1001 Errors in the Christian Bible
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Matthew -- Errors 78-84
#78
Matthew 14: (KJV)
3 “For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him
in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. 4 For John said
unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.”
According to Josephus John was arrested because he incited the people
to the point of sedition.
#79
Matthew 14: (KJV)
8 “And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give
me here John Baptist's head in a charger. 9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless
for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded
it to be given her. 10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.”
The best translation of the Greek word for “sorry” above is
“grieved”. Doesn’t make sense in “Matthew” that
Herod would be grieved at the thought of having to kill John because 14:5
(KJV) says: “And when he would have put him to death, he feared the
multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.” Matthew’s
wording is extremely similar to “Mark” chapter 6 so it appears
that Matthew copied from Mark. According to Mark 6:20 (KJV): “For
Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed
him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.”
Therefore, it makes sense that in Mark Herod would grieve at having to
kill John. The author of Matthew apparently carelessly copied Mark’s
“grieved” even though it no longer fit the story due to his
editing of Mark’s version.
#80
Matthew 15: (KJV)
1 “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem,
saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?
for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.”
The author of Matthew is giving away the date of composition here (after
70 CE). According to Rabbinic literature, prior to the destruction of
the Temple only Priests were required to wash before they ate. After the
destruction it became Rabbinic Law for all Jews to wash their hands before
meals.
#81
Matthew 15: (KJV)
4 “For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and,
He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say,
Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever
thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother,
he shall be free.”
The earliest extant manuscripts for 15:6, say “And honour not his
father” and omit “or his mother”. KJV, NASB, Darby, Young’s,
and NKJV all include “or his mother” based on translations from
later manuscripts. It appears that copyists added “or his mother”
to earlier versions in order to make the wording of 15:6 agree to 15:4
and 15:5.
#82
Matthew 15: (KJV)
7 “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This
people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their
lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
Here’s the quote from the Masoretic text:
Isaiah 29:13 (JPS)
“…Because that people has approached with its mouth
And honored Me with its lips,
But has kept its heart far from Me,
And its worship of Me has been
A commandment of men, learned by rote”
The quote by the author of Matthew doesn’t agree with the Masoretic
text or any other known Christian translation (surprise).
#83
Matthew 15: (KJV)
10 “And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and
understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but
that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12 Then came
his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were
offended, after they heard this saying?”
Contradicted by all the dietary laws in the Tanakh.
#84
Matthew 15: (KJV)
33 “And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much
bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?”
The wording describing the miraculous feeding starting at 15:33 is extremely
similar to the same type of miraculous feeding story starting at 14:17
(KJV):
“And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two
fishes. 18 He said, Bring them hither to me. 19 And he commanded the multitude
to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes,
and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to
his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20 And they did all
eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained
twelve baskets full.”
So either the memory of the disciples was very bad or the author of Matthew
is presenting two extremely similar versions of the same story.