ContradictionsReading order 509Bible context 1 min read

Where did Peter and Andrew live?

Mark associates the brothers' house with Capernaum, while John identifies their city as Bethsaida.

Textual conflict: Weak contradiction; The supplied passages do not establish incompatible claims. Different events, meanings, or conditions may account for the difference.
Importance: Minor; A local detail in a story, chronology, or inventory.

Bethsaida as the brothers' city does not exclude a later or additional household in Capernaum.

An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.

Mark places Simon and Andrew's house in Capernaum

And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

Mark 1:21

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Mark 1

And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

Mark 1:29

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Mark 1

John calls Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter

Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

John 1:44

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:John 1

Understanding the contradiction

Mark 1:21 places Jesus in Capernaum's synagogue. Mark 1:29 immediately takes the party from that synagogue into Simon and Andrew's house. The connected movement makes Capernaum the narrative setting of their household. John 1:44 instead calls Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter.

The descriptions give the brothers different geographical associations, but neither specifies that they have lived in only one city. Nor does John's phrase define whether it means birthplace, origin, or current residence. The excerpts therefore do not establish an impossible simultaneous claim about a single exclusive home. They show different hometown or household identifications whose relationship the quoted material leaves unexplained.

Topics

contradictionMarkJohn

Mark places Simon and Andrew's house in Capernaum

John calls Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter

Understanding the contradiction

Topics

Sources