Ambiguous/Strange/Bizarre Passages of the Bible
What the heck was this mark? (Gn 4:15)
What does it mean that Cain went from the presence of the Lord? (Gn 4:16)
Why would Lamech tell his wives this? (Gn 4:23-24) Why is this even included?
What does it mean “sons of God” and “daughters of men”? Why use these terms? (Gn 6:2-4) Who were the Nephilim? (Gn 6:4) People have always been having sex and making babies. So how can the bible say “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children to them”? So then, taken strictly, the Nephilim should still be among us, but they’re not, so then this implies that there was something different about the sex that was going on in those days and the making of babies. Now what would this be?
How can a hunter be “before the Lord”? (Gn 10:8-9)
What does a smoking fire pot and flaming torch mean? What’s up with the strange cutting up of the animals? (Gn 15:8-10)
What was the wrestling match all about anyway? (Gn 32:24-31)
Issachar’s blessing sounds like it’s really a disguised curse. (Gn 49:14-15) What does Dan’s blessing mean? Is it good or bad? What about Gad’s? It’s very confusing. (Gn 49:16-19) What does Asher’s blessing mean? Or is it a blessing? (Gn 49:14-15)
What’s God trying to do putting Moses to death when a)he knew Moses hadn’t circumcised his son previously; why now has he decided to take action? b)God chose him to do his work and now he’s going to ruin all his plans? c)God’s going to kill Moses just because his son isn’t circumcised? Is it some big sin or something? (Ex 4:24-26)
Why did Zipporah touch Moses’ feet with the foreskin of her son? (Ex 4:25)
Why does Moses add the detail “It was then that she said ‘A bridegroom of blood’”? (Ex 4:26)
What exactly does “show me now your ways” mean? (Ex 33:13)
How exactly did Moses disobey God so that he wasn’t allowed to go into Canaan? (Nm 20:10-12)
In Moses’ last blessing of Israel, why is Simeon left out? (Dt 33)
What does Jdgs 5:20 mean?
It was a really crazy thing for Naomi to tell Ruth to lie down at the feet of Boaz while he was sleeping. Why did she tell her to do something weird like that? Sounds like something sexual could be going on. (Ru 3:4, 8)
What’s up with this battle of Gibeon? It seems really disorganized. First there’s a 24-man fight, then there’s a manhunt for Abner, and then there’s a battle scene. What was going on? This all seems so senseless, like something out of Judges again. I thought David was supposed to be God’s king that brought order to his people. (II Sm 2:12-28)
Was David dancing around naked? (II Sm 6:20)
I totally don’t understand the story of the man of God and the old prophet. Why did the old prophet lie to the man of God? Then why did he tell the man of God that he had done wrong? And why did the old prophet give him a burial in his own tomb and mourn for him and ask his sons to have him buried by the man of God? (I Kgs 13:7-32)
How was it necessary that the prophet really be wounded? Couldn't he have had the bandage over his eyes anyway? (I Kgs 20:38)
Jb 6:25-30 I have no idea what this means.
Jb 26:12-13 sounds like the Babylonian creation myth (concerning Tiamat). Besides that, what does it even mean?
Jb 33:23 is strange. What's this "one in a thousand"?
If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him
Jb 33:24 What's this ransom?
Jb 36:18
Ps 68:11-14, 22, 17
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth (Psalm 71:6) How can this possibly be?
What’s the difference between seeking the name of the Lord and knowing that God is God? Because Ps 83:16-18 all makes sense except for when it says “that they may seek your name”. It doesn’t fit in with the rest of the verses. Verses 16 & 18 seem contradictory.
What does it mean “I have seen a limit to all perfection…”? (Ps 119:96)
The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22)
Prv 11:30
Eccl 1:8 What does it mean "the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing"?
Eccl 1:15 What does it mean, “That which is wanting cannot be numbered?”
Eccl 3:15 God seeks what has been driven away.1 ?
[1] Hebrew what has been pursued
Eccl 3:18 "I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts." ?
Eccl 5:20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
How is this meant to be understood?
Eccl 6:8-9 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. ?
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. (Ecclesiastes 7:3)
Solomon seems to be contradicting the whole fabric of the bible in Eccl 7:15-17. What did he mean by this?
What does it mean “and from that withhold not your hand” in Eccl 7:18?
I don’t understand Ecclesiastes 7:28. I have no idea what Solomon is talking about.
What does it mean, "the hardness of his face is changed"? (Eccl 8:1)
What does Eccl 9:1 mean? The last part? "Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him."
Eccl 9:7 What does it mean "God has already approved what you do"?
