700 Inconsistencies in the Bible

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A month or so ago someone posted a list of 700 inconsistencies in the Bible in a thread I was posting in and it caught my attention as quite interesting. I have read through PART of that list... Ahem... It is 45 pages long... Lol I am curious though. How inconsistent are they really? Can they be answered? Huh... Might be interesting to try. Smile

In Isaiah 55:8,9 it says:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

All of our lives we learn. We grow. We shape thoughts and opinions about ourselves and the world we live in based on all we see and experience. It is what we know... And become familiar with. Many choose to not believe there is anything beyond that.

You are born. You live. You die. The end. And while there IS some truth to that... What happens in the middle is up to you and you alone.

Some believe there is a spiritual side of life. Paranormal experiences. Psychics. Even going as far as to attempt to invoke the spirits of the dead. Finding a sort of power in attempting to manipulate things and people.

And some believe there is a spiritual side of life that involves more than just empowering themselves through the manipulation of the spiritual realm. Who understand for all the weird creepiness out there, there is a Spirit that is greater than all of it combined. The Holy Spirit.

Who knows and understands all the things of God. It is only through Him and His leading that anyone can understand any of the truths in the Bible. Without Him nothing I'm going to say can be realized or understood. The only way to understand it in that case, is to ask Him to reveal it to you. All it takes is an honest desire and willingness to know the truth and this God we talk about will reveal it to you, through His Holy Spirit.

Quote:

Genesis
God creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night,
on the first day. Yet he didn't make the light producing objects (the sun and the stars) until the fourth day (1:14-19). 1:3-5

This light He created is not the same light produced by the light producing objects. It is a completely separate thing actually, or He wouldn't have created the light producing objects on a separate day. There would be no need to.

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God spends one-sixth of his entire creative effort (the second day) working on a solid firmament. This strange structure, which God calls
heaven, is intended to separate the higher waters from the lower waters.
This firmament, if it existed, would have been quite an obstacle to our
space program. 1:6-8

I agree this would be a very big obstacle indeed... If it were in the physical realm. The realm we live in and understand the best. However, it is not. Remember... OUR physical realm had not even been created yet, nor had we.

Quote:

Plants are made on the third day before there was a sun to drive their photosynthetic processes (1:14-19). 1:11

Yes, they were created on the third day, proving again there was another light source to sustain them.

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"He made the stars also." God spends a day making light (before making the stars) and separating light from darkness; then, at the end of a
hard day's work, and almost as an afterthought, he makes the trillions
of stars. 1:16

Not at all an afterthought... Rather a perfect design that only He understands.

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Quote:

"And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth." Really? Then why are only a tiny fraction of stars visible from earth? Under the best conditions, no more than five thousand stars are visible from earth with the unaided eye, yet there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy and a hundred billion or so galaxies. Yet this verse says that God put the stars in the firmament "to give
light" to the earth. 1:17

Close your eyes for a moment and picture in your mind yourself waking up in the middle of the night one night. Something doesn't "feel" right. It's dark. Unusually dark. So you climb out of bed and feel your way to the light switch. You flip it... Nothing...

As you feel your way by the living room window on your way to the fuse box you notice the street lights are out too. So you feel your way to the front door and out on to the front porch. Hoping the power outage is just within your block and will be repaired quickly.

When you look up at the sky there is nothing... Absolutely nothing... No stars, no moon, you can't even see the house across the street it is so dark. And there is no sign of light anywhere close by. Stay there for a moment... in that absolute darkness. Feel it's coldness.

Light... No matter how tiny a fraction of light it may be... pierce's the darkness. Cuts through it like a butter knife through soft butter. And it brings with it warmth.

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God commands us to "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon the earth." This verse is used to justify Christian opposition to birth control, to concern for the environment, and to animal rights. The earth was made for humans, and they can do as they damn well please with it. 1:28

Well, we sure have done with it what we darn well please now haven't we? Regardless of belief in God or lack there of. Our ice caps are melting... There are holes in the ozone layer... We dump oil into the oceans... Accidentally or not. How many species are extinct now... Due to US? That's just to name a few.

