Contradictions and Paradoxes in 1 Samuel 5:8

Check out Contradictions Catalog of 1 Samuel 5:8 for the comprehensive list of verses that contradicts 1 Samuel 5:8. Some key contradictions and paradoxes are described below.

According to the author of 1 Samuel, when the Philistines were having trouble because they took a special box from the Israelites, they called their leaders to ask what to do. They decided to move the special box to another city called Gath.

1 Samuel 5:8: They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about [thither].

Contradiction with 1 Chronicles 16:26

Contradicts the idea that deities could have power over events or places, asserting that the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

1 Chronicles 16:26: For all the gods of the people [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Contradiction with Isaiah 37:19

Challenges the notion of multiple deities having influence, explaining that gods of other nations are merely wood and stone, crafted by human hands.

Isaiah 37:19: And have cast their gods into the fire: for they [were] no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. [cast: Heb. given]

Contradiction with Jeremiah 10:5

Opposes the idea of attributing power to idols, describing them as scarecrows in a cucumber field that cannot speak and must be carried.

Jeremiah 10:5: They [are] upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good.

Contradiction with Psalm 96:5

Opposes the attribution of power to gods made by human hands, as all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

Psalm 96:5: For all the gods of the nations [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Paradox #1

The contradiction or conflict in 1 Samuel 5:8 might arise from the differing views on the righteousness of possessing religious artifacts. The Philistines saw the Ark of the Covenant as bringing trouble upon them, yet it was sacred and beneficial to the Israelites. This situation creates a moral conflict regarding the possession and treatment of sacred objects, which might be seen as having power independent of the true moral characteristics or intentions of those possessing it.

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