Short answer
Yes. The Bible disagrees with itself on facts that need only counting. Ezra and Nehemiah list the same families coming home from exile. Both give the total as 42,360. Yet Ezra's list adds up to 29,818 and Nehemiah's to 31,089. Samuel says David killed the men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen. Chronicles tells of the same battle with 7,000 men in chariots and 40,000 footmen. One book says King Ahaziah began to reign at twenty-two, another at forty-two, which would make him older than his father. The Bible itself says God (﷾) is not a God of confusion. So these clashes are not God's (﷾) mistakes. They are the marks of human hands on the text. The Qur'an sets itself the same test: had it come from other than Allah (﷾), men would have found much discrepancy in it.
Full explanation
The Bible's own standard
Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, writes that God (﷾) is not a God of confusion. The Law of Moses says God (﷾) is not a man, that he should lie. A book from God (﷾) cannot say one thing in one place and the opposite in another. By its own standard, a contradiction in the Bible is not a fault in God (﷾). It shows where men have worked on the text.
“for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints.”
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
The census of the returned exiles
The clearest case needs only a pencil. After the exile, when the Jews were taken to live in Babylon, some families came home. Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 list the same families, family by family. Both give the total as 42,360. Add up Ezra's list and it comes to 29,818. Add up Nehemiah's and it comes to 31,089. Neither reaches 42,360, and they do not agree with each other. The lines differ too: the family of Arah is 775 in one book and 652 in the other.
“The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,”
“The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,”
“The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five.”
“The children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two.”
One battle, two sets of numbers
Samuel and Chronicles describe the same victory of David over the Syrians. Samuel has the men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen. Chronicles has 7,000 men in chariots and 40,000 footmen. The same forty thousand are horsemen in one book and foot soldiers in the other. One book counts chariots where the other counts men. Both cannot be right.
“And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.”
“But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.”
The ages of the kings
Kings says Ahaziah began to reign at twenty-two. Chronicles says forty-two. Chronicles also says his father Jehoram began to reign at thirty-two and reigned eight years, so he died at forty. A son of forty-two would be two years older than his father. Jehoiachin likewise begins to reign at eighteen in Kings and at eight in Chronicles. These are the numbers of the Hebrew text, as the King James Version (the old English Bible of 1611) prints them. The NIV (a modern English Bible) changes Chronicles to twenty-two and eighteen. Its footnotes say that the Hebrew has forty-two, and that most Hebrew manuscripts have eight.
“Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.”
“Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.”
“Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.”
“Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.”
“Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
Solomon's stalls and David's census
Kings gives Solomon 40,000 stalls for horses. Chronicles gives him 4,000. When David counted the people, Samuel has 800,000 fighting men in Israel and 500,000 in Judah. Chronicles has 1,100,000 and 470,000.
“And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.”
“And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.”
“And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.”
“And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.”
Who killed Goliath?
In 1 Samuel, David kills Goliath. In the Hebrew of 2 Samuel 21:19, as the JPS 1917 (a Jewish English translation) renders it, a man called Elhanan kills Goliath the Gittite. Chronicles makes Elhanan's victim "the brother of Goliath". The King James Version supplies "the brother of" in 2 Samuel as well. It prints the words in italics, its own sign for words that are not in the Hebrew. That is not a copyist's slip. It is a correction.
“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.”
“And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Beth-lehemite slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.”
“And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare–oregim, a Beth–lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.”
Printed editions of the King James Version set the words "the brother of" in this verse in italic type. The King James translators used italics for words they supplied that are not in the Hebrew. The words are taken from 1 Chronicles 20:5.
“And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam.”
| Question | One book says | The other book says |
|---|---|---|
| How many came home from exile? | Ezra gives the total as 42,360, but its list adds up to 29,818 (Ezra 2:64). | Nehemiah gives the same total, but its list adds up to 31,089 (Nehemiah 7:66). |
| David's victory over the Syrians | The men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen (2 Samuel 10:18) | 7,000 men in chariots and 40,000 foot soldiers (1 Chronicles 19:18) |
| How old was King Ahaziah when he began to reign? | 22 (2 Kings 8:26) | 42 (2 Chronicles 22:2), two years older than his own father |
| How many stalls for horses did Solomon have? | 40,000 (1 Kings 4:26) | 4,000 (2 Chronicles 9:25) |
| Who killed Goliath? | David (1 Samuel 17:50) | Elhanan, in the Hebrew of 2 Samuel 21:19. The King James supplies “the brother of”, in italics, to make it agree with Chronicles. |
These are the numbers of the Hebrew text. Some modern Bibles, such as the NIV, change a few of them and give the Hebrew in a footnote. That is a correction, not a copy.
