The Jews also counted fractions of a year as a whole year. The peculiarities of the Oriental idiom are another prolific source of discrepancies. Bold metaphors and startling hyperboles. Other difficulties in Bible understanding are attributable to the Eastern custom of applying a plurality of names to the same person or object. Let's see now, was his name Simon, Simeon, Peter, Cephas, Simon Peter, Simon Bar-jona or Simon son of Jonas.
Some contradictions arise from the use of the same word with different,sometimes opposite meanings.
That is complicated by the fact that the same Greek words are often translated into totally differing English words in our Bible, and conversely differing Greek words often end up as the same English word. Never make the Bible line up with what you believe. They were doubtless intended as a stimulus to the human intellect, as provocative of mental effort. They were meant to be illustrative of the analogy between the Bible and nature. The universe declares unmistakable traces of infinite wisdom, power, love and beauty.