Inconsistency

When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought to the house. Then they bowed to him with their faces touching the ground. He asked them how they were. Then he said, "You told me about your elderly father. How is he? Is he still alive?" They answered, "Yes, sir. Our father is alive and well." (Genesis 43:26-28)

Notice from the above passage, when the brothers of Joseph came to Egypt not knowing who joseph really was to them. Joseph enquired about his father Jacob, he said "You told me about your elderly father. How is he? Is he still alive?". The brothers answered that their father is live and well. Its pretty clear Joseph’s query was answered regarding the well being of his father.

Heres where the problem comes in. when we get to Chapter 45, we read Joseph repeating himself to his brothers about his father Jacob?

Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. (Genesis 45:3)

Wait a tick!, Joseph had already asked his brothers about his father Jacob in Chapter 43, and they answered by saying They answered, "Yes, sir. Our father is alive and well."  Why then would he ask the same question to his brothers in Chapter 45, after making himself known to them? It doesn’t make any sense. This is a blatant inconsistency which cannot be rectified. This only shows how the authors were many, and were not aware of previous Chapters and its conversations.

Think of it from the time the brothers returned to Egypt with Benjamin, all their conversation with Joseph had focused upon their father Jacob. There could have been no doubt in Joseph’s mind that Jacob was alive. Why then did Joseph ask the question again?

Let see if our Christian friends can answer such inconsistency.

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You say the Bible is in chronological order?

Can you tell us how the book of Samuel and Kings the biography of King David's life, came before the book of Psalm written by King David himself prior to the book of Psalm? The book of Job, Esther, Nehemiah, Ezra all came before, so chronologically the book of Psalm comes much after in the Tanack.

How then is the Bible chronological ?

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Inconsistency within the "Torah"

Numbers 32 has a perfect example of this. The whole of the chapter is about the lands that Reuben’s seed and Gad’s seed are to receive as their own. From verse one all the way through to verse 29 Moses makes it very clear that if these two tribes will not fight with the rest of their brethren on the west side of the Jordan then they are not going to receive any land at all.

Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before Yehovah for the war, and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before Yehovah until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, and the land is subdued before Yehovah, then, afterwards you may return and be blameless before Yehovah and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before Yehovah. But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against Yehovah; and be sure your sin will find you out.(Num 32:20-23)

But in verse 30 it says this.

But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” (Num 32:30)

Yeah right! Are we to understand that if Reuben’s and Gad’s seed do not fight with their brethren that they still get lands for themselves on the west side? That would be absurd based on everything that came before this verse and after it. It has to say “they shall have NO possessions among you in the land of Canaan“. But the Hebrew negation לא – “lo” is just not there.


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Question :

Why didn't Joseph try to contact his father during all his time in Egypt? After all, the distance between the land of Israel and Egypt is only "six days" of travelling, according to Nachmanides' calculations. Why, when he became the head of Potiphar's household -- and could easily do such a thing -- didn't Joseph send a letter to his father, informing him that he was alive and well? Certainly, once he became viceroy, the second most powerful man in Egypt, he could have done anything he wanted. All those many years of Jacob languishing, mourning for his favorite son, could have been avoided. Didn't Joseph miss his father just as much? How could he be apart from him all those years?

How could Joseph have allowed his father to mourn him for so long? Why didn't he let Jacob know that he was alive? Egypt is not so far from Canaan, and it was certainly within Joseph's means to dispatch a courier to his father with the good news that he was alive and well.

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Did Ahaziah flee from Jehu and died at Megiddo, or was he captured and brought to Jehu and put to death? Depends which book you read.

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But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. (1 Kings 9:27)

                                                       Contradiction

He then went in search of Ahaziah, and his men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. He was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, "He was a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." So there was no one in the house of Ahaziah powerful enough to retain the kingdom. ( 2 Chronicles 22:9)

Just to add to this human error,  the Distance from Samaria to Megiddo is 20.7 km, in case one says both were at the same place.

Amazingly, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers confirms there's a textual corruption.

And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.--See the Note on 2Chronicles 22:9, where a different tradition respecting the end of Ahaziah is recorded. The definite assignment of localities in the present account is a mark of greater trustworthiness. The way in which Rashi, whom Keil follows, attempts to combine the two accounts, is revolting to common sense. It would be better to assume a corruption of the text in one or the other narrative.

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So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. (Genesis 37:28)

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. (Genesis 37:36)

Did you catch the joke? notice a very strange sequence of events. in 37:28 Midianites pass by, and "they" drew Joseph out of the pit and "they" sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for silver, and "they" brought Joseph to Egypt. Then later in 37:36, the Midianites sold Joseph to Egypt.

If the Ishmaelites had purchased Joseph from the Midianites, how did the Midianites sell him to the Potiphar?

The authors screwed up

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To whom did the Midianites sell Joseph?

(a) “To the Ishmaelites” (Genesis 37:28)

(b) “To Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh” (Genesis 37:36)

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Who brought Joseph to Egypt?

(a) The Ishmaelites bought Joseph and then “took Joseph

to Egypt” (Genesis 37:28)

(b) “The Midianites had sold him in Egypt” (Genesis 37:36)

(c) Joseph said to his brothers “I am your brother, Joseph,

whom you sold into Egypt” (Genesis 45:4)

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He had his mind in him lol

And Yahweh said in his heart: “I will not curse the ground again on account of man; for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will not strike all the living again.” (Gen 8:21)  

How did Moses know what was In the heart of god?

He had his mind in him lol

Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. (Luke 11:16-17)

Notice how the above verses says  "Jesus knew their thoughts " How could Luke possibly know what Jesus was thinking?

What a mess!

God says Cain will be a "restless wonderer on earth" (Genesis 4:12) Cain reiterates he will be a "restless wonder on earth" & fears for his life (Genesis 4:14).

 One verse later Cain settles in the land of Nod, gets married & builds a city (Genesis 4:16-17)