The Toughest Passage in the Bible Unpacked (Numbers 31:13-19)

Published 14 hours ago

Skeptics often point to some of the most difficult passages in the Bible, especially those involving moral issues that are hard to reconcile. In this episode, we take a closer look at one of the toughest texts in Scripture—unpacking its historical context, wrestling with the ethical questions it raises, and examining how some people have tried to make sense of it.

00:00 What is the toughest passage in the Bible?
03:30 Examining Numbers 31:13-19
10:05 How young is young?
13:33 The difficulties summarized
17:03 Deuteronomy 21 on female captives
20:24 The dishonestly of translators
22:19 What do commentaries say?
28:27 ChatGPT weighs in
30:10 Dr.Jonathan McLatchie on Biblical inerrancy
36:32 The Old Testament vs. the New Testament
39:00 McLatchie on the Sex slavery accusation
41:27 McLatchie on the rape accusation
42:30 Were these things merely tolerated by God?
44:07 More work on this should be done
45:50 Alex O'Connor's objection to the Bible
51:00 Are these stories just symbolic?
56:46 Bart Ehrman's objection to the Bible
1:03:01 Paul Williams and scholars on rape in the Bible
1:04:50 The age of Aisha, and Numbers 31 in a Christian and Muslim debate
1:13:55 The public nature of this difficulty
1:16:00 RTCourses.com