Problem: After the people of the town of Beth Shemesh had received the ark of the covenant, some of the citizens ignored the sacredness of the ark and looked inside it. This passage states that the Lord “struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people.” However, a population of over 50,000 seems to be much too large for such a community.
Problem: This text informs us that Eli’s sons “made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.” However, in the previous chapter, Eli rebuked his sons for their evil deeds (2:23–24).
Problem: In the short genealogical note in 1 Samuel 1:1, Elkanah is said to be from the mountains of Ephraim. However, in 1 Chronicles 6:16–23, the longer genealogical record indicates that Elkanah was a Levite. Which is correct?
Problem: Deuteronomy 25:5–10 delineates what is known as the law of the levirate marriage. If a man dies and leaves his wife childless, the man’s brother was morally obligated to take his brother’s wife and raise up children in the name of his deceased brother. This practice insured that the brother’s name would not die out. However, Boaz was not the brother of Ruth’s dead husband. Wasn’t this marriage arrangement contrary to the law of the levirate marriage?
Problem: After Boaz had eaten and drunk, he went to lie down. After he lay down, Ruth came up softly, uncovered Boaz’s feet, and lay with him. Doesn’t this imply that Ruth had intercourse with Boaz to obligate him to redeem her?
Problem: The events of the Book of Judges cover a period from circa 1380 to 1050 b.c.Judges 18:30 makes reference to the fact that the sons of Jonathan were priests in Dan “until the … captivity of the land.” However, the captivity of the land took place in 722 b.c. How could this book have been composed during the time or shortly after the time of the Judges?
Problem: Suicide is murder, and God said, “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13). There were many suicides in the Bible (see comments on 1 Sam. 31:4), and none of them received divine approval. Yet Samson committed suicide here with God’s apparent blessing.
Problem: According to Judges 15:4, Samson captured 300 foxes, tied torches between the tails of two foxes, lit the torches, and released the foxes into the fields of the Timnite farmers. But, how could Samson have captured this many foxes?
Problem: When Samson went to Timnah, he saw a Philistine woman whom he wanted to marry. Although his parents warned him not to pursue such a relation with this godless pagan woman, Samson refused to listen to their counsel. However, Judges 14:4 indicates that Samson’s desire for this woman was the work of God to use Samson to defeat the Philistines. How could God use the evil lusts of Samson to accomplish the deliverance of Israel from Philistine oppression?
Problem: Just before Jephthah went into battle against the people of Ammon, he made a vow to the Lord. The vow he made was that if God would grant him victory over his enemies, then “whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace … I will offer it up as a burnt offering” (Judges 11:31). When Jephthah returned, the first one to come out to meet him was his daughter. Jephthah refused to go back on the vow he had made. But, the Bible clearly states that human sacrifice is an abomination to the Lord (Lev. 18:21; 20:2–5;Deut. 12:31; 18:10). How could God allow Jephthah to offer up his daughter, and then list Jephthah among the champions of faith in Hebrews 11:32?