Biblical contradictions, inconsistencies, and oddities
Prepared by Joseph Martin Carro in the year 2009, and revised continuously since then.
Comments appearing in blue letters represent contradictions or inconsistencies which are irreconcilable based ONLY on the information found in the biblical text.
Searches were done using several versions of ”The Bible”. Except where noted, all quotations were taken from the Douay-Rheims 1899 version of the Bible. Quotations appear in red letters. Some book names in the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible are different than those found in other versions, and the spelling of the books, persons, and locations is often different. No attempt was made to include all of the variations.
It is noted that in the Douay-Rheims version versus the New International Version, 1 Kings = 1 Samuel, 2 Kings = 2 Samuel, 3 Kings = 1 Kings, 4 Kings = 2 Kings, 1 Paralipomenon = 1 Chronicles, 2 Paralipomenon = 2 Chronicles, 1 Esdras = Ezra, 2 Esdras = Nehemiah. No attempt was made to include all of the texts which are claimed by one religion or another as sacred.
Comments which appear in green letters represent oddities. For clarity or emphasis, some items were underlined or displayed within parentheses.
On the nature of God
Page 1 the attributes of God as given in the Bible
God allowed David adultery and polygamy
God approved manslaughter
God chose war
God collected tribute
God delivered people for destruction
Contradictions, inconsistencies, and oddities
Page 2 God destroyed people
God helped David provide the most outrageous dowry
God left nations so the Israelites could learn war
God needed tithes
God sent evil spirits
Genesis chapter 1 - the first creation story
Genesis chapter 2 - the second creation story
Genesis chapter 3 - Adam and Eve in the garden story
Page 3 Genesis chapter 4 - the Cain and Abel story
Genesis chapter 6 - the Noah story part 1
Genesis chapter 7 - the Noah story part 2
Genesis chapter 8 - the Noah story part 3
Genesis chapter 9 verse 3 - food sources
Genesis chapter 10 verse 5 - the tower of Babel story
Genesis chapter 13 verse 14 - the promised land
Genesis chapter 16 - Abraham's sons
Genesis chapter 17 verse 10 - circumcision
Genesis chapter 18 - the Sodom and Gomorrah story
Page 4 Genesis chapter 20 verse 12 - Abraham marries his stepsister
Genesis chapter 22 - the temptation of Abraham
Genesis chapter 23 verse 1 - an exception to God's limit on human longevity
Genesis chapter 25 verse 7 - another longevity exception
Genesis chapter 26 verse 17 - another longevity exception
Genesis chapter 32 verse 30 - seeing an invisible God
Genesis chapter 35 verse 28 - another longevity exception
Genesis chapter 47 verse 28 - another longevity exception
Exodus chapter 6 verses 16, 18, 20 - three more longevity exceptions
Exodus chapter 7 verses 19-20 - water is turned into blood
Exodus chapter 9 verses 3-25 - all the Egyptian animals are destroyed twice
Exodus chapter 20 verse 2 - slavery
Exodus chapter 20 verse 16 - false witness
Exodus chapter 24 verse 12 - the tablets
Exodus chapter 32 verse 27 - God orders the death of 3500 Israelites whom he freed from Egypt
Leviticus chapter 11 - food prohibitions
Leviticus chapter 14 - procedure to cure leprosy
Leviticus chapter 18 - comment on prohibitions given in Leviticus
Page 5 Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18 - revenge
Leviticus chapter 20 - sins for which death is the punishment
Leviticus chapter 20 verse 21 - a contradiction with Deuteronomy 25:5
Leviticus chapter 26 verse 15 - God's covenant
Numbers chapter 6 - an inconsistency about priests
Numbers chapter 15 - a man is killed for collecting sticks on a Sabbath
Numbers chapter 31 verses 1-2, 7 - revenge against the Madianites
Numbers chapter 33 verses 38-39 - another longevity exception
Deuteronomy chapter 2 verse 9 - the Moabites
Deuteronomy chapter 7 verses 14-15 - promises that never happened
Deuteronomy chapter 12 - Moses changes the rules about food
Deuteronomy chapter 13 - death is set as the punishment for "forgers of dreams"
Deuteronomy chapter 17 - death is set as the punishment for idolaters
Page 6 Deuteronomy chapter 19 verses 11-12 - "an eye for an eye"
Deuteronomy chapter 21 verse 18 - death to unruly sons
Deuteronomy chapter 22 - death is set as the punishment for various sins
Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 8 - God promised not to forsake the Israelites
Deuteronomy chapter 34 verse 5 - Moses dies, but the book goes on
Joshua chapter 6 - Joshua "wins" a battle that God fought for him
Joshua chapter 7 - Achan's death placates God
Joshua chapter 8 - Joshua wins a battle, and his soldiers slaughter the people
Joshua chapter 10 - God helps Joshua defeat the Amorrhites
Joshua chapter 11 verses 1-11 - an inconsistency; Did Joshua or Deborah conquer Hazor?
