norwegen
Diamond Member
Matthew and Luke present genealogies of Jesus that coincide in places but also diverge in places. For example, Jesus comes from two different lines of David. In Matthew, he descends from Solomon a son of David’s, while in Luke he descends from Nathan, a different son of David’s. In Matthew, Jesus’ grandfather is Jacob while in Luke his grandfather is Heli. From Abraham to Jesus, Matthew lists 41 names while Luke lists 57 names. This last one is easily understandable in that biblical genealogies usually are not complete. But did Jesus descend from Solomon or Nathan? From Jacob or Heli?
The account of Judas’ death also seems to differ with Matthew and Luke. (Mt 27:3-10; Acts 1:18-19)
Who saw the empty tomb? Was it Mary Magdalene and the other Mary or was it Mary Magdalene, the other Mary (mother of James), Joanna, and other women? (Mt 28:1; Lk 24:1-10) Well, actually, this last one is easy to explain in that writers didn’t usually include the names of all the people who traveled with someone on a mission.
But even more, these accounts are from perspectives of two different people, namely the author who heard the story from Matthew’s tradition and the one who heard it from Luke’s tradition (the account of Judas being from Luke himself).
So, are they contradictions or are they rather just discrepancies? If the same author gave two opposing accounts of the same event, that might be a contradiction. But differing accounts throughout the Bible are generally from different authors. Or maybe I just haven’t found the right passages yet.
Were two of each kind of animal on Noah’s Ark or were seven pairs of each on it? Who cares? The author may not have been one person, just as the book of Isaiah could not have been written by one person over a 300-year interval. And Genesis is pre-Israel history, full of conjecture. Since the Israelites began recording their actual, real-time history, what are the contradictions? What authors tripped over their own words?
The account of Judas’ death also seems to differ with Matthew and Luke. (Mt 27:3-10; Acts 1:18-19)
Who saw the empty tomb? Was it Mary Magdalene and the other Mary or was it Mary Magdalene, the other Mary (mother of James), Joanna, and other women? (Mt 28:1; Lk 24:1-10) Well, actually, this last one is easy to explain in that writers didn’t usually include the names of all the people who traveled with someone on a mission.
But even more, these accounts are from perspectives of two different people, namely the author who heard the story from Matthew’s tradition and the one who heard it from Luke’s tradition (the account of Judas being from Luke himself).
So, are they contradictions or are they rather just discrepancies? If the same author gave two opposing accounts of the same event, that might be a contradiction. But differing accounts throughout the Bible are generally from different authors. Or maybe I just haven’t found the right passages yet.
Were two of each kind of animal on Noah’s Ark or were seven pairs of each on it? Who cares? The author may not have been one person, just as the book of Isaiah could not have been written by one person over a 300-year interval. And Genesis is pre-Israel history, full of conjecture. Since the Israelites began recording their actual, real-time history, what are the contradictions? What authors tripped over their own words?
