Episode Details

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 

1. Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas Howe. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties. Baker Books, 1992. Available at: https://a.co/d/7shn4hI 
2. 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
3. Seeking Scripture Team. “Sidebar: Is There A Contradiction Between Deuteronomy 2 and Numbers 20?” https://seekingscripture.com/sidebar-is-there-a-contradiction-between-deuteronomy-2-and-numbers-20/
4. Glatt-Gilad, David A. “Reimagining the Israelite-Edomite Encounter.” TheTorah.com, 2016. https://www.thetorah.com/article/reimagining-the-israelite-edomite-encounter
5. “You Shall Not Pass: Israelite Encounter with Edomites and Fear-Based Policy.” HIAS.org PDF. https://hias.org/wp-content/uploads/You-Shall-Not-Pass-Israelite-Encounter-with-Edomites-and-Fear-Based-Policy.pdf 
6. Guzik, David. Enduring Word Commentary on Numbers 20. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/numbers-20/
7. “Evidence of Elusive Edom.” Biblical Archaeology Review / Biblical Archaeology Society. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/evidence-of-elusive-edom/ 
8. Bienkowski, Piotr. “The Emergence of Edom: Recent Debate.” ANEToday, March 2023. https://anetoday.org/bienkowski-emergence-edom/
9. Nagtegaal, Brent. “Archaeology Confirms Biblical Account of Edomite Statehood.” Armstrong Institute, November 12, 2019. https://armstronginstitute.org/201-archaeology-confirms-biblical-account-of-edomite-statehood