However, yes, this Scripture has been twisted grossly out of context, and the scary part is they are openly teaching dominionism now a days and Christians are eating it up like candy. Think about this though... If we are to: "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

You cannot have dominion over something you have not subdued. As a matter a fact... If you do not have dominion over it... Whatever that may be... It most likely has dominion over you. So if we as people are to have dominion... Either we ALL have it... Or we ALL don't. People were never made to have dominion over each other. They were made to have dominion over everything else... Together.

Quote:

All animals were originally herbivores. Tapeworms, vampire bats,
mosquitoes, and barracudas -- all were strict vegetarians, as they were
created by God. But, of course, we now know that there were carnivorous
animals millions of years before humans existed. 1:30

Here is the NKJV of this Scripture:

Genesis 1:30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

Looking back at the Hebrew "for food" was actually translated from one word to two. The original one word was meat.

Quote:

God makes the animals and parades them before Adam to see if any would strike his fancy. But none seem to have what it takes to please him. (Although he was tempted to go for the sheep.) After making the animals, God has Adam name them all. The naming of several million species must have kept Adam busy for a while. 2:18-20

Genesis 2: 18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

Again, this is the NKJV. The original Hebrew was one word. It meant, help, aid. This world does "aid" us does it not? No tree's... No oxygen. No birds... No speading of seeds... No Horses... You are plowing the fields by hand... I could go on and on.... God said, "It is not good for man to be alone", Not, "It is not good for man to be without woman." He hadn't even created her yet.

As far as the last comment about how long it took Adam to name all the animals... Well... God's time scale is different than ours. 2 Peter 3:8 says,

Quote:

8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Time is not the same in the spiritual realm. It never has been. You cannot take a spiritual principal and apply it to the physical world. As with God creating the solid firmament of heaven prior to the physical existence of everything else. It will never work.

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@onevoice,

Quote:

God said, "It is not good for man to be alone", Not, "It is not good for man to be without woman." He hadn't even created her yet.

Not sure where you are going with this onevoice.
Immediately after God saying that it was not good for man to be alone he did create woman so I assumed that was God's answer to that problem. What alternative do you see?

2 Replies

@Leadfoot,

Very good question Leadfoot. I am actually glad you asked. Smile

Genesis Chapter 1 is the "summary" of creation. Chapter 2 is the history of how it all happened. Look:

Geneis Chapter 2:4

4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

I actually forgot to add in a little chunk of what I was going to say which would have helped considerably... My brain and it's darn rabbit trails! Lol Very Happy

I will do that here shortly. I have to run for now though! Sorry!

1 Reply

@onevoice,

Yes, that bit of history is accurate no matter where you're coming from. The earth was no doubt too hot early on for it to rain. When it cooled below the dew point a mist would certainly form.

In other discussions it cracks me up when people talk about chronological errors in Genesis accounts. Genesis got the basic facts about the origin of the universe right long before science did. The fact that Moses or whoever wrote it may have written things down out of order after being verbally told the story is the height of nitpicking. Let's see, Genesis said there WAS a beginning 4000+ years before science finally agreed. They thought it was virtually infinite in age before that.

I'll wait on that 'history of women' when you have time.

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

Quote:

Genesis 2: 18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

Again, this is the NKJV. The original Hebrew was one word. It meant, help, aid. This world does "aid" us does it not? No tree's... No oxygen. No birds... No speading of seeds... No Horses... You are plowing the fields by hand... I could go on and on.... God said, "It is not good for man to be alone", Not, "It is not good for man to be without woman." He hadn't even created her yet.

Man, I think this is a little bigger than I initially realized. I am having a little difficulty connecting the dots here, so to speak... Lol So forgive me if this takes me a round or two to put it all together...

Genesis 1:26,27 says,

Quote:

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

There were a few different thoughts that hit me as I rolled this around in my head today. First of all this again goes back to Genesis 1 being the summary of the creation being created. It doesn't hold all the details, being that is is a summary. As a matter a fact, I imaging putting any of this into words was pretty difficult.

Think of what a fantastic sight it would be to watch creation... As it was happening. I imagine it would be similar to watching your child being born, just on a much larger scale... Lol So as it goes into how man came about in Genesis 2, giving a much clearer picture of how it all happened, it shows that He created the man first. In 2:7 it says,

Quote:

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Then if you go down to verse 19 it says:

Quote:

19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

He breathed the breath of life into man, not the animals. It doesn't mean they are any less alive than us, but their life is different because we were created in His image and they weren't. I looked up "and man became a living being" and found the original Hebrew word is:

nephesh: soul (475x), life (117x), person (29x), mind (15x), heart (15x), creature (9x), body (8x), himself (8x), yourselves (6x), dead (5x), will (4x), desire (4x), man (3x), themselves (3x), any (3x), appetite (2x), misc (47x).

