ContradictionsReading order 94Bible context 2 min read
Has God ever tempted anyone?
James denies divine temptation, while Genesis uses that word for God's treatment of Abraham and Samuel attributes David's incitement to God.
- Textual conflict
- Interpretive tension
- The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
- Importance
- Foundational
- A central claim about origins, salvation, divine justice, or religious authority.
Divine incitement toward David's census strains the denial of temptation, but the quotations omit its sinful verdict and Abraham's temptation can mean testing.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
God does not tempt any person
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
James 1:13
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:James 1
Wording affects the comparison
The KJV says God "tempt" Abraham in Genesis 22:1; the NIV says "tested." James 1:13 specifically discusses temptation with evil. Whether the passages describe a test or an inducement to wrongdoing affects the claim that they deny and affirm the same action.