Numbers 23:4 Contradictions and Paradoxes

According to Moses, God met with Balaam, and Balaam told God that he had made seven special places to offer gifts of animals to God. This shows that Balaam was trying to worship and communicate with God in a way he thought would please Him.

Contradiction with Exodus 33:11

While Numbers 23:4 indicates God did not speak to Balaam face to face, Exodus 33:11 states that "the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."

Exodus 33:11: And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Contradiction with Genesis 32:30

Numbers 23:4 suggests that God doesn't normally appear face to face, yet Genesis 32:30 describes Jacob saying, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

Genesis 32:30: And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. [Peniel: that is, The face of God]

Contradiction with Deuteronomy 34:10

This verse implies that seeing God face to face, as in Numbers 23:4 where this intimacy isn't implied, was unique to Moses: "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face."

Deuteronomy 34:10: And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

Contradiction with John 1:18

Contradicts the concept of direct revelation seen in Numbers 23:4 by stating, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

John 1:18: No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].

Contradiction with 1 John 4:12

Supports the contradiction of Numbers 23:4’s implication of face-to-face meeting by asserting, "No man hath seen God at any time."

1 John 4:12: No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Contradiction with Isaiah 6:1

This verse contradicts the limited interaction portrayed in Numbers 23:4 by describing a vision of the Lord sitting on a throne, different from the interaction with Balaam: "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple."