Contradiction About Paul’s Damascus Road Experience?
Acts 9:7-And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.
Acts 22:9-And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.
Often when studying with others, the subject of alleged Bible contradictions comes up. I say “alleged,” because no true contradictions have ever been found within the Word of God, even though people have been trying to find them for thousands of years.
What exactly is a contradiction?
“But what constitutes a contradiction? Most alleged biblical contradictions are not even “apparent” contradictions because there is no necessary conflict between the two propositions….A contradiction is a proposition and its negation (symbolically written, “A and not A”) at the same time and in the same relationship. The law of non-contradiction states that a contradiction cannot be true: “It is impossible to have A and not A at the same time and in the same relationship.” The last part of this definition is crucially important.” (Ken Ham, Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions: Volume One-Exploring Forty Alleged Contradictions, 13 (Kindle Edition); Green Forest, AR; Master Books).
The Bible contains difficulties, to be certain, but not contradictions. A popular example of an alleged contradiction is in regard to Luke’s accounts in Acts of Paul’s Damascus Road experience. One text says that the men with Paul heard the voice (Acts 9:7), while another passage says that they did not hear the voice (Acts 22:9). Many would stop there and say, “That’s a contradiction!”
However, they would not be correct.
“In the Greek of Acts 9: 7, the word “voice” is in the genitive case, and in 22: 9, it is in the accusative case. The grammar rule here states that in the first instance, the voice is heard only as a sound. The meaning of the words are not understood. The men with Paul heard the sound but did not understand the words which our Lord spoke to Paul. It states in the second instance, that not only is the voice heard, but the words are understood. Thus the men with Paul did not hear the voice so as to understand the words. The contradiction is not a contradiction in the Greek text. Child of God, trust your Bible. It is the very Word of God, given by revelation and written down by inspiration.” (Kenneth S. Wuest, Golden Nuggets from the Greek New Testament, 34 (Kindle Edition): Pioneer Library)
When you come across an apparent contradiction in the Bible, keep studying! The Bible has a 100 % track record. Indeed, this is one of the many evidences which assures us that the Bible is, indeed, the Word of God.
Psalm 119:160-The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
Father, thank You for Your Word that guides us each day. We know it is not in man to direct our footsteps, and we realize that we get ourselves into trouble when we don’t listen to Your Word. Thanks for Your kindness and mercy towards us. Help us to grow in Your grace and knowledge. Keep us safe today and help us always to be looking toward Heaven. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.