Someone asked, "Aren't parallel passages in the Bible redundant?"
First, let’s define parallel passages as texts that discuss the same subject. A subset of these includes passages that contain similar or identical wording; and a further subset includes passages that use the same words, especially (but not necessarily) with reference to the same subject.
Passages that discuss the same subject may approach it from different perspectives and provide different, complementary details that would be tedious to read if combined. Parallel passages can provide emphasis to a point, too. The third type is useful because reading a word in a different context can help define it.
Several major examples of parallel passages exist in the Old Testament.
Genesis contains two accounts of creation. One focuses on chronological order at a high level, and the other focuses on the creation of humans. Skeptics say that this means there are two authors, but repetition, parallelism, and restatement of ideas from different perspectives are staples of Hebrew literature.
The Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, contains repeated passages. For example, first God might say something, then Moses conveys it to Israel, and then, years later, Moses reminds Israel and appends details. Repetition emphasizes the message.
One group of parallel passages is in the histories presented by 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. After the reign of kings Saul, David, and Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south. 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings cover the history of Israel leading up to the split and the histories of both after the split. In contrast, 1 & 2 Chronicles repeats much of that history but focuses on Judah, omitting many details already covered and adding other details.
The two perspectives serves a purpose. First Israel, and later Judah, were conquered by other nations and their citizens were deported. Later, Israel remained scattered, but Judah was returned to the land.
According to Stephen Bedard,
The most obvious case of parallel passages is among the Gospels. They serve several major purposes.
Whenever the same points need to be addressed to multiple audiences, parallel passages can result. This is handy because you get to read a point from different perspectives. Different details get addressed whereas compressing all the details into a single passage would make for tedious reading.
First, let’s define parallel passages as texts that discuss the same subject. A subset of these includes passages that contain similar or identical wording; and a further subset includes passages that use the same words, especially (but not necessarily) with reference to the same subject.
Passages that discuss the same subject may approach it from different perspectives and provide different, complementary details that would be tedious to read if combined. Parallel passages can provide emphasis to a point, too. The third type is useful because reading a word in a different context can help define it.
Old Testament
Several major examples of parallel passages exist in the Old Testament.
Genesis contains two accounts of creation. One focuses on chronological order at a high level, and the other focuses on the creation of humans. Skeptics say that this means there are two authors, but repetition, parallelism, and restatement of ideas from different perspectives are staples of Hebrew literature.
The Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, contains repeated passages. For example, first God might say something, then Moses conveys it to Israel, and then, years later, Moses reminds Israel and appends details. Repetition emphasizes the message.
One group of parallel passages is in the histories presented by 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. After the reign of kings Saul, David, and Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south. 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings cover the history of Israel leading up to the split and the histories of both after the split. In contrast, 1 & 2 Chronicles repeats much of that history but focuses on Judah, omitting many details already covered and adding other details.
The two perspectives serves a purpose. First Israel, and later Judah, were conquered by other nations and their citizens were deported. Later, Israel remained scattered, but Judah was returned to the land.
According to Stephen Bedard,
Samuel/Kings was written at the beginning of the exile. It was a time of repentance and reflection of how they had come to that terrible situation. Chronicles was written after the exile was over and the Jews were trying to re-establish themselves…. Chronicles was written for a Jewish people who needed encouragement and strengthening. (What is the Difference between Samuel/Kings and Chronicles?)
The presentation of different perspectives sometimes gives the appearance of contradiction, but the contradictions can always be resolved. For example, according to 2 Samuel 24:1, God caused David to count the people of Israel and Judah, whereas in 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan caused David to conduct the census. If you have read Job carefully, however, you realize that for a higher purpose, God sometimes tests or allows the devil to tempt, and God takes responsibility for the things that happen under His control. What happens behind the scenes is much more complicated that simplistic "contradictions," and we don't always have need-to-know.
New Testament
The most obvious case of parallel passages is among the Gospels. They serve several major purposes.
- In Jewish law, establishing a fact required the testimony of two or three witnesses. Three of the gospel authors were eye witnesses to the events in Jesus’ ministry. So at least three gospels were needed to establish their truthfulness, and then needed to have coincident accounts — yet not so much coincidence that one might become considered redundant, and not so much word-for-word agreement that they presented the appearance of collusion between the authors.
- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all have different literary styles that present a different focus. Whereas Matthew focuses on Jesus's teachings and presents Him as King, Mark is action-oriented and presents Jesus as the perfect Servant to a Jewish audience, Luke presents Jesus as the perfect Man to a Greek audience, and John focuses on theology and presents Jesus as God. A single, combined account could not have conveyed the various messages effectively.
- In The Life of Christ in Stereo: The Four Gospels Combined As One, Johntson Cheney resolved all the so-called contradictions and weaved the four gospels into a single book. I read the book once. Borrr-ringg. Combining all the parallel passages makes for excessively long, complicated sentences, and it obscures the messages of the authors. It’s a valuable aid when putting parallel passages together. Movie-makers ought to use such harmonies of the gospels instead of basing them on a single gospel. But if you try to read such books, you will learn to appreciate the value of four Gospels instead of one.
- Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain a lot of nearly identical text. Contrary to the speculation of “scholars,” Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not need to copy from a hypothetical document called Q. When a group of disciples witness the same thing, their notes tend to match up. When they preach together, their accounts dovetail even more. Moreover, Mark reputedly became a disciple of Peter and included much of Peter’s preaching in his gospel. Luke was a disciple in the early church and, besides recording much of Peter’s preaching, interviewed many other eyewitnesses to verify and fill in details. So the agreement is not a matter of copying, but of sharing experiences and recall.
In General
Whenever the same points need to be addressed to multiple audiences, parallel passages can result. This is handy because you get to read a point from different perspectives. Different details get addressed whereas compressing all the details into a single passage would make for tedious reading.
- Citing other passages creates parallels. For example, Jesus’s teachers are saturated with citations of Old Testament passages. When He quoted a portion of a passage in Genesis, he probably wanted readers to find the passage and get more background to understand what he was teaching.
- Skeptics like to point out passages that supposedly disagree with each other. Usually, however, the “contradictions” merely reflect differing perspectives. When you read about a supposed contradiction, remember that if an explanation is possible, then it is dishonest to say with certainty that there is a contradiction. This simple logic usually escapes skeptics who must discredit the Bible in order to evade accountability for their broken relationship with God.
- Skeptics contradict themselves when they complain that there are too many similarities and also complain that there are differences between the similar passages!
This answer is not complete. It could use specific examples, but the major points have been made, and you will recognize those points as you read through the Bible. Like a combined version of the four gospels, any more would make it even more tedious that it already is.
Copyright 2019, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for personal or non-profit use. Please give credit where credit is due.
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