The Bible is an instruction manual, book of history and an inheritance document, all in one. This may be an over simplified view, but hopefully it may overcome long held scepticism about the book.
Perceived contradictions disappear when one takes the Bible as a whole.
The Bible is a translation of the Hebrew and Greek holy scriptures. The Hebrew holy scriptures forms the Old Testament section of the Bible whilst the Greek later half forms the New Testament. The Hebrew section points forward to the New Testament and the Christ. The Greek scriptures refers constantly to the Old Testament to explain the Christ. Therefore the two halves are not independent of the other.