Is he Israel or Jacob
In Genesis, God changes Jacob’s name to Israel, then continues to call him Jacob.
Genesis 35:10
10 God said to him,“Your name is Jacob;You shall no longer be called Jacob,But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel.
Genesis 46:2
2 God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”
When I read it for myself, I will admit that I could make no sense of it. So I looked it up and to be honest, none of the answers I found satisfied me as a good enough answer. One reason mentioned what that Jacob struggled with God a lot in his life. So God would revert back and forth pending on Jacob’s walk. This was a fair theory but it is not definite enough for me to say this has been answered.
However, there was one answer that did make sense to me, and though it doesn’t explain the use of both names, it clarifies it is likely not a contradiction. This answer is found in the verse under scrutiny, Genesis 46:2
In Genesis 46:2 Both Israel and Jacob are being used in the same sentence. I find it very difficult to accept that the writer was so bad that he lost track of which name to use, just 8 or 9 words after using the correct name. Especially while it was in the same sentence. Then throughout the book it switches back and forth. If it was only once or maybe even twice that it reverted to Jacob because the writer naturally thought of him as Jacob still, I would see this as a contradiction or a mistake by the writer. Since it reverts back and forth and especially considering it uses both names in the same sentence, it seems pretty obvious this is done intentionally. For what reason, we do not know for sure, but just because we don’t know why something is done, does not mean it is a mistake. If you choose to believe this is a mistake in the Bible, that is your choice, but to me this is obviously an intentional usage of both names in the same sentence. Which means there is a reason for it. We simply just don’t understand the reason. This could be due to the eras we live in and the differences in the languages. There were styles of writing back then and things they did that the reasoning has been lost to us.
One good example I read of this, is a writer today could have a character say “It is raining cats and dogs”. Anyone reading that today would recognize it as a common saying for, it is raining really hard. A thousand years from now that saying could be well forgotten and someone could read that and wonder if the writer seriously meant that dogs and cats were falling from the sky. There are often things writers from ancient days did, that we do not fully understand why they did it by today's standards. The use of both names could have meaning we simply have lost in time. Whatever it was, I am confident this seeming contradiction was done intentionally, which would mean it is not actually a contradiction in the way we are looking for. A mistake.
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Genesis 35:10
10 God said to him,“Your name is Jacob;You shall no longer be called Jacob,But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel.
Genesis 46:2
2 God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”
When I read it for myself, I will admit that I could make no sense of it. So I looked it up and to be honest, none of the answers I found satisfied me as a good enough answer. One reason mentioned what that Jacob struggled with God a lot in his life. So God would revert back and forth pending on Jacob’s walk. This was a fair theory but it is not definite enough for me to say this has been answered.
However, there was one answer that did make sense to me, and though it doesn’t explain the use of both names, it clarifies it is likely not a contradiction. This answer is found in the verse under scrutiny, Genesis 46:2
In Genesis 46:2 Both Israel and Jacob are being used in the same sentence. I find it very difficult to accept that the writer was so bad that he lost track of which name to use, just 8 or 9 words after using the correct name. Especially while it was in the same sentence. Then throughout the book it switches back and forth. If it was only once or maybe even twice that it reverted to Jacob because the writer naturally thought of him as Jacob still, I would see this as a contradiction or a mistake by the writer. Since it reverts back and forth and especially considering it uses both names in the same sentence, it seems pretty obvious this is done intentionally. For what reason, we do not know for sure, but just because we don’t know why something is done, does not mean it is a mistake. If you choose to believe this is a mistake in the Bible, that is your choice, but to me this is obviously an intentional usage of both names in the same sentence. Which means there is a reason for it. We simply just don’t understand the reason. This could be due to the eras we live in and the differences in the languages. There were styles of writing back then and things they did that the reasoning has been lost to us.
One good example I read of this, is a writer today could have a character say “It is raining cats and dogs”. Anyone reading that today would recognize it as a common saying for, it is raining really hard. A thousand years from now that saying could be well forgotten and someone could read that and wonder if the writer seriously meant that dogs and cats were falling from the sky. There are often things writers from ancient days did, that we do not fully understand why they did it by today's standards. The use of both names could have meaning we simply have lost in time. Whatever it was, I am confident this seeming contradiction was done intentionally, which would mean it is not actually a contradiction in the way we are looking for. A mistake.
Return to Bible Contradictions
Return to Christianity
Return to Religions and their Fatal Flaws
Return to One God Logic Articles
