Ezra/Nehemiah list totals

Ezra 2:64—”Both Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the totals for the whole assembly was 42,360, yet when the totals are added, Ezra equals 29,818 and Nehemiah equals 31,089.”

[As stated above, Nehemiah is simply recording faithfully the numbers he found written on some genealogical register, not vouching for their accuracy ( .”.I…

Ezra/Nehemiah Number Discrepancies

Ezra 2—”Are the numbers of Israelite clans freed from Babylonian captivity correct in Ezra or in Nehemiah 7?”

This reveals not a contradiction in scripture but the ignorance of the critic.

Firstly, whereas Ezra explicitly claims accuracy (“…Now these are the people…” – Ezra 2:1), Nehemiah is merely recording what he found written on a genealogical register (“…I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return.…

Jehoiachin 8 or 18?

2 Chronicles 36:9— “Why does this verse says Jehoiachin was 8 years old when he became king of Jerusalem, but 2 Kings 24:8 says he was 18 years old when he became king?”

Many of the early manuscripts for this verse (such as the Septuagint, Syriac and one Hebrew MSS) actually read “18,” which is consistent with 2 Kings 24:8, while other manuscripts read “8.”…

Was Ahaziah 42 or 22?

2 Chronicles 22:2—”Was Ahaziah 42 years old or 22 years old (2 Kings 8:26) when he began to reign over Jerusalem?”

Some ancient manuscripts (Septuagint and Syriac) read “22,” which is consistent with 2 Kings 8:26, while other manuscripts read “42.”…

3,600 or 3,300 overseers?

2 Chronicles 2:2— “Here it says that Solomon appoint 3,600 overseers for the work of building the temple, but 1 Kings 5:16 says it was only 3,300.”

This is not too great a problem. The most likely solution is that 2 Chronicles included the 300 men who were selected as reservists to take the place of any supervisors who would become ill or who had died, while 1 Kings 5:16 passage includes only the supervisory force.…

2 Kings 24:8 – Jehoiachin’s Reign

2 Kings 24:8— “Did king Jehoiachin rule over Jerusalem for three months (2 Kings 24:8), or for three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9)?”

The numbering given in Chronicles is more specific, whereas the Kings figure simply rounds off the number of months, assuming that the additional ten days is not significant enough to mention.…

1 Kings 15:33 – Baasha died when?

1 Kings 15:33—”Here it says Baasha died in the 26th year of king Asa’s reign, but 2 Chronicles 16:1 says he was still alive in the 36th year.”

The word translated as “reign” in Hebrew is מלכות (malkut) , which is often used to simply mean “realm” or “kingdom” rather than “reign”1.…

Bath Circumference

1 Kings 7:23—”If the bath had a diameter of 10 cubits the circumference should be 31.416.”

Verse 26 says that the bath rim was about 8cm thick and was shaped like a lily:

Therefore it depends on where you measure from.…

4,000 or 40,000 stalls?

1 Kings 4:26—”Did Solomon have 40,000 stalls for his horses (1 Kings 4:26), or 4,000 stalls (2 Chronicles 9:25)?”

This is clearly a copyist mistake; the original text of both is 4,000. In Hebrew, forty (ארבעים) and four (ארבעת) look almost identical.…

Seven or three years?

2 Samuel 24:13—”This passage mentions that there will be seven years of famine, whereas 1 Chronicles 21:12 mentions only three.”

We may assume that the author of 1 Chronicles emphasized the three-year period in which the famine was to be most intense, whereas the author of 2 Samuel includes the two years prior to and after this period, during which the famine worsened and lessened respectively.…