"How many horsemen did David capture?"

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"How many horsemen did David capture?"

2 Samuel 8:4 And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.

1 Chronicles 18:4 And David took from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots.

The story of David is told twice in the Bible, once across 1 Sam 16 to 1 Kings 2 and again in 1 Chronicles. Here we have near identical verses from both sources describing the same event, but with one important distinction: The chariots are not referenced in 2 Samuel and a different number of horsemen are listed, 1,700 versus 7,000. This may seem like an insignificant discrepancy, but what does this difference tell us about the sources themselves? Was this an error? How can we know what the original text said if one of these numbers is incorrect?

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"Did the Witch of Endor actually summon the spirit of Samuel?"

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"Did the Witch of Endor actually summon the spirit of Samuel?"

1 Samuel 28:7-14 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”

So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

The practice of witchcraft and magic is addressed several times throughout the Bible ("Were Sorcerers, Mediums, and Necromancers really performing magic in the Bible?"), but this is a narrative account that seems to demonstrate the power of one particular medium. Commonly referred to as the "Witch of Endor", we see in this story how she apparently calls forth the spirit of Samuel at Saul's request. The medium asks who she should "bring up". Where is this spirit coming "up" from? Heaven? Where does the Witch get this power? Is the spirit actually Samuel or is it an illusion? If it is Samuel's spirit, then how has the Witch accomplished this miraculous feat? If it is an illusion, is it divine in nature like a prophetic vision or is it more like a trick performed by modern magicians? Does Saul ever actually see the spirit or is he simply falling for the Witch's ruse? Later in 1 Samuel 28:15 it says that Samuel's spirit speaks to Saul which seems to imply that this is not an illusion.

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"Did Ruth and Boaz have sex before marriage?"

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"Did Ruth and Boaz have sex before marriage?"

Ruth 3:1-14 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings [the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment] over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”

So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another.

The story of Ruth is quite tame when compared with many more salacious tales within the Bible. But is there something more illicit hidden within the text? The alternate translation for "wings" to "corners of a garment" is interesting on its own, but there is enough in these verses already to question what really transpired on the threshing floor. Even with the most charitable interpretation of the text, the story of Ruth is still filled with problematic ancient traditions where men have the only say in marriage. Ruth is effectively forced into marriage with Boaz to continue her family line in accordance with the laws of the Israelites.

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"Does God support the practice of slavery?"

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"Does God support the practice of slavery?"

Exodus 21:1-11 Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

Exodus 21:20-21 When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.

In Exodus 20, God hands down his 10 commandments to Moses and the Israelites. This would seem like a good time to address the practice of slavery, something that has cropped up in previous chapters; however, slavery is not mentioned in the 10 commandments (though in some translations the 10th commandment states that you should not covet a neighbor's slaves, while other translations say servants - both cases being equated with property). Even more distressing is the fact that in the chapter that immediately follows, God hands down laws regarding the treatment of slaves. This includes specifics about how to hold a married slave's wife and children hostage in order to retain ownership over them indefinitely and how to force a slave woman into marriage with yourself or one of your sons. Are we to assume that God supports the practice of slavery under these specifications? Obviously Christians today would not support the described practices. What better opportunity to reject the practice than when God handed down the laws that his chosen people should follow? The Israelites were literally escaping their own enslavement, why then would God allow the practice to continue, and not only allow it, but give explicit instructions for how it should be carried out? Why not abolish it entirely and unequivocally? If God is all-knowing and all-seeing, wouldn't he have been aware that many of these verses would later be used to justify slavery?

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"Why did God enable Samson to kill so many people with his miraculous strength?"

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"Why did God enable Samson to kill so many people with his miraculous strength?"
Judges 16:27-30 Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained. Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

These 3,000 people were all killed in a singular event, which by today's standards could easily be described as a religious suicidal terrorist attack. Samson pleaded to God to give him strength, and then proceeded to kill thousands of people in an act of self-sacrificial retaliation for the Philistines gouging out his eyes. If this act was committed by Samson without God's approval would we still applaud his actions? Or would we condemn such heinous vengeance? And these were far from the only people he killed. In another tale, Samson brutally murders one thousand men... with the jawbone of a donkey.

Why do these stories sound so massively exaggerated? They have many elements that seem to indicate they are parables or fables. Why are there many similarities between the story of Samson and that of the Greek demigod Heracles (Hercules) for example? Was Samson a real person and did these stories actually take place, or was he an ancient version of a "superhero" like many stories we still enjoy today?

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"Is the Israelite population described in the Book of Numbers reliable or reasonable?"

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"Is the Israelite population described in the Book of Numbers reliable or reasonable?"
Numbers 1:45-46 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel — all those listed were 603,550.

It can certainly be questioned if the Exodus ever happened at all, but assuming it did, are the population numbers described in the Book of Numbers reasonable? What kind of impact would a population of nearly 2 million Israelites have on the region? Are there any translation complications that might explain the seemingly high numbers? When were these bible stories written and could the time between the event and its transcription account for any inflated or exaggerated values?

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"How were humans created?"

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"How were humans created?"
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

According to the Bible, God created male and female in his image, fully formed as they still appear today. Genesis 1 is actually the first of two different creation stories in Genesis, but regardless of the differences, how well does either story comport with modern science and what we understand about human development?

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"Why did Jesus need to spit on a man's eyes to heal his blindness?"

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"Why did Jesus need to spit on a man's eyes to heal his blindness?"
Mark 8:22-25 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to [Jesus] a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Jesus performs many healing miracles in the New Testament, but this one stands out as particularly strange. What is the significance of spitting in the man's eyes? Couldn't the healing have been accomplished without such a crude symbolic act? Also, why did the first attempt to heal the man's blindness not seem to work? The man could not see clearly until after Jesus laid hands on his eyes a second time. If this was unintentional, then why was Jesus' healing so imprecise? If this was intentional, then what was the purpose or lesson that what meant to be taught? Is this the same blind man as described in the story of John 8:59-9:6? If so, then why is the healing miracle described differently? In John, Jesus spits onto the ground to make clay to place on the man's eyes and it takes place in a different location. Regardless of whether the two stories describe the same or different miracles, why would Jesus need to use different methods to heal the same affliction? In yet another story (Mark 10:46-10:52) a blind man is healed instantaneously with no physical contact or spit involved.

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"How old is the Earth?"

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"How old is the Earth?"
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

The Christian Bible tells us that the Earth is the first thing that God created, along with "the heavens". Why doesn't the Bible explicitly state when the creation occurred in relation to the time the Bible was written? What can science tell us about the origins of the Earth? Do our observations of the universe conflict with the Bible? How old do other religions claim the Earth to be and do their holy books support different conclusions?

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"Were the Hebrews actually held as slaves in ancient Egypt?"

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"Were the Hebrews actually held as slaves in ancient Egypt?"
Exodus 5:1-2 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”

The book of Exodus is named specifically for the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, but how certain are we that this actually took place? This is a very specific historical claim about an ancient civilization that we have learned a great deal about through archeology. What historical evidence do we have that the Hebrews were held as slaves by the Egyptians? Are the population figures described in the Book of Numbers reliable or reasonable?

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