430 years in Egypt
Exodus says Israel dwelt in Egypt 430 years. The Jewish translation reads "the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt". But Kohath, Moses' grandfather, was among those who went down into Egypt with Jacob. Kohath lived 133 years, his son Amram 137, and Moses was 80 when he stood before Pharaoh. Even if each son was born in the last year of his father's life, the total is at most 350 years, not 430. Nor can generations be missing. Moses' mother Jochebed was a daughter of Levi himself.
“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.”
“Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.”
“And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.”
“And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.”
“And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.”
“And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.”
“And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.”
“And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.”
Not only numbers
The New Testament Gospels and Acts disagree too. Matthew says Judas threw down the silver and hanged himself. Acts says he bought a field, fell headlong and burst open. It has its own page.
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.”
When was God's (﷾) name first known?
In Exodus, God (﷾) tells Moses that He appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God (﷾) Almighty. But by His name Jehovah, He was not known to them. Yet in Genesis, Abraham names the mountain where he offered his son Jehovah-jireh, which means the LORD will provide. So in one book Abraham knew the name, and in the other he did not. Many Bible scholars explain the clash this way. The books of Moses were woven together from earlier sources. One source used the name from the start. Another held that it was first revealed to Moses.
“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.”
“And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah–jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.”
Traces how readers noticed that the five books could not all be Moses' work: in the eleventh century Isaac ibn Yashush pointed out that the Edomite kings of Genesis 36 lived long after Moses, and later scholars noted the account of Moses' death and phrases such as "unto this day". Sets out the view of modern biblical scholarship that the Pentateuch was combined from several earlier sources by later editors, and links Deuteronomy to the "book of the law" found in the Temple in King Josiah's reign (2 Kings 22), in the late seventh century BCE.
Faith or works?
Some contradictions touch salvation itself. Paul says a man is justified (made right with God (﷾)) by faith without the deeds of the law. James says a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Churches have divided over these two verses for five hundred years. It has its own page.
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
At the empty tomb
All four Gospels say women went to the tomb of Jesus early on the first day of the week. They do not agree on what they found. In Matthew, Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" come, and it happens as they arrive: there is an earthquake, and an angel comes down, rolls back the stone and sits on it. In Mark, the women look and see that the stone is already rolled away. Inside they find "a young man". In Luke, "two men" stand by them in shining clothes. In John, Mary Magdalene comes alone while it is still dark, and finds the stone taken away. Later she sees "two angels in white". So the women differ, the hour differs, and the number of angels differs. Christians reply that each writer chose what to tell, and that one who mentions a single angel does not deny a second. Even so, Matthew has the stone rolled away when the women come, and the other three have a stone already moved before they arrive.
“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”
“And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.”
“And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.”
“And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.”
“And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.”
“And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.”
“And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:”
“It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.”
“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.”
“And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.”
"Error-free in the originals"
Many evangelicals (conservative Protestant Christians) answer that, strictly speaking, inspiration belongs to the original copies, which no longer exist. On this view, the mistakes crept in later, through copying. But no one has those originals, so the claim cannot be checked.
The best-known evangelical statement on the Bible. It affirms that Scripture is without error in all it teaches, and that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the original manuscripts (the autographs), which no longer exist. Copies and translations are the word of God only so far as they faithfully represent the original.
What the Qur'an says
The Qur'an names the cause: men who write the Book with their own hands and say it is from Allah (﷾). Jeremiah, a Hebrew prophet, had already spoken of the false pen of the scribes. And the Qur'an offers the reader the same test the Bible fails. If it had come from anyone other than Allah (﷾), it would be full of discrepancy. The Qur'an never depended on one first copy. Many knew it by heart, Zayd ibn Thabit wrote it down for the Prophet (ﷺ), and Gabriel went over it with him every year.
“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.”
““ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
Zayd ibn Thabit reports that after many who knew the Qur'an by heart were killed at Yamama, Abu Bakr asked him to gather the Qur'an into one volume, reminding him that he used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah. Zayd collected it from written pieces and from the memories of men, and the finished copy passed from Abu Bakr to Umar and then to Hafsa.
Abu Hurayra reports that Gabriel went over the Qur'an with the Prophet (ﷺ) once every year, and twice in the year he died.
Point by point
Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978)
The best-known evangelical statement on the Bible. It affirms that Scripture is without error in all it teaches, and that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the original manuscripts (the autographs), which no longer exist. Copies and translations are the word of God only so far as they faithfully represent the original.
Cited for
Evangelicals say the originals were without error, and the mistakes are later copying slips.
The response
No one has the originals, so the claim cannot be checked. The standard Hebrew text carries these numbers. The King James Version and the Jewish translation both follow it. Some modern versions, such as the NIV, put a number from Greek or Syriac copies into the text at some of these places. Syriac is an old language of the Middle East. These versions give the Hebrew in a footnote. That is a correction, not a copy. And the Bible promises that the word of God (﷾) shall stand for ever. If it stands, the errors were never God's (﷾) word. If they are copying errors, then the text has been changed.
Where it lands — Either way, the Bible as it now stands is not free of error.
