
meaning of “you will clearly see Allah just like you see the sun and the moon
when there is no cloud.” And according to Moutazilah opinion He will never be
seen at all. (Look: Maududi, Tafheem-al-Qur’an)
[12] Psalms: 78 / 65
[13] Psalms: 121 / 3 – 5
[14]Exodus: 34 / 7
[15]Ezekiel : 18 / 20
[16]Genesis : 2 / 16 – 17
[17]Genesis : 3 / 12
[18]Genesis :5 / 5
P.S. Christians claim that
although he had died spiritually he lived physically.
[19] In Genesis: 7/8 – 9 it is
declared that “two and two, male and female, from everything”. And in Qur’an it
is stated as “of each [creature] two mates and your family, except those about
whom the word has preceded, and [include] whoever has believed." ‘[al-Hud (11): 40]
[20]Genesis : 6 / 19 – 20
[21]Genesis:7 / 2 – 3
P.S. Christians try to
eliminate this difference by saying that text should be read more carefully.
[22] The word “Jehovah” is used
only some of the versions of the Bible.
[23] Genesis: 15 / 2
[24] Exodus: 6 / 2 – 3
[25]Birthright: It is one of
the significant Jewish traditions which requires “the blessing of the first
born son”. Especially the ayah “Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is
the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals,
is mine” (Exodus: 13/2) some sentences in the Old Testament Books emphasize the
importance of this tradition. (According to this Ishmael, the first son of
Abraham; Esau, the first son of Isaac and Manasseh, the first son of Joseph
must have been blessed for God.) However this rule is one of the most violated
one by the authors of the Old Testament Books. The birthright of Ishmael was
given to Isaac as he is the son of a slave. The birthright of Esau was given to
Jacob after the trick of Jacob and Esau’s selling it for a bowl of soup. And
the birthright of Manasseh was given to Ephraim with the
will of Jacob despite the warnings of Joseph (Genesis: 48 / 17 –
20). If the authors of the Old Testament Books didn’t garble with the text,
they would accept the fact that Ishmael is the son of Abraham whom he wanted to
sacrifice [this incident is told in detail in Saffat (37):100 – 112)] and therefore the
prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH). But Jews falsified their holy book at the cost
of slandering Allah and the prophets sent by Him in order to show them the
truth. (there are some striking explanations in Muhammad according to Qur’an
and The Bible by Abdulahad Davoud, who used to be an Unitarian Christian.) As
Muslims do not discriminate between the prophets (in terms of their
prophethoods) there isn’t any expression about birthright in Qur’an. On the
contrary attributing such a slander to Jacob upsets Muslims deeply.
[26] Genesis: 25 / 21 – 26 Also
look: Malachi : 1 / 2 – 3
[27]Genesis: 25 / 31 – 34 Also
look: Hebrews: 12 / 16 – 17
[28]Genesis: 27 / 1 – 40
(abridged).
[29] Genesis: 28 / 9
[30]Genesis: 36 / 1 – 3
[31]Genesis: 26 / 34 – 35
P.S. It is not clear
whether the name of Ishmael’s daughter’s name is Mahalath or Basemath and whether
Basemath is Ishmael’s or Elon’s daughter.
[32]Genesis: 37 / 28
[33]Genesis: 37 / 36
[34] Exodus: 2 / 16 – 21
(abridged)
[35]Exodus: 3 / 1
[36]Numbers : 10 / 29
P.S. An important Qur’an
scholar Hamidullah asks whether several father-in-law names imply more than one
marriage. [The third footnote of the 85th ayah of al-Araf (7) in Sacred
Qur’an by Hamidullah] As it can be understood from the descriptions like “priest of Midian”
and “the owner of the flocks” used for Reuel and Jethro and “Midianite” for
Hobab in the book of Exodus, these are used for only one person. Therefore the
discrepancy in The Bible is more dominant than the thesis that “Moses married
more than once.”
