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And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Exodus 3:2-4

 

The Claim: Verse 2 says an angel appeared, but then in verse 4 God is talking to Moses, so which one of them appeared at the bush?

 

The Explanation: Usually I try not to make fun of the contradiction claims, and I try to present them in a fair manner that doesn’t make the claim look completely ridiculous from the get go. Sometimes it’s really difficult to do that, and this is one of those times. After posting the Bible passage and the contradiction claim, I can’t help but think, “Really? Does this really need to be addressed?” Well, apparently some people do think it’s a legitimate contradiction, so I probably should address it.

 

To answer the question, both the angel and God were at the bush, and there’s nothing incompatible about that. After reading Exodus 3:2-4, this is the chain of events:

 

1. An angel appeared to Moses at the bush.

2. Moses turned and went to the bush.

3. God spoke to Moses.

 

The one claiming that this is a contradiction would need to somehow show that this chain of events cannot co-exist. Until then, there is no contradiction, not even close.