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• James 1:13 "Let no man say...I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man."

  vs.

• Genesis 22:1 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham."

- http://www.ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=contra

So does God tempt people?

< STRONG No. The Hebrew nissâ is best translated as "to test," not "to tempt."

In Gen 22:1 (KJV), "tempt" is derived from the Hebrew word nissâ, which has several meanings. Although the King James Version defines nissâ in this verse as "tempt," other resources define it foremost as "to test, to try" (Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1993) or simply "to test" (Theogical Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1997).

TheTheological Dictionary of the Old Testament concludes that nissâ is best translated as “testing." This clarified understanding of the Hebrew is noted in all modern translations, including the NKJV, NASB, ESV, NIV, and RSV, which translate Gen 22:1 with the term “tested,” not tempted.

Examples favoring the definition of nissâ as "tested":

(1) As David put on the armor of King Saul before battling Goliath, he said, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested (nissâ) them” (1 Samuel 17:39, emp. added). This had nothing to do with David “tempting” his armor; he merely hadn't tried it on before.  

(2) After Moses gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, he said, “Do not fear; for God has come to test (nissâ) you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin” (Exodus 20:20, emp. added). If nissâ always means “to tempt,” regardless of the context, then Exodus 20:20 must be interpreted to mean that God tempted Israel to sin, so that they would not sin - it's nonsensical.

(3) God did not tempt Israel to sin during their 40 years in the desert, but “to humble...and test” them (Deuteronomy 8:2, emp. added).

- http://www.apologeticspress.org/article/2679

< STRONG There is no contradiction when comparing these two verses based on their contexts.

The context for James 1:13 is dealing with being tempted to sin (James 1:13-15). From the verse we find that no man is tempted to sin by God, "for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one" (ESV). Instead, man is tempted by the tempter, Satan (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5).

The context for Genesis 22 is the Lord seeking proof of Abraham's faith. The Lord does not tempt Abraham with evil, however, and so does not contradict James 1:13. God never urges anyone to do evil, as James 1:13 says.

- http://www.lookinguntojesus.net/ata20011111.htm 

>> But what about the word "tempt" in Gen 22?

It's a direct contradiction because it still uses the word "tempt."

< The word "tempt" used in Gen 22 is not the correct word, but instead should be translated into "test."

In Gen 22:1 (KJV), "tempt" is derived from the Hebrew word nissâ, which has several meanings. Although the King James Version defines nissâ in this verse as "tempt," other resources define it foremost as "to test, to try" (Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1993) or simply "to test" (Theogical Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1997). (Copied from the first argument on this page. Please refer to it for more details.)

>> STRONG Abraham is tempted to do wrong.

Killing Isaac would have been wrong, and telling someone to do something wrong is essentially what it means to tempt someone. Therefore, when God instructed Abraham to kill Isaac, He tempted him to commit evil.

< STRONG God does instruct Abraham to kill Isaac, however Isaac was never going to be harmed, thus there was no temptation. 

It was a test to see if Abraham had the Fear of the LORD. Once it was evident Abraham was obedient to God, an angel intervened and Isaac was spared (Gen 22:12). Thus, it's incorrect to say God tempted Abraham since God ordered Isaac's killing with plans to protect him in the end, once the test was finished. Isaac was never meant to be harmed, and he was protected from harm when Abraham proved to be faithful.

< STRONG. Good point. However, we need to examine what it really means to tempt someone, as God clearly wasn't tempting Abraham to do evil.

Temptation is defined as getting someone to do something evil, NOT as getting someone to do something good. In addition, there's almost always an incentive accompanying true temptation. Here, there is absolutely NO incentive for Abraham to kill Isaac.

If a man came up to Abraham and told him to do the same thing God did, then Abraham has every right to say "killing my son is evil...who are you that I should obey you?" If then, the man offered Abraham 7 virgins and the power of the world with all the stuff money could buy (for example), then that would clearly be temptation because then there would also be an incentive to do evil. What did God offer Abraham as an incentive to kill his son? Nothing! Why? Because Abraham KNEW in his heart that he was supposed to love God above all, to obey Him. To not obey God's instructions would have been the evil thing to do.

