Those
interested in learning more about the reliability of the Bible should study the
very interesting topic of “Undesigned
Coincidences.”
Christian
analytic philosopher Lydia McGrew, who has written a book entitled Hidden in Plain View, defines undesigned
coincidences as, “An undesigned coincidence is a notable connection between two
or more accounts or texts that doesn't seem to have been planned by the person
or people giving the accounts. Despite their apparent independence, the items
fit together like pieces of a puzzle.”1
An article
in Christianity Today further
explains this, “In other words, an undesigned coincidence occurs when
multiple passages of Scripture include details that at first seem unrelated but
which, upon further reflection, fit together in a way that only makes sense if
both accounts are based on the same underlying historical truth.”2
How do
undesigned coincidences enhance the reliability of the Bible? The same article
states, “Undesigned coincidences are subtle enough that it would be pointless
for a fabricator to make them up. But on analysis, they provide valuable
internal evidence of the reliability of the New Testament histories. The only
plausible explanation for their occurrence is that the authors were carefully
recording real events.”3
Consider two
examples of undesigned coincidences from the New Testament:4
One of the simplest coincidences
concerns Herod’s reaction to the commencement of Jesus’ ministry. Matthew 14
reports that Herod “said to his attendants, ‘This is John the Baptist. He has
risen from the dead!’” (v. 1). But how would Matthew know what the king said to
his servants in the privacy of his palace? A skeptic might conclude that he was
taking liberties with the truth.
Unless, that is, the skeptic in
question happened to notice an obscure phrase in the Gospel of Luke. On a
totally different topic, Luke 8 lists a number of women who were following
Jesus. One of them is named as “Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of
Herod’s household” (v. 3).
The second passage explains the
first. Matthew could have known about Herod’s comment to his servants because
the wife of one of those servants was a follower of Christ. And yet the
connection is incredibly oblique. If the Gospels were fabricated, Luke would
have had no particular reason to invent this detail. The best explanation is
that the pieces fit so well because they are both true.
Another coincidence is even more
striking. In John 6, Jesus asks Philip where to buy bread just prior to the
miraculous feeding of the 5,000 (v. 5). Why Philip? John gives no explanation.
Yet elsewhere, in unrelated passages, he does mention something that turns out
to be relevant: Philip was from Bethsaida.
There is no obvious connection
between these two pieces of information until one turns to the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 9 notes that the feeding of the 5,000 occurred near Bethsaida (v. 10).
Jesus asked Philip where to buy bread because he was a local.
If the Gospels were fabricated, there
would be no particular reason for John to report that Jesus asked Philip where
to buy bread. There would be no particular reason for listing Philip as a
native of Bethsaida. There would be no particular reason for Luke to situate
the feeding of the 5,000 near Bethsaida. Further, the details are so randomly
strewn through the accounts that they are obviously not an attempt at subtle
harmonization. Once again, the best explanation as to why the puzzle pieces fit
so well is that they are all true.
Undesigned
coincidences are not only found in the New Testament. They are found in the Old
Testament also.
Here is one
such example from an article authored by Christian Apologist Jonathan
McLatchie:5
Why Does Ahithophel Turn on David?
2 Samuel 15 details the story of King
David’s son Absalom conspiring against his own Father. In verses 7-12, we read,
And at the end of four years Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go
and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord, in Hebron. For your servant
vowed a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord will indeed
bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord.’” The king
said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent
secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you
hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron!’” With
Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited guests, and they
went in their innocence and knew nothing. And while Absalom was offering the
sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his
city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept
increasing.
In verse 12, Absalom sends for
Ahithophel, David’s counselor. Who is this man, Ahithophel? According to 2
Samuel 16:23:
Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one
consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both
by David and by Absalom.
Ahithophel, then, was the most
trusted adviser to King David. Why, then, did Absalom count on Ahithophel to
join him in conspiring against the King?
In 2 Samuel 23, in a completely
unrelated part of the text, we have an important clue. Verses 24-39 list the
thirty-seven body guards of King David. In verse 39, we have a familiar name –
Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba. Another individual mentioned is
Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite (verse 34). This means that
Ahithophel’s son was a colleague of Uriah the Hittite.
It gets even more interesting when we
look over at 2 Samuel 11, in which we read of David’s adultery with Bathsheba
and his murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. Here is what we read in
verses 2-3:
It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was
walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman
bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about
the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the
wife of Uriah the Hittite?
Thus, it appears that Bathsheba was
the the granddaughter of Ahithophel, David’s counselor, and her father Eliam
himself was among the King’s body guards along with Bathsheba’s husband Uriah.
This then explains why Absalom in chapter 15 expected Ahithophel to be ready to
conspire against King David and why Ahithophel joined Absalom’s rebellion. He
wanted revenge on David for what he had done to Bathsheba and Uriah.
But it gets even more interesting.
Flip over to chapter 16 and verses 20-22:
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?”
Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has
left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a
stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be
strengthened.” So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went
in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
Why do they pitch a tent for Absalom
on the roof so that he can sleep with his father’s concubines? It was on the
roof that David’s eye first caught Bathsheba bathing, resulting in his
adulterous affair and his murder of her husband Uriah. Her grandfather
Ahithophel then seeks revenge, and so encourages Absalom to sleep with his
father’s concubines on the roof of the palace.
Now, note that it was only by putting
together different, seemingly unrelated, parts of the text that we were able to
arrive at these explanations. Nowhere in Scripture is it explicitly spelled out
that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba. Rather, one has to do
detective work in order to see beneath the surface what exactly is going on
here.
This is not the sort of pattern that
one might expect in stories of myth and legend. Rather, it is the hallmark of
truth.
Endnotes:
1https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/unique-evidence-for-the-new-testament-interview-with-lydia-mcgrew-about-unintended-coincidences-1
2https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/august-web-only/defending-accuracy-of-scripture-one-coincidence-at-time.html
3Ibid.
4Ibid.
5https://jonathanmclatchie.com/undesigned-coincidences-in-the-scriptures-an-argument-for-their-veracity-part-1-old-testament-examples/
Websites last accessed on 13th June 2022.