What do these proverbs mean/what's their point?
folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. (Ecclesiastes 10:6)
He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. (Ecclesiastes 10:9)
If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. (Ecclesiastes 10:11)
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. (Ecclesiastes 11:3)
Sg 2:15?
What does it mean “[do] not stir up or awaken love until it pleases”? (Sg 3:5)
What’s up with the little scene where the woman thinks she hears her lover, but he doesn’t appear and then she’s beaten by the watchmen? (Sg 5:2-8)
I never did understand Sg 8:11-12.
What's this canopy? (Is 4:5)
Is 10:22 This is very strange and sounds contradictory: “Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.”
Can the prophecy against Dumah even be called a prophecy? (Is 21:11-12)
What’s the valley of vision? (Is 22:5)
Is 22:15-25 What does this prophecy mean? It ends very strangely. Why was Eliakim so important, and what was his importance, and if he was so important, why would he come to ruin in the end?
Is 23:10 ?
Is 27 is really weird, specifically vv 4-5 and 7-11.
Is 28:9-10, 12-13, 16, 21, 24-28, 29:1-2, 7-9, 17?
Is 32:19-20 ?
Is 33:23 ? Doesn't seem to fit the context.
What does "host" mean? (Is 34:2)
Is 42:19-20 ?
Is 45:15 Why would God hide himself?
What does it mean “I refine you, but not as silver”? (Is 48:10)
Jer 10:11 Why would this verse alone be in Aramaic (see footnote)?
Why would Jeremiah have to bury the loincloth by the Euphrates as opposed to anywhere else? (Jer 13:4) That would mean he would have had to travel far away rather than bury it in his “backyard”. This is a bizarre way of prophesying. Why travel so far away just to bury a loincloth and recover it?
Jer 15:11 ?
Jer 15:19 This verse doesn't fit in with the rest of the passage (v 10 & 15-21).
What the heck does Jer 31:22 mean?
Jer 49:25 ?
How come biblical prophets often prophesy in strange/bizarre ways (Ezk 4:4-8)?
Why did God carry Ezekiel around in an awkward manner (by a lock of hair)? (Ezk 8:3)
What the heck is this supposed to mean – (Ezk 20:25-26)?
What does Ezk 21:12-13 mean, especially, “for it will not be a testing”?
Hos 6:11-7:1 sounds really out of context.
Hos 11:12 This really doesn't make any sense, considering that Hosea had already prophesied several times against Judah (for example, 8:14, 6:4, 5:14, 12, 10, 5, 12:2)
What’s the serpent of the sea at the end of Amos? (9:3)
What does Am 9:9 mean?
What does Mi 1:11 mean?
Mi 7:16 Why will they be deaf?
What does it mean that Philistia would be like a clan in Judah and Ekron like the Jebusites? (Zec 9:7)
What does Zechariah 12:12-14 mean?
What’s the unique day of neither day nor night? (Zec 14:7)
Why was Noah willing to curse his own descendants? (Gn 9:24-25)
Why did Isaac tell his son Esau that he would live by the sword, as if this were a good thing? Why did he actually curse Esau rather than bless him? Where did he get this information about his future from? Was this a curse or a prophecy? (Gn 27:39-40)
Why would Isaac want his sons to be unequal, so that one would bow down to the other? (Gn 27:40)
What does Matthew 13:52 mean?
What did Jesus mean when he said that “there are some standing here who will not taste death until I come?” Jesus has not yet come and all the disciples are long dead. (Mt 16:28)
What did Jesus mean by “then the sons are free”? (Mt 17:26)
I don’t get the analogous relationship between Jesus’ parable and his teaching of the “first will be last and the last first”. In the teaching, those who were last earned their position of first in the kingdom, but in the parable they didn’t earn the master’s generosity. (Mt 19:27-20:16)
Why did Jesus say that everybody would be salted with fire? (Mk 9:49)
What did Jesus mean by “Take care then how you hear?” (Lk 8:18)
Why did Jesus say that he wished that the earth was already kindled? (Lk 12:49)
Why did Jesus tell the disciples to prepare themselves with swords? (Lk 22:38)
Jn 6:21 Is this supposed to be a miracle?
Why didn’t Jesus let Mary Magdalene cling to him? (Jn 20:17)
What was baptism on behalf of the dead? (I Cor 15:29)
II Cor 10:6 ?
Gal 3:20
II Thes 2:7
Heb 6:18 What are these two unchangeable things?
How did Noah condemn the world? (Heb 11:7)
Who is this “he who was born of God” that protects us? (I Jn 5:18)
Why isn’t the tribe of Dan sealed in the listing of the tribes of Israel sealed before the 4 angels are allowed to hurt the earth, seas and trees? (Rv 7:4-8)
What does it mean that Cain went from the presence of the Lord? (Gn 4:16)
Why would Lamech tell his wives this? (Gn 4:23-24) Why is this even included?