Joshua chapter 34 - verse 29 Joshua died, but the book went on
Judges chapter 1 - a story is repeated
Judges chapter 2 verse 1 - God affirms his covenant, then denies it
Judges chapter 3 verse 9 - the Israelites do evil, God rescues them from the destroyed Moabites
Judges chapter 4 - a repeat of chapter 3 but the oppressor is Jaban
Page 7 Judges chapter 6 - a repeat of chapter 3 but the oppressor is Madian
Judges chapter 10 - a repeat of chapter 3 but the Amorrhites are the oppressors
Judges chapter 13 - a repeat of chapter 3 but the Philistines are the oppressors
Judges chapter 14 verse 19 - Samson settles a wager by killing 30 men
Judges chapter 15 - the story of Samson
Ruth (comment on genealogy)
1 Samuel chapter 1 - God kept Anna barren, then changed his mind
Samuel chapter 15 verse 3 - God orders the death of Amalec and his family
Samuel chapter 17 verse 50 - David kills Goliath twice
1 Kings chapter 27 - David's army goes on a rampage
2 Kings chapter 6 verse 23 - Michah's children
2 Kings chapter 7 verse 16 - David's kingdom
2 Kings chapter 11 - God is placated by the death David and Bathsheba's son
2 Kings chapter 18 - David wages war against his own people
2 Kings chapter 21 - God is placated by human sacrifice
Page 8 2 Kings chapter 24 - God kills 70,000 people to "atone" for David's sins
3 Kings chapter 2 - Adonijah asks for the wrong thing and is killed for asking
3 Kings chapter 3 - Solomon is promised riches and glory if he keeps God's ways
3 Kings chapter 11 - Solomon is prohibited from intermarriage but does so anyway
3 Kings chapter 12 verse 24 - against God's orders the Israelites fight among themselves
3 Kings chapter 16 - God orders the destruction of the house of Baasa
3 Kings chapter 18 - God is placated by the death of 450 men, and ends a drought
3 Kings chapter 19 - the Israelites abandon their covenant
3 Kings chapter 22 verses 21-23 - God sends an angel to deceive Achab
4 Kings chapter 2 - God kills 42 boys when they insult Eliseus
4 Kings chapter 13 - a repeat of Judges 4 with the Syrians as the oppressors
4 Kings chapter 14 - the army of Joachaz murders 10,000 people; God does not punish Joachaz
Page 9 4 Kings chapter 14 - Jereboam does evil; God does not punish him
4 Kings chapter 15 - God strikes some rulers but not others
4 Kings chapter 17 - the Israelites break their covenant
4 Kings chapter 21 - the story of Manasses
1 Paralipomenon chapter 11 verses 21-23 - a variation of the story of Goliath
1 Paralipomenon chapter 14 verse 3 - David acquires more wives
2 Paralipomenon chapter 11 verse 21 - Roboam acquires wives
2 Paralipomenon chapter 13 verse 21 - Abia acquires wives
2 Paralipomenon chapter 21 - God punished the Israelites when Joram does evil
2 Paralipomenon chapter 24 verse 15 - another longevity exception
2 Paralipomenon chapter 25 verse 3 - Amasias gets away with murder
1 Ezra chapter 2 - census numbers do not match
1 Ezra chapter 10 - Ezra convinces the Israelites to divorce their foreign wives
2 Ezra chapter 9 - not all was well during the desert wanderings
Page 10 Tobias chapter 2 verses 11-12 - God blinds Tobias to teach patience
Tobias chapter 3 verses 7-8 - a devil kills seven of Sara's husbands; she remains a virgin
Tobias chapter 5 - an angel lied to Tobias
Tobias chapter 6 - the exorcism of Sara's devil fails, and the angel Raphael takes the devil away