Personality is the difference between us and animals. While they have and show similar qualities, they are distinctly different from us. I have yet to read a book about different ways to store your nuts, written by a squirrel... Or an instructional youtube video from a monkey on how to peel a banana. We share similar cognitive experiences with them, but what separates us is what is done with the information and knowledge gained.

Mankind was given an aspect of it all animals weren't... A creative ability... To be able to further their experience in life by furthering their knowledge of the life they are living. When God breathed life into Adam, He was giving him some of His own creative power as well. I find it interesting that God created Adam, the animals, THEN Eve.

Newer translations say He was wanting to create for Adam a helper "comparable" to him. The way this is worded now makes it sound as though God was trying to create a "mate" for Adam, verses an aid for Adam and having some difficulty. A mate requires compatibility. A fish is no more compatible with a bird than a man is with a goat. Since it is clearly seen in previous verses the intent with which He was creating everything, I think it is safe to say, there was even intent within the specific way He went about this part of creation.

And like I said, I think this whole thing is a lot bigger than I realized... So that is all I have time for tonight.

To be continued...

Smile

2 Replies

@onevoice,

Hello onevoice, was that Barry Manilow? Very talented artist if it is, I'm a 60s baby so I am familiar with his music.
I'm a Christian of our Lord Jesus, and when it comes to the Old testament I tread very cautiously if I do read it, because I think its safer to focus only on the Testament of our Lord Jesus. I know a lot of Christians like to read the Old testament and so on, but I can never understand how they declare it as part of the gospels. Lord Jesus never said all scriptures are God breathed, just Paul. But I only have one teacher which is Lord Jesus, not Paul.
But I've always hated the Adam and Eve story because it has a sexist discriminating tone that I don't believe as a Christian, that it came from God. It implies that woman are inferior to men which I find very perverted as a Christian. I love both my father and my mother, but if someone tells me that my mother is inferior next to my dad, I just want to break every bone in that person's body. I love my parents and I can't stand that kind of talk. But there are a lot of controversial verses in the Old Testament, which I think Lord Jesus would never agree with.
I became a Christian because of the morality of Lord Jesus, not because of the Old testament. I like Lord Jesus because he is not sexist, greedy, perverted or anti-human. An amazing humanitarian of God the Father. The Old testament can be very unforgiving and harsh(hateful). The New Testament of our Lord is more forgiving and loving.
Like the chapter where the woman was to be stoned for adultery according to the Old Testament law. But Lord Jesus intervenes with forgiveness and love. He truely is a Father of all humanity...

2 Replies

@onevoice,

Quote:

I find it interesting that God created Adam, the animals, THEN Eve

Hate to jump on the only thing you said that I disagree with but I think you made the same assumption that some of the bible critics do when trying to discredit the bible. Genesis 2:18 was not a strict chronology of events when it mentions creating the animals. It was just a restatement of what God had already done on 'day' 5 back in Genesis 1. The bible often jumps around in time, something that creates a lot of confusion sometimes. Revelation is a prime example of that.

You do bring up a point I have missed about Adam naming animals before creating Eve. I'll have to think about what that might mean.

Everything else you said rings true. Man was created in a unique way. I usually define that uniqueness as being 'sentient'. That is what God breathed into man that makes him different than the animals, it is a piece or likeness of himself.

2 Replies

@Amoh5,

I think your distaste of the Old Testament is due to your conflating it with the attitude of some churches - that it is the literal truth of God. It is not.

It is the record of mankinds' early steps and stumbles, including every ugly, gritty detail. I would not trust a God that censored past history, would you? So why let the fact that man fucked up royally prevent you from learning from it?

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

Some verses in the Old Testament are ok, I'm not saying its all bad. But there are some verses that are controversial and make my stomach turn.
That's why I feel safer with Lord Jesus and his interpretation of God. He doesn't get indecent and ugly. He always honourable and decent. Afterall, he is the ultimate teacher of God and human morality...

1 Reply

@Amoh5,

Quote:

But there are some verses that are controversial and make my stomach turn.