[37]In the book of Exodus when
Moses asked God “to show him His glory” God answered as follows: “You cannot
see my face; for no one shall see me and live … while my glory passes by I will
put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have
passed by; 23then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my
face shall not be seen” (33/10 – 23). Yet, this incident is told differently in
Qur’an: “And when Moses arrived at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to
him, he said, "My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You."
[Allah ] said, "You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it
should remain in place, then you will see Me." But when his Lord appeared
to the mountain, He rendered it level, and Moses fell unconscious.” (al-A’raf
(7): 143)
[38] Exodus: 33 / 11
[39] Exodus: 33 /20
[40]Exodus: 34 / 18
[41]Deuteronomy: 16 / 8
[42] Numbers: 35/6 – 7
[43] Deuteronomy: 18/1 – 2
[44]Numbers : 20 / 27 – 28
[45] Deuteronomy: 10 / 6
P.S. Christians try to hide
this discrepancy by saying that “the geographical knowledge wasn’t very good at
those times so Mosera can be the name of the district where Mount Hor
is.”
[46] 1 Samuel: 16 / 10 – 12
[47] 1 Chronicles: 2 /13
P.S. Christians claim that
“one of his sons can be dead so the number of the children may reduce to seven”
or “the author of the book could put David in the seventh place as he loved him.”
[48] 2 Samuel: 6 / 23
[49] The name “Michal” is
sometimes changed to “Merab” in some versions of The Bible.
[50] 2 Samuel: 21 / 8
P.S. Christians argue that
“Michal” and “Merab” are not the person but they are sisters, and that “the
discrepancy is the result of mistake of the amanuensis”.
[51] 2.Samuel : 24 / 1
[52] 1. Chronicles: 21 / 1
P.S. Christians explain that both are true as “God
incited to get the best result” and “Satan incited to cause the worst harm”.
[53] After Jews settled in the
west part of Dead Sea and Jordan River after they had immigrated from Sinai Desert
to the north, the people remained behind around Samaria
are named “Israel” and the
people settled in Jerusalem are called “Judah”. After
the reign of Solomon the kingdom fragmented into two different kingdoms: The
above-mentioned counting took place during the reign of David.
[54] 2 Samuel: 24 /9
[55] 1 Chronicles: 21 /5
P.S. Christians explain
this dilemma about the number of the fighters in four different ways:
i.
Counting couldn’t have been completed; the
guardsmen of the king weren’t included.
ii.
The numbers were rounded.
iii.
The result of mistake of the amanuensis of The
Bible.
iv.
The people who were against the counting gave
wrong information to David.
[56] 2 Samuel: 8 / 4
[57] 1 Chronicles: 18 / 4
[58] 2 Samuel : 8 / 8
[59] 1 Chronicles: 18 /8
[60] 2 Samuel: 10 / 18
[61] In some of versions the
word “Syrians” is used instead of “Arameans”.
[62] 1 Chronicles: 19 / 18
P.S. Christians try to
explain the contradiction about the Arameans with the mistake of the people who
copied the manuscripts.
[63] 1 Kings: 4 / 26
[64] 2 Chronicles: 9 / 25
[65]1 Kings: 5 / 15 – 16
[66] 2 Chronicles: 2 / 2
[67] 1 Kings: 7 / 26
[68] 2 Chronicles: 4 /5
[69] 1 Kings: 10 /17
[70]2 Chronicles: 9 /16
[71]1 Kings: 8 / 65 (taken from
New World Translation of The Holy Scripture, Brooklyn, New York,
1981)
[72] 2 Chronicles:7 / 8
[73] 1 Kings: 9 / 23
[74] 2 Chronicles: 8 /10
[75] 2 Kings: 24 / 8
[77] 2.Chronicles: 36 / 9
[78]In Septuagint (Seventies)
and Syriac texts there is an explanation that “it is twenty-two” and in
Masoretic (Hebrew manuscripts) there is a footnote stating “forty-two”
[79] 2. Kings : 8 / 26
[80] 2. Chronicles: 22 / 2
[81] 2. Kings : 15 / 1 – 2
[82] 2. Chronicles:26 / 1 – 3
[83] Proverbs: 31 / 4 – 7
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