Ezra 2:64 — Ketuvim, Ezra, chapter 2, verse 64
“The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,”
Cited for
Christians say the total of 42,360 also counts people who were not listed by family. They say Nehemiah's list was drawn up at a different time, after some families had grown or shrunk.
The response
Even if that explained the gap to 42,360, the two lists would still disagree with each other. They disagree line by line, as with the family of Arah. If the lists were taken at different times, the families changed but the grand total did not. Both books give exactly 42,360, with the same 7,337 servants. The singers number 200 in one book and 245 in the other. A later count that changed dozens of families and kept the same total to the last man is not a later count.
Where it lands — The two books still contradict each other on the same list.
Exodus 12:40 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 12, verse 40
“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.”
Cited for
Christians say the 430 years count from the promise to Abraham. They say Paul counts them so in Galatians 3:17, and so does the Septuagint (the old Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures).
The response
Then Paul and the Hebrew of Exodus disagree. Exodus 12:40 in the Hebrew, and the JPS 1917, says the 430 years were the time Israel dwelt in Egypt. If Paul's count is right, the Hebrew text is wrong. If the Hebrew is right, the Bible's own ages allow at most 350. Either way the text contradicts itself.
Where it lands — Paul counts the 430 years from Abraham, the Hebrew of Exodus puts them all in Egypt, and the Bible's own ages allow at most 350.
Exodus 6:20 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 6, verse 20
“And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.”
Cited for
Christians say the genealogy skips generations, so Amram of Exodus 6 was a distant ancestor of Moses, not his father.
The response
Numbers names Moses' mother as Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. Moses was Levi's grandson through his mother, so there is no room for missing generations.
Where it lands — The Bible's own family line rules out the gap, so the 430 years still do not fit.
1 Chronicles 20:5 — Ketuvim, Divrei HaYamim Aleph, chapter 20, verse 5
“And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam.”
Cited for
Christians say 2 Samuel 21:19 was miscopied, and that Chronicles keeps the true reading: Elhanan killed Goliath's brother.
The response
That is to admit that the Hebrew of 2 Samuel, as it has come down, says something false. The translators had to supply words that are not in the Hebrew to make it agree.
Where it lands — The answer concedes that the text of Samuel was changed.
James 2:24 — Epistle of James, chapter 2, verse 24
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
Cited for
Christians say Paul and James do not clash. They say Paul speaks of how a person is made right with God, and James of the works that show faith is real.
The response
Both men use the same example and reach opposite verdicts. Paul says Abraham had nothing to boast of before God (﷾) by works. James asks, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works", and he denies the very words Paul's case needs: "not by faith only". Martin Luther, the German leader of the Protestant break with Rome in the 1500s, said that James contradicts Paul by ascribing justification to works.
Where it lands — Paul and James draw opposite lessons from the same Abraham, and the leader of the Protestant break with Rome said they contradict each other.
Exodus 6:3 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 6, verse 3
“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.”
Cited for
Christians say "known" in Exodus 6:3 means known by experience. Abraham knew the name but had not yet seen God keep His covenant promises, as Israel would in the Exodus.
The response
The verse sets the name Jehovah against the name God Almighty, by which God (﷾) says He did appear to them. It is about which name they were given, not how well they knew it. In Genesis, Abraham uses the very name in naming the mountain. Many scholars instead explain the clash as two sources joined together, which is to admit that it is there.
Where it lands — Exodus says the patriarchs did not know the name; Genesis has Abraham use it.
Perspectives
Evangelical Christian
The Bible is the inerrant (error-free) word of God in its original manuscripts. The differences in today's copies are copying slips in names and numbers, and none of them touches doctrine.
Strictly speaking, inspiration belongs to the original copies. Later copies are God's word only as far as they match them.
Rebuttal
On this view, the Bible in any reader's hands is not the text free of error. And no one has the originals to check against. Nor are the clashes only slips in names and numbers. Paul and James differ on how a person is made right with God (﷾), and that touches salvation itself.
The Islamic perspective
God's (﷾) word does not contradict itself. The Bible in its present form does, on plain matters of counting, so human hands have been at work on it. The Qur'an, revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ), invites exactly this test.
The Bible says God (﷾) is not a God of confusion and cannot lie.
Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 both total 42,360, but their lists add up to 29,818 and 31,089.
For the same battle, Samuel has the men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen. Chronicles has 7,000 men in chariots and 40,000 men on foot.
Chronicles makes Ahaziah two years older than his own father.
The Hebrew of 2 Samuel 21:19 has Elhanan kill Goliath. The KJV adds "the brother of" to make it agree with Chronicles.
The Bible gives the ages of Kohath, Amram and Moses. They leave room for 350 years in Egypt at most, not 430.
Paul and James give opposite answers on whether a man is justified by faith alone.
The Qur'an teaches that men wrote scripture with their own hands. And it offers its own freedom from contradiction as proof of where it came from.