Life then and now has controversy and turns stomachs. Jesus too, said some deeply controversial things.

At the core of every sin is a denial of reality.

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

I don't deny Lord Jesus used some coarse examples to illustrate the seriousness of sin. But he was always people-friendly...

0 Replies

@Amoh5,

Quote:

Hello onevoice, was that Barry Manilow? Very talented artist if it is, I'm a 60s baby so I am familiar with his music.

Hi Amoh.

The last video I posted was a Michael Card song. Back from the 90's I believe... Lol Ya know, I never thought about it though... They do sound a bit alike don't they? I am a 70's baby and I grew up listening to Barry Mantilow, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, and Olivia Newton John. Lol My husband loves 80's music and wants to play it all the time! I like some of it... I guess... Lol

There are still songs he plays that I'm like... Huh? And he's like... No way! How can you NOT know this song!? Were you brought up in a cave??? I'm like... Yep! Pretty much! Very Happy

Quote:

I'm a Christian of our Lord Jesus, and when it comes to the Old testament I tread very cautiously if I do read it, because I think its safer to focus only on the Testament of our Lord Jesus. I know a lot of Christians like to read the Old testament and so on, but I can never understand how they declare it as part of the gospels.

I understand why you tread cautiously. We all should, because not treading cautiously is what has caused it to be distorted. Some of the declarations and what not you are hearing now a days are coming from this totally wacko thing that is going on in the church right now. Not all churches... But a big part... And still growing...

There are these religous leaders who are rising up everywhere proclaiming a Doctrine of seven mountains... "End time" mountains... If you will. I have not had full access to the entire teachings as they are SELLING them, and I am one monetarily broke girl right now. Lol However, on Facebook they do post little tid bits here and there to try to draw you in to spend that $40 or whatever they are charging. Ok... That is a rabbit trail I am NOT going down right now... Lol

From the things I have listened to, and the things they are saying it appears to me it is all based out of a twisted version of the Adam and Eve story. A Dominionism Doctrine that teaches people were created to rule over everything... EVERYTHING... That is on this planet... Including PEOPLE who don't "submit to God". It teaches that " it" (being the dominionism doctrine) is the furthest thing from "religous", and everything and everyone that disagrees with "it" IS religous... And in fact needs to be "subdued".

It teaches that prosperity is the way into God's Kingdom. That selfish "Bless ME" prayers are actually productive, and God hears and answers them. Not only that... But also that this very attitude is God's desire for this time... and even possibly the way we will leave this world in the "rapture".

There's more... I just haven't had to opportunity to get the materials yet. Either way it's WRONG. All of it. The truth distorted by simple-minded people looking to line their own pockets and say, "God said it was OK... Right here in His word". I want some answers myself here. That's why I am doing this. To find the truth.

Quote:

But I've always hated the Adam and Eve story because it has a sexist discriminating tone that I don't believe as a Christian, that it came from God. It implies that woman are inferior to men which I find very perverted as a Christian. I love both my father and my mother, but if someone tells me that my mother is inferior next to my dad, I just want to break every bone in that person's body. I love my parents and I can't stand that kind of talk.

Again... I umderstand completely. That sexist discriminating tone you hear was put there by man, not God.

Quote:

I became a Christian because of the morality of Lord Jesus, not because of the Old testament. I like Lord Jesus because he is not sexist, greedy, perverted or anti-human. An amazing humanitarian of God the Father. The Old testament can be very unforgiving and harsh(hateful). The New Testament of our Lord is more forgiving and loving.
Like the chapter where the woman was to be stoned for adultery according to the Old Testament law. But Lord Jesus intervenes with forgiveness and love. He truely is a Father of all humanity...

Here's the thing with life Amoh... No matter what you do... If you are going to do it completely... See it through to the very end... You have to be willing to take it all... The good... The bad... The beautiful... The ugly... Otherwise you will fail. God has never done anything "in part". He has always followed through to the very end. Jesus being the greatest demonstration of that.

2 Replies

@onevoice,

Quote:

He has always followed through to the very end. Jesus being the greatest demonstration of that.

Nicely said!

I get so tired of hearing interpretations that there was some kind of magic in the physical act of his blood being shed. Makes me want to scream "It's the EXAMPLE dammit!".

