10 common ideas on things in the Bible that are not quite right

1. In Exodus it does not say that the Egyptian chariots got stuck in the mud (Eg GOD looked down from the Pillar of Fire and Cloud on the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. He clogged the wheels of their chariots; they were stuck in the mud.) Rather it says (Exodus 14:24, 25)  During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt." 
2. Joshua did not tell people to choose between God and idols. (Eg At the end of his speech Joshua told the people they would have to decide. They could keep the land if they chose to follow God’s leading and worship only Him. But they had to get rid of the idols. Then, every day, they must decide whom they would worship - the true God, or idols.) Rather he says (Joshua 24:15) But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
3. In the Book of Judges Gideon is told to select his final 300 from the 10,000 by watching them drink water. Some give the idea that the 300 were wiser than the rest (Eg It's surprising, but only three hundred men got on their knees and drank from their hands.  All the rest looked silly drinking like dogs!). It would seem, however, that whatever the difference in styles the choice of the 300 was an arbitrary one. See Judges 7:4-6 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."  So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink."  Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 
4. Also in Judges we have the story of Samson and how the Philistine Delilah discovered his secret and so had his hair cut. It is sometimes said for brevity that she cut his hair (Eg That evening as Samson slept, Delilah cut his hair and called in the Philistines. The Philistine men were able to capture Samson.) but in fact she had a man to do it. See Judges 16:19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. 
5. In I Samuel and the story of David and Goliath we read that David was offered the use of Saul's armour. It is sometimes said that he rejected its use because it was too big for him (Eg To help David out, Saul gave him his own armour to wear. David put the various parts of the armour on and tried walking a few steps. But he could hardly move! Saul was a big man, but David was just a kid. So David took off the armour). In fact the problem was that David was not used to the armour. See I Samuel 17:38, 39 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 
6. In the Gospels there is no reference to Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem on a donkey although that is often assumed (Eg We do not know the name or breed of the donkey that was used to carry Mary, who was pregnant at the time with Jesus. The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem could have taken 4-6 days by foot to cover the 120 km or 75 mile journey.) It was as likely to have been made by foot.
7. In Luke 2 the angels appear to the shepherds. It is often said that they sang God's praise (Eg Suddenly, many angels appeared, singing praises to God “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!” ) but in Luke 2:13, 14 it simply says Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests." 
8. In Matthew 2 the wisemen or Magi are spoken of. Often referred to as the three wise men or even three kings, no number is specified. (Eg Far away in the east, three wise kings had seen the beautiful star shining brightly over Bethlehem.) See Matthew 2:1, 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."  They also did not visit Jesus the night he was born but some time later. There is no mention of them riding camels or where exactly they came from and certainly not their names.
9. Did Paul change his name from Saul  after he was converted as some say? (Eg I take it, then, that the assumption of the name of Paul instead of the name of Saul occurred at this point, stood in some relation to his missionary work, and was intended in some sense as a memorial of his first victory in the preaching of the Gospel). In fact Paul or Saul always had two names, a Jewish one and a Roman one. It was his mission to the Gentiles that meant that he was increasingly referred to by his Roman name.
10. In Revelation 2:4 Jesus does not say that the church in Ephesus had lost its first love. (Eg Ephesus had some unique challenges for a Christ-follower in that it was home to the Emperor’s cult and the worship of the Greek goddess Artemis (Acts 19:23-40). Because of these influences, the Ephesian believers had developed great discernment when it came to false teachers and heresy. Christ commended them for this discernment, but He faulted them for having lost their “first love.”) Rather, he says Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

(Bonuses: In II Kings we read of the passing of Elijah. It is widely held that Elijah ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire (Eg The hill to the east of the River Jordan opposite Jericho – believed to be the site from which Elijah was taken up to heaven on a chariot of fire – is known in Arabic as Tell Mar Elias (‘Elijah’s Hill’). Elijah’s dramatic departure is celebrated in the American gospel song ‘Swing low, sweet chariot’.) To be pedantic we should perhaps say he ascended in a whirlwind. See II Kings 2:11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

In Luke 15:10 Jesus does not say that the angels rejoice over one sinner who is saved. (Eg Angels rejoice when someone gets saved or a sinner repents and the angels rejoice). Rather, it says that In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents which given the wording and the parable there would suggest this is a reference to God rejoicing not just the angels.