What does it mean “sons of God” and “daughters of men”? Why use these terms? (Gn 6:2-4) Who were the Nephilim? (Gn 6:4) People have always been having sex and making babies. So how can the bible say “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children to them”? So then, taken strictly, the Nephilim should still be among us, but they’re not, so then this implies that there was something different about the sex that was going on in those days and the making of babies. Now what would this be?
How can a hunter be “before the Lord”? (Gn 10:8-9)
What does a smoking fire pot and flaming torch mean? What’s up with the strange cutting up of the animals? (Gn 15:8-10)
What was the wrestling match all about anyway? (Gn 32:24-31)
Issachar’s blessing sounds like it’s really a disguised curse. (Gn 49:14-15) What does Dan’s blessing mean? Is it good or bad? What about Gad’s? It’s very confusing. (Gn 49:16-19) What does Asher’s blessing mean? Or is it a blessing? (Gn 49:14-15)
What’s God trying to do putting Moses to death when a)he knew Moses hadn’t circumcised his son previously; why now has he decided to take action? b)God chose him to do his work and now he’s going to ruin all his plans? c)God’s going to kill Moses just because his son isn’t circumcised? Is it some big sin or something? (Ex 4:24-26)
Why did Zipporah touch Moses’ feet with the foreskin of her son? (Ex 4:25)
Why does Moses add the detail “It was then that she said ‘A bridegroom of blood’”? (Ex 4:26)
What exactly does “show me now your ways” mean? (Ex 33:13)
How exactly did Moses disobey God so that he wasn’t allowed to go into Canaan? (Nm 20:10-12)
In Moses’ last blessing of Israel, why is Simeon left out? (Dt 33)
What does Jdgs 5:20 mean?
It was a really crazy thing for Naomi to tell Ruth to lie down at the feet of Boaz while he was sleeping. Why did she tell her to do something weird like that? Sounds like something sexual could be going on. (Ru 3:4, 8)
What’s up with this battle of Gibeon? It seems really disorganized. First there’s a 24-man fight, then there’s a manhunt for Abner, and then there’s a battle scene. What was going on? This all seems so senseless, like something out of Judges again. I thought David was supposed to be God’s king that brought order to his people. (II Sm 2:12-28)
Was David dancing around naked? (II Sm 6:20)
I totally don’t understand the story of the man of God and the old prophet. Why did the old prophet lie to the man of God? Then why did he tell the man of God that he had done wrong? And why did the old prophet give him a burial in his own tomb and mourn for him and ask his sons to have him buried by the man of God? (I Kgs 13:7-32)
How was it necessary that the prophet really be wounded? Couldn't he have had the bandage over his eyes anyway? (I Kgs 20:38)
Jb 6:25-30 I have no idea what this means.
Jb 26:12-13 sounds like the Babylonian creation myth (concerning Tiamat). Besides that, what does it even mean?
Jb 33:23 is strange. What's this "one in a thousand"?
If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him
Jb 33:24 What's this ransom?
Jb 36:18
Ps 68:11-14, 22, 17
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth (Psalm 71:6) How can this possibly be?
What’s the difference between seeking the name of the Lord and knowing that God is God? Because Ps 83:16-18 all makes sense except for when it says “that they may seek your name”. It doesn’t fit in with the rest of the verses. Verses 16 & 18 seem contradictory.
What does it mean “I have seen a limit to all perfection…”? (Ps 119:96)
The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22)
Prv 11:30
Eccl 1:8 What does it mean "the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing"?
Eccl 1:15 What does it mean, “That which is wanting cannot be numbered?”
Eccl 3:15 God seeks what has been driven away.1 ?
[1] Hebrew what has been pursued
Eccl 3:18 "I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts." ?
Eccl 5:20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
How is this meant to be understood?
Eccl 6:8-9 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. ?
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. (Ecclesiastes 7:3)
Solomon seems to be contradicting the whole fabric of the bible in Eccl 7:15-17. What did he mean by this?
What does it mean “and from that withhold not your hand” in Eccl 7:18?
I don’t understand Ecclesiastes 7:28. I have no idea what Solomon is talking about.
What does it mean, "the hardness of his face is changed"? (Eccl 8:1)
What does Eccl 9:1 mean? The last part? "Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him."
Eccl 9:7 What does it mean "God has already approved what you do"?