Again, God didn't offer Abraham anything as an incentive to kill his son, thus the statement that "God tempted Abraham" is incorrect. Gen 22:2 and Gen 22:12 also make this clear. God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering" (Gen 22:2). There is no incentive mentioned while the instruction was given, but it does clearly say that Abraham loved his son greatly, thus it would be hard for him to obey God's instructions if Isaac meant as much to Abraham as God did. Gen 22:12 proves that God was testing Abraham to see if he would do the right thing - obey Him.

The good action that God was testing Abraham on was obedience to Him. This isn't an evil act. God was seeing if Abraham valued his son over Him, but Abraham proved to God that he loved Him first. Yes, God was telling Abraham to kill Isaac, something we believe is evil, however, there's a greater evil than this: namely, disobeying God. That is the greater evil.

Clearly, God was instructing Abraham to do something that would show who was more valuable to him - God or his beloved son, Isaac.

< STRONG In Gen 22:1, God is testing, not tempting, Abraham.

The apparent contradiction arises from the KJV's use of the word "tempt" (also see argument above). However, when we look at the surrounding verses of Gen 22:1 (Gen 22:1-12), we can determine the true context. From these verses, we see that God instructs Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. God was testing Abraham to see if he would trust in Him. God did not entice Abraham to do wrong (tempt him), but was seeing if Abraham would trust and obey Him, which showed Fear of the Lord. Abraham passed the test and Isaac was spared: ""Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." (Gen 22:12, emp. added). 

>> STRONG Abraham is tempted to do wrong.

Killing Isaac would have been wrong, and telling someone to do something wrong is essentially what it means to tempt someone. Therefore, when God instructed Abraham to kill Isaac, He tempted him to commit evil. (from another argument)

< STRONG God does instruct Abraham to kill Isaac, however Isaac was never going to be harmed, thus there was no temptation.

It was a test to see if Abraham had the Fear of the LORD. Once it was evident Abraham was obedient to God, an angel intervened and Isaac was spared (Gen 22:12). Thus, it's incorrect to say God tempted Abraham since God ordered Isaac's killing with plans to protect him in the end, once the test was finished. Isaac was never meant to be harmed, and he was protected from harm when Abraham proved to be faithful. (from another argument)

< STRONG. Good point. However, we need to examine what it really means to tempt someone, as God clearly wasn't tempting Abraham to do evil.

Temptation is defined as getting someone to do something evil, NOT as getting someone to do something good. In addition, there's almost always an incentive accompanying true temptation. Here, there is absolutely NO incentive for Abraham to kill Isaac.

If a man came up to Abraham and told him to do the same thing God did, then Abraham has every right to say "killing my son is evil...who are you that I should obey you?" If then, the man offered Abraham 7 virgins and the power of the world with all the stuff money could buy (for example), then that would clearly be temptation because then there would also be an incentive to do evil. What did God offer Abraham as an incentive to kill his son? Nothing! Why? Because Abraham KNEW in his heart that he was supposed to love God above all, to obey Him. To not obey God's instructions would have been the evil thing to do.

Again, God didn't offer Abraham anything as an incentive to kill his son, thus the statement that "God tempted Abraham" is incorrect. Gen 22:2 and Gen 22:12 also make this clear. God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering" (Gen 22:2). There is no incentive mentioned while the instruction was given, but it does clearly say that Abraham loved his son greatly, thus it would be hard for him to obey God's instructions if Isaac meant as much to Abraham as God did. Gen 22:12 proves that God was testing Abraham to see if he would do the right thing - obey Him.

The good action that God was testing Abraham on was obedience to Him. This isn't an evil act. God was seeing if Abraham valued his son over Him, but Abraham proved to God that he loved Him first. Yes, God was telling Abraham to kill Isaac, something we believe is evil, however, there's a greater evil than this: namely, disobeying God. That is the greater evil.

Clearly, God was instructing Abraham to do something that would show who was more valuable to him - God or his beloved son, Isaac. (from another argument)