Does the Bible Contradict Itself?

[pgrimes15]

That quote is mis-attributed! Spock might have ripped it off, but that was Sherlock Holmes. I'm sad now.

Does a quote have to be accurately attributed to be true? For example, more than 2,300 years ago Socrates said, "Birds of a feather flock together." Now someone might say that Socrates was the first to say it, for Plato's dialogs are the oldest extant documents to contain the quote. But after speaking the words, Socrates said the proverb was an extremely old one. We might never know who first uttered the words, but that doesn't mean they're any less true, I think. How about you? (Nice avatar, BTW. Looks familiar. Is that a photo of you, or someone you admire?)

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2SA 6:23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

2SA 21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

Just done a bit of research using the bible gateway - it's really good for comparing passages in different bible versions. Of the 27 english language versions of the OT for 2SA 21:8, some state the 5 sons of Michal, some the 5 sons of Merab, and a couple somewhere in between.

The stats are

Michal - 8 versions

Merab - 17 versions

In between 2 version - having Michal but in brackets
having "(the sister of) Michal"

Get a life !!! I hear you saying, but I found myself at a loose end this afternoon.

Regards

Grimesy

Thanks Grimesy. Yes I like BibleGateway.com. In response to the apparent contradiction you suggested, it's possible it's a case of mistranslation. Saul had many daughters. The NIV translates the passage this way:

But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,[a] whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

(2 Samuel 21:8)

The footnotes for the passage from that version:

(a) 2 Samuel 21:8 Two Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 1 Samuel 18:19); most Hebrew and Septuagint manuscripts Michal

That Saul had a daughter by that name is evident from another passage:

Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”

(1 Samuel 18:17)

One thing I find interesting is that biblical scholars usually use the translation that is supported by a majority of the extant texts. In this case, the opposite was done. One exception to the rule is to use an alternate translation if it is reliable and older than the majority of the texts--the reasoning being that older texts are closer to the original autographs, and therefore more accurate. There is debate among the scholars regarding whether this is a good practice, or not, it it explains several of the differences amoung modern translations. Not sure if this was why the alternate translation was chosen in this case. It's worthy of further inquiry. Perhaps one of us should write a letter to the publishers of the NIV asking them to explain?

"And he cast down the pieces of silver into the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself." (MAT 27:5)

"And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all of his bowels gushed out." (ACT 1:18)

This is one of the best known biblical contradictions regarding the fate of Judas. Please don't say it's a mistranslation.

Regards

Grimesy