What do these proverbs mean/what's their point?
folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. (Ecclesiastes 10:6)
He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. (Ecclesiastes 10:9)
If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. (Ecclesiastes 10:11)
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. (Ecclesiastes 11:3)
Sg 2:15?
What does it mean “[do] not stir up or awaken love until it pleases”? (Sg 3:5)
What’s up with the little scene where the woman thinks she hears her lover, but he doesn’t appear and then she’s beaten by the watchmen? (Sg 5:2-8)
I never did understand Sg 8:11-12.
What's this canopy? (Is 4:5)
Is 10:22 This is very strange and sounds contradictory: “Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.”
Can the prophecy against Dumah even be called a prophecy? (Is 21:11-12)
What’s the valley of vision? (Is 22:5)
Is 22:15-25 What does this prophecy mean? It ends very strangely. Why was Eliakim so important, and what was his importance, and if he was so important, why would he come to ruin in the end?
Is 23:10 ?
Is 27 is really weird, specifically vv 4-5 and 7-11.
Is 28:9-10, 12-13, 16, 21, 24-28, 29:1-2, 7-9, 17?
Is 32:19-20 ?
Is 33:23 ? Doesn't seem to fit the context.
What does "host" mean? (Is 34:2)
Is 42:19-20 ?
Is 45:15 Why would God hide himself?
What does it mean “I refine you, but not as silver”? (Is 48:10)
Jer 10:11 Why would this verse alone be in Aramaic (see footnote)?
Why would Jeremiah have to bury the loincloth by the Euphrates as opposed to anywhere else? (Jer 13:4) That would mean he would have had to travel far away rather than bury it in his “backyard”. This is a bizarre way of prophesying. Why travel so far away just to bury a loincloth and recover it?
Jer 15:11 ?
Jer 15:19 This verse doesn't fit in with the rest of the passage (v 10 & 15-21).
What the heck does Jer 31:22 mean?
Jer 49:25 ?
How come biblical prophets often prophesy in strange/bizarre ways (Ezk 4:4-8)?
Why did God carry Ezekiel around in an awkward manner (by a lock of hair)? (Ezk 8:3)
What the heck is this supposed to mean – (Ezk 20:25-26)?
What does Ezk 21:12-13 mean, especially, “for it will not be a testing”?
Hos 6:11-7:1 sounds really out of context.
Hos 11:12 This really doesn't make any sense, considering that Hosea had already prophesied several times against Judah (for example, 8:14, 6:4, 5:14, 12, 10, 5, 12:2)
What’s the serpent of the sea at the end of Amos? (9:3)
What does Am 9:9 mean?
What does Mi 1:11 mean?
Mi 7:16 Why will they be deaf?
What does it mean that Philistia would be like a clan in Judah and Ekron like the Jebusites? (Zec 9:7)
What does Zechariah 12:12-14 mean?
What’s the unique day of neither day nor night? (Zec 14:7)
Why was Noah willing to curse his own descendants? (Gn 9:24-25)
Why did Isaac tell his son Esau that he would live by the sword, as if this were a good thing? Why did he actually curse Esau rather than bless him? Where did he get this information about his future from? Was this a curse or a prophecy? (Gn 27:39-40)
Why would Isaac want his sons to be unequal, so that one would bow down to the other? (Gn 27:40)
What does Matthew 13:52 mean?
What did Jesus mean when he said that “there are some standing here who will not taste death until I come?” Jesus has not yet come and all the disciples are long dead. (Mt 16:28)
What did Jesus mean by “then the sons are free”? (Mt 17:26)
I don’t get the analogous relationship between Jesus’ parable and his teaching of the “first will be last and the last first”. In the teaching, those who were last earned their position of first in the kingdom, but in the parable they didn’t earn the master’s generosity. (Mt 19:27-20:16)
Why did Jesus say that everybody would be salted with fire? (Mk 9:49)
What did Jesus mean by “Take care then how you hear?” (Lk 8:18)
Why did Jesus say that he wished that the earth was already kindled? (Lk 12:49)
Why did Jesus tell the disciples to prepare themselves with swords? (Lk 22:38)
Jn 6:21 Is this supposed to be a miracle?
Why didn’t Jesus let Mary Magdalene cling to him? (Jn 20:17)
What was baptism on behalf of the dead? (I Cor 15:29)
II Cor 10:6 ?
Gal 3:20
II Thes 2:7
Heb 6:18 What are these two unchangeable things?
How did Noah condemn the world? (Heb 11:7)
Who is this “he who was born of God” that protects us? (I Jn 5:18)
Why isn’t the tribe of Dan sealed in the listing of the tribes of Israel sealed before the 4 angels are allowed to hurt the earth, seas and trees? (Rv 7:4-8)