Problem: First Samuel 17 records the dramatic story of how David the son of Jesse killed the giant Goliath. However, 2 Samuel 21:19 says clearly: “Elhanan … killed Goliath the Gittite.” But both texts cannot be right.
Problem: After Absalom was killed by Joab’s men, they took his body and threw it into a pit and covered him with a large stone. However, according to 2 Samuel 18:18, Absalom had erected his own tomb in the Kidron Valley. Where was Absalom buried?
Problem: According to Joshua (17:15–18), the Ephraimites settled on the west side of Jordan. But in 2 Samuel 18:6 it speaks of the “woods of Ephraim” as being on the east side of Jordan.
There is a theory taught just as faithfully in today’s bible colleges as evolution is taught in secular universities, and it has just about as much proof. This theory is held to be fact by such Bible scholars as James White, Bob Ross, and Kenneth Barker. (Barker was the head of the NIV translation committee.) It is known as the “Conflate Theory,” It was developed by Brooke Foss Westcott and John Fenton Anthony Hort. These two Anglican bible scholars devoted much of their lives to a critical study of the Greek New Testament. They studied the various “text types” or groups of manuscripts, and they claimed that the manuscripts from Alexandria, Egypt (primarily Sinaticus and Vaticanus) were the best because they were apparently the oldest and thus, in their opinion, closer to the originals. But they had one major problem: 95% of all the NT manuscripts (known as the Majority Text) disagreed with the their Alexandrian manuscripts while agreeing with each other.
Problem: The passage in 2 Samuel 14:27 states that Absalom had three sons and one daughter. However, in 2 Samuel 18:18 Absalom set up a pillar for himself because, as he says, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” Which is correct?
Problem: As a result of David’s sin with Bathsheba, the life of the child that Bathsheba bore to David was taken. However, 2 Samuel 12:15 states that it was the Lord who struck the child with illness so that it died. How could a loving God commit such an act?
Problem: According to this verse, “David’s sons were chief ministers.” Yet Numbers 3:10 forbids anyone except the sons of Aaron from being priests (cf. Num. 16:40).
Problem: After David had defeated Hadadezer, he took prisoners from Hadadezer’s army. According to 2 Samuel 8:4, David captured “one thousand, seven hundred horsemen” (the word “chariots” added by some translations is not in the Hebrew text). However, the passage in 1 Chronicles 18:4 states that