Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties Gleason L Archer 1 INTRODUCTORY MATTERS ......................................................................................... 4 Recommended Procedures in Dealing With Bible Difficulties ...................................... 4 Introduction: The Importance of Biblical Inerrancy....................................................... 6 Without Inerrancy the Scriptures Cannot Be Infallible .................................................. 8 Without Inerrancy the Bible Cannot Be Infallible........................................................ 10 The Importance of Inerrant Original Documents.......................................................... 15 The Remarkable Trustworthiness of The Received Text of Holy Scripture ................ 17 Scripture and Inerrancy................................................................................................. 18 The Role of Textual Criticism in Correcting Transmissional Errors............................ 21 Genesis.............................................................................................................................. 45 Exodus............................................................................................................................. 104 Leviticus.......................................................................................................................... 122 Numbers.......................................................................................................................... 125 Deuteronomy................................................................................................................... 143 Joshua.............................................................................................................................. 152 Judges.............................................................................................................................. 160 Ruth................................................................................................................................. 165 1 Samuel.......................................................................................................................... 167 2 Samuel.......................................................................................................................... 182 1 Kings............................................................................................................................ 191 2 Kings............................................................................................................................ 204 1 Chronicles .................................................................................................................... 217 2 Chronicles .................................................................................................................... 226 Ezra ................................................................................................................................. 230 Nehemiah ........................................................................................................................ 234 Esther .............................................................................................................................. 235 Job................................................................................................................................... 236 Psalms ............................................................................................................................. 244 Proverbs .......................................................................................................................... 252 Ecclesiastes ..................................................................................................................... 256 Song of Solomon ............................................................................................................ 261 Isaiah............................................................................................................................... 264 Jeremiah .......................................................................................................................... 274 Ezekiel............................................................................................................................. 279 Daniel.............................................................................................................................. 285 Hosea............................................................................................................................... 298 Joel .................................................................................................................................. 300 Amos............................................................................................................................... 301 Obadiah........................................................................................................................... 302 Jonah ............................................................................................................................... 304 Zechariah......................................................................................................................... 307 Malachi ........................................................................................................................... 308 The New Testament and the Old Testament................................................................... 310 The Synoptic Gospels ..................................................................................................... 314 2 Matthew .......................................................................................................................... 319 Mark................................................................................................................................ 368 Luke ................................................................................................................................ 372 John................................................................................................................................. 376 Acts ................................................................................................................................. 385 Romans ........................................................................................................................... 394 1 Corinthians................................................................................................................... 406 Galatians ......................................................................................................................... 413 Ephesians ........................................................................................................................ 414 Colossians ....................................................................................................................... 415 2 Thessalonians............................................................................................................... 419 1 Timothy........................................................................................................................ 420 2 Timothy........................................................................................................................ 425 Hebrews .......................................................................................................................... 427 1 Peter ............................................................................................................................. 432 2 Peter ............................................................................................................................. 434 1 John.............................................................................................................................. 437 Jude ................................................................................................................................. 439 Revelation ....................................................................................................................... 440 3 INTRODUCTORY MATTERS Recommended Procedures in Dealing With Bible Difficulties In dealing with Bible problems of any kind, whether in factual or in doctrinal matters, it is well to follow appropriate guidelines in determining the solution. This is most easily done by those who have carefully and prayerfully studied the Bible over a number of years and have consistently and faithfully memorized Scripture. Some guidelines are as follows: 1. Be fully persuaded in your own mind that an adequate explanation exists, even though you have not yet found it. The aerodynamic engineer may not understand how a bumble bee can fly; yet he trusts that there must be an adequate explanation for its fine performance since, as a matter of fact, it does fly! Even so we may have complete confidence that the divine Author preserved the human author of each book of the Bible from error or mistake as he wrote down the original manuscript of the sacred text. 2. Avoid the fallacy of shifting from one a priori to its opposite every time an apparent problem arises. The Bible is either the inerrant Word of God or else it is an imperfect record by fallible men. Once we have come into agreement with Jesus that the Scripture is completely trustworthy and authoritative, then it is out of the question