Can you explain the seeming contradiction in these verses from Acts?<\/p>\n
Acts 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man<\/p>\n
Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.<\/p>\n
Thanks.<\/p>\n\t
What often happens is that we read in more than the text actually states and in doing so create an apparent contradiction. Two things happened: there was a bright light and a voice which spoke to Saul. The men all saw the light, but only Saul was left blinded. The men heard a voice but they did not understand what was being said. “Heard” (akouo<\/em>\u00a0in the Greek) is being used in Acts 9:7 in the sense of hearing a sound. It is used in other passages in a similar way, such as in Matthew 24:31 and I Thessalonians 4:16. But in Acts 22:9 it is being used in the sense of understanding the meaning of the voice.<\/p>\n We do the same thing. My wife calls from the kitchen and I reply, “I can’t hear you!” Well, technically I did “hear” her, otherwise, I would not know to answer. But what I am saying is that her words are not distinct enough for me to understand. The same thing is happening here.<\/p>\n This isn’t the only time such a thing happened. Jesus once said, “‘Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to Him’<\/em>” (John 12:28-29). Same event, same voice, same crowd; but some people only thought it thundered and others thought an angel answered Jesus. In other words, some only heard noise, but some heard words.<\/p>\n The fact that men with Saul saw the light and heard the voice (though without understanding) is important. It relays to us that Saul wasn’t just making up a story about a visitation from Jesus. Even though the conversation between Jesus and Saul was private, others could testify that something miraculous took place. It is also important to know that these men could not have reported what Saul heard to anyone else. This then makes Ananias’ visit more significant because Ananias repeated the message of Jesus without being present. It is evidence that Ananias was a true prophet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Can you explain the seeming contradiction in these verses from Acts? Acts 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[144,793,118],"class_list":["post-25094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-acts","tag-apparent-contradictions","tag-paul"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94965,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/contradiction-or-expanded-details\/","url_meta":{"origin":25094,"position":0},"title":"Contradiction or Expanded Details?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Many are those who think they see \"contradictions\" everywhere in the Bible, but my experience has been that after more careful consideration, these so-called contradictions are but an expansion of details, both of which can be true. For example, one common claim is that Luke says\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5128,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-conversion-of-saul\/","url_meta":{"origin":25094,"position":1},"title":"The Conversion of Saul (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 1:12-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The path that Saul took from Judaism to Christianity can teach us a lot about what it takes to become a Christian \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a lesson that many need to learn by people caught up in denominational teachings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will look\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90628,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sauls-conversion\/","url_meta":{"origin":25094,"position":2},"title":"Saul’s Conversion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Greer I watched a DVD that contained a religious debate between Brother Larry Hafley and his opponent, a man whose last name is Ross. The subject of the debate: \"Is baptism necessary for salvation?\" One of the passages considered deals with Saul's conversion. Brother Hafley presented a powerful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87554,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-be-baptized-in-different-voices-in-acts-238-and-acts-2216\/","url_meta":{"origin":25094,"position":3},"title":"Why are “be baptized” in different voices in Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would love your thoughts on this. In Acts 2:38, \"be baptized\" is a third-person verb in the passive voice, unlike the second-person verbs of \"repent\" and \"hear\" (Acts 2:22). This confirms that baptism is less of a work for the sinner to perform and more a work for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21975,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-stephen-lynched-in-acts\/","url_meta":{"origin":25094,"position":4},"title":"Was Stephen lynched in Acts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Stephen lynched in Acts? Answer: \"Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1055,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-spirit-only-given-to-the-obedient\/","url_meta":{"origin":25094,"position":5},"title":"Is the Spirit only given to the obedient?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In your study on Cornelius, you indicated that receiving the Holy Spirit did not necessarily indicate that a person believed or was saved. You cited the examples of Saul and Balaam as proof, but doesn't\u00a0Acts 5:32\u00a0contradicts this? 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