There are many things in the Bible that may appear to be contradictory upon first glance. Some of those are taken out of historical and cultural context, some

There are many things in the Bible that may appear to be contradictory upon first glance. Some of those are taken out of historical and cultural context, some are mistranslations (yes, the Bible translators and scribes throughout the years did make mistakes) and with some things, we just don't have the whole story. The particular "contradiction of which you refer- the two different lineages given for Jesus has a rather simple explanation. The lineage given in Matthew is that of Joseph (considered Jesus earthly father) and the lineage given in Luke is that of Mary (his mortal mother). Usually in the time and culture, they would only trace ancestry via the father- but as Mary was a virgin at the time of birth, Jesus was unrelated to Joseph by blood. Therefore, the different authors cited different lineages. Yes, Joseph and Mary were related (cousins I think).