Contradictions Main Page

WAS ABRAHAM IN HARAN WHEN GOD TOLD HIM TO FLEE?
Genesis 12:1-4 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (KJV)


Acts 7:2-3 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.(KJV)

Note: The assumption of contradiction is that in the Genesis passage, God gives the command, and then Abraham leaves Haran (aka Charran), suggesting that Abraham received the order in Haran.  But in the Acts passage, the order is given before Abraham dwells in Haran.

Read the Genesis 12 passage passage more carefully. Here's the order of events:
1. God tells Abraham to get out of the country
2. Abraham departs with Lot
3. Abraham, at the age of 75, departs from Haran.
Now, when Abraham departed with Lot (in event 2), where did he go? If he later left Haran (in event 3), then, logically, it was Haran that he went to in event 2.
Some might argue that event 3 was simply a repeat of event 2, that they refer to the same trip. It's unlikely, since the Hebrew words that were translated as 'departed' were not the same word. In event 2, the word is 'halak' (to walk), and in event 3, the word is 'yatsa' (to go out). Not a contradiction.

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