1 Reply

@onevoice,

I'm listening to the Christian muso Phil Keaggy Let Everything else go, from the album town to town, he's an amazing American musician.
Yes you are correct onevoice, but no bible follower or Christian can ever deny that Lord Jesus is the Ultimate teacher of God, and human morality...

1 Reply

@Leadfoot,

Quote:

Hate to jump on the only thing you said that I disagree with but I think you made the same assumption that some of the bible critics do when trying to discredit the bible.

Here's the thing.... I am looking to discredit what mankind has turned the Bible into, not the Bible itself. Remember:

Quote:

Since it is clearly seen in previous verses the intent with which He was creating everything, I think it is safe to say, there was even intent within the specific way He went about this part of creation.

The order of how things happened is not really the "issue" to me. Though I get the feeling it is a vital part as well. Definitely not the only part though. One thing I am certain of right here, and right now, is that God did NOT create women to be subserviant to men. But I get the feeling that understanding the when and the how of it all, could also reveal the why. Smile

I am working on this offline now because I have limited internet on my phone this month and don't wanna burn it all up in a week! Very Happy

lol Ta ta for now!

0 Replies

@Leadfoot,

Quote:

I get so tired of hearing interpretations that there was some kind of magic in the physical act of his blood being shed. Makes me want to scream "It's the EXAMPLE dammit!".

You and me both, brother! Lol The good thing for us though is things like that are only revealed to a person through the Holy Spirit. Which takes the burden off of us to "prove" what is being said. The Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to all who have an honest desire and willingness to know the truth. Smile

0 Replies

@Amoh5,

Oh my gosh! Phil Keaggy? I haven't listened to him in years! I have a feeling a song of his may pop up in my other thread sometime today... Lol Jesus is the Son of God. He is all of everything God designed us to be, wrapped up in One package. Without Him, I have no doubt none of us would be here.

1 Reply

@onevoice,

I also love listening to Christian singer Darlene Zschech, she's an amazing vocalist. I don't know any other Christian-based musicians just Keaggy, and Zschech I think? Strange...
I also love the African-American gospel-style singing as well like Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight...
I used to listen a lot to Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Santana, Van Halen... in the younger disorderly days.
I am more orderly and civilised these days though...

0 Replies

@Leadfoot,

So if we skip back a little bit in Chapter Two, to verse 15 and add a little more history things look a little clearer:

Quote:

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

So God had created Adam, then set him in the garden of Eden, to tend to and keep it. He did this prior to creating the animals, so Adam truly was alone. No birds singing. No squirrels furiously searching for nuts. No horses grazing in the fields around. No cows mooing in the distance... You get the picture...

Things that aided creation itself in a way Adam never could have, which actually was an aid to him as well. Then in that time... Whether it be a million years or 10 years in physical time, God was teaching Adam how to use the creative power He had placed in Him, by allowing him to name all the animals.

Perhaps even a way to show Adam that he was not compatible with any of that part of creation in the way he needed to be for a "mate". Then... After allowing Adam to watch a big majority of creation happen right before his eyes... God puts him into a deep sleep to create the woman... Lol

Quote:

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

Think about that for a second... One of the most curious, mysterious, hardest to figure out parts of creation... And God puts him to sleep... Lol I say He did it on purpose... He didn't want you men figuring out us women... And why? Because one of your primary drives is to "fix" things... And you would have tried to fix (make better) something God created to potentially be your missing piece of His creative power. It is in your nature to do so.

Now... That is not to say a single man or woman cannot function in the fullness of God's creative power. I'm sure at some point that topic will come up. Just not right now. I heard this quote from Matthew Henry for the first time back in the early 90's.

Quote:

The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.

While I thought it was an interesting perspective, I really didn't fully get how all that worked, so I just tucked it away hoping someday God would help me understand. God said He wanted to create man in His image... So male and female he created them. God has the characteristics of both.

Quote:

22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:

“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”

God did not fashion the woman in any way even similar to how He had fashioned anything in Creation. ANYTHING. He didn't create her of the dust and breathe life into her. As far as we can tell, He didn't even tell Adam how he had formed her. He just did it and brought her to him.

Having already seen and named all of the animals Adam recognized this... Now THIS was something different. This came from ME... So, I honestly believe even in the way God went about creating her had it's lesson. She came from Adams rib, but was created in the image of His heart.

1 Reply

700 Inconsistencies in the Bible

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