Portland, Oregon Church  -  Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

SUBJECT:  Acts 9:7 vs. Acts 22:9 

QUESTION:  Is there a possible contradiction here?  One says they heard the voice and the other says they did not.

ANSWER:

There is no contradiction here.

Did Paul's men hear a voice?

    Acts 9:7 "And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man."

    vs.

    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."

Answer: Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says "In Acts 9:7, 'hearing the voice,' the noun 'voice' is in the partitive genitive case [i.e., hearing (something) of], whereas in Acts 22:9, 'they heard not the voice,' the construction is with the accusative. This removes the idea of any contradiction. The former indicates a hearing of the sound, the latter indicates the meaning or message of the voice (this they did not hear)."

It is for this reason that modern translations clarify this fact more:  "The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one." "Those who were with me beheld the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me." NASB

Portland, Oregon Church  -  Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association