Tobias chapter 7 verses 5-6 - Tobias married his first cousin, forbidden in Leviticus 18
Judith chapter 8 verse 15 - Judith says that God will not get angry
Judith chapter 11 - God ordered Judith to kill Holofernes
Job - the incredible story of Job
Page 11 Job chapter 42 verse 16 - another longevity exception
Isaiah chapter 1 verse 11 - God disdains burnt offerings
Isaiah chapter 19 - a prophecy about the destruction of Egypt, but it did not happen
Jeremiah chapter 3 - God chastises then supports then threatens the Israelites then does nothing
Jeremiah chapter 18 - in prison, Jeremiah prays for vengence
Jeremiah chapter 34 verses 4-5 - the story of Zedekiah
Baruch chapter 1 verse 19 - the Israelites never kept the covenant; Baruch wants mercy anyway
Ezekiel chapter 2 verse 3 - the Israelites never kept their covenant
Ezekiel chapter 14 - God threatened the Israelites but reneges on his threats
Ezekiel chapter 16 - God vacillated on human sacrifice
Ezekiel chapter 26 - God predicted the destruction of the city of Tyrus, but it did not happen
Ezekiel chapter 29 - a prophecy about the destruction of Egypt, but it did not happen
Hosea - twice, God ordered Hosea to marry an adultress
Page 12 Joel chapters 2 and 3 describe events which have yet to happen
Amos - God rejects all offerings
Jonah - saved by "a great fish"
Aggeus - God sends a drought
Zacharias - an invisible God has seven eyes
On the lineage of Christ
Notes on the gospels
Page 13 Matthew chapter 1 - the story of the birth of Jesus; Joseph disobeys God's instruction
Matthew chapter 2 - Egypt and slaughter versus Luke Jerusalem and no slaughter
Matthew chapter 4 verses 1-2 - Christ is baptized and goes to Cana or the desert
Matthew chapter 5 verse 32 - divorce forbidden
Matthew chapter 6 verses 9-13 - the Lord's prayer
Matthew chapter 8 - The devils, Jesus, and the swine
Matthew chapter 9 verse 18 - the daughter of Jairus is dead or on her death bed
Matthew chapter 10 verses 2-4 - the list of the Apostles
Matthew chapter 13 verses 31-32 - the mustard seed
Matthew chapter 16 cerses 15-17 - Peter learns about Christ from God or Andrew
Matthew chapter 21 verse 19 - the story of the fig tree
Matthew chapter 24 - Jesus made predictions which did not occur
Matthew chapter 26 - Judas is not identified, told before, or told after the last supper
Page 14 Matthew chapter 26 verses 48-49 - Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss or not
Matthew chapter 27 - inconsistencies and contradictions about the passion of Christ
Matthew chapter 28 - inconsistencies and contradictions about the resurrection of Christ
Page 15 Matthew chapter 28 - more inconsistencies and contradictions about the resurrection
How many persons were raised from the dead?
Mark chapter 2 - Jesus changed the Sabbath law to do what you want
Mark chapter 2 - Jesus incorrectly recalled a part of the Old Testament
Mark 16 - a false promise
John 3 - Jesus condemns billions of humans to hell
John 3 - Jesus incorrectly recalled another part of the Old Testament
Who raised Jesus from the dead?
Page 16 Essay on Creationism
Page 17 Essay on God's Knowledge and Free Will
Page 18 Essay on Prayer and Free Will
Page 19 Essay on Intelligent Design
Page 20 Comparison of Horus and Jesus
This site was last revised on 26 June 2023