Q&A: Contradictions
Contradictions
Question
Do the many contradictions in the sacred writings, and the very fact that the Torah is written in a really far-from-perfect way (just one example: the unnecessary repetition in the account of the offerings of the tribal leaders) show that the Torah was not given by God? How could God (who is perfect, I assume) write in such a way?
Answer
There are various explanations for those contradictions. It is hard to determine that this is illogical and draw conclusions from it. It depends on the question of how much reliability you attribute to the tradition and to the text on general grounds. If you have concluded that it is reliable, I do not think these considerations would change that. If not, then of course the situation is different.
Beyond that, it is certainly plausible that there were later additions to the biblical text (for example, phrases like “to this very day”), and the “contradictions” could be part of those.