by Mike James

As promised—more alleged biblical discrepancies to address.Let us begin by taking a look at 1 Chronicles 10:6. This scripture tells us that Saul, his sons, and his house died all together. Compare that with 2 Samuel 2:8, which mentions another son of Saul, Ishbosheth, after Saul and his sons, and his house had all died. How could there be any one remaining from Saul’s house in 2 Samuel?

First, let’s find out which of Saul’s sons were killed in 1Chronicles 10:6. Take a look at 1 Chronicles 10:2. We read there that Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua were killed by the Philistines. No mention that Ishbosheth was killed.But wouldn’t Ishbosheth be part of Saul’s house (1 Chronicles 10:6) which was wiped out?

Let’s take a look at 1 Samuel 31:6 to better understand 1Chronicles 10:6. In 1 Samuel 31:6 we have another record of the death of Saul. Here the record is recorded a little differently. We read here that Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day. The expression “all his house” in 1 Chronicles 10:6 can be understood as “all his men” in 1Samuel 31:6. In other words, according to the biblical scholar Keil, “All those who were about the king, i.e. the whole of the kings attendants who had followed him to the war.”

The Hebrew word for house (bayith) can also be interpreted as servants and attendants according to Fuerst.

Another discrepancy we can address centers around 2 Samuel 21:19, where some translations of the Bible (NIV, NASB) tell us that Elhanan killed Goliath. We know that David killed Goliath,so what gives here?

Well, first the KJV of the Bible does say it was “the brother of” Goliath that was killed here. But even in the KJV you will note that the words “the brother of” are italicized which means those words were not in the original manuscript.

Some believe the Hebrew text here was defective and therefore a copyist made an error in rendering it as Goliath being killed.Whoever copied the manuscript copied it from a version that did not convey the words correctly before the word Goliath.

How can we say that with some certainty? Well, let’s look at 1Chronicles 20:5: “In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod” (NIV). This verse tells the same story in all the translations. So obviously we can surmise that there was an error at some point in the history of copying down the verse in 2 Samuel.

Finally, in 2 Samuel 24:13, it reads, “So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.” The same incident is addressed in 1Chronicles 21:12, but three years of famine is mentioned thereinstead of seven.

Most scholars believe this was a copyist error. When you look at the Hebrew a “3” and a “7” are very similar in appearance when they are written.

Some commentators think the prophet Gad may have confronted David on two occasions. They think this because in 2 Samuel the alternatives are presented as a question. In 1 Chronicles the alternatives are presented more like a command. Perhaps after the first encounter Gad received new information from God since David had not answered the question.

Rather than casting doubt on the Bible these examples and others help us place greater faith in the Bible. Copyist errors are inevitable when humans are involved in hand copying manuscripts over long periods of time. The fact that the books of Kings, Chronicles, and Samuel tell the same stories from different writers also helps us trust the text. It would not make sense that humans would record the same stories in exactly the same way.

Sources:

Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible, by John W. Haley, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), 1977.

“In 2 Samuel 21:19, Was Goliath Killed Twice,” https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/845/in-2-samuel-2119-was-goliath-killed-twice.

When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties, by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992).