Numbers 20:21 — Did Israel Pass Through Edom? Numbers vs Deuteronomy Explained

About this episode

The episode explores the differing accounts of Israel's journey through Edom in Numbers and Deuteronomy, presenting a harmonizing perspective.

Episode 257 examines the apparent contradiction between Numbers and Deuteronomy about Israel’s encounter with Edom, using geography, Hebrew language, historical commentary, and archaeology to show the two accounts describe different aspects of the same journey. Rather than a contradiction, the episode presents a harmonizing view: Israel was denied passage through Edom’s heartland, took a longer route around its borders, interacted peacefully along the edges, and followed God’s guidance—a lesson about detours and faithful direction. References to items discussed and/or used on this podcast may be found at the following: buymeacoffee.com/lancesmith The Bible Difficulties and Answers Website The Bible Difficulties and Answers Facebook Page Email Address: bibledifficultiesandanswers@gmail.com Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas Howe. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties. Baker Books, 1992. Available at: https://a.co/d/7shn4hI James, Mike. “Another Alleged Bible Discrepancy.” Church of God International, September 14, 2023. https://www.cgi.org/news-and-events/2023/9/14/another-alleged-bible-discrepancy Seeking Scripture Team. “Sidebar: Is There A Contradiction Between Deuteronomy 2 and…

People in this episode

Host: Lance Smith

Topics covered

• Israel
• Edom
• Biblical geography
• Contradictions in the Bible
• Faithful direction
• Historical commentary

Keywords

• Numbers 20
• Deuteronomy
• Israel
• Edom
• Biblical difficulties
• geography
• archaeology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Bible Difficulties and Answers Podcast, Church of God International, Seeking Scripture Team, TheTorah.com

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