2 Samuel 23:8 – 800 or 300 men?

2 Samuel 23:8— “Did the chief of the mighty men of David lift up his spear and killed 800 men (2 Samuel 23:8) or only 300 men (1 Chronicles 11:11)?”

It is quite possible that either the passages described two separate incidents of the same man, or one passage may have only mentioned in part what the other passage mentions in full.

The Qur’ān has similar numerical discrepancies—Sura ‘Imran describes multiple angels announcing to Maryam Jesus’ birth, whereas in Sura Maryam 19:17-21 it only indicates one angel. Sura Qamar 54:19 says Allah took one day to destroy the people of Aad, but Sura Hakka 69:6-7 says it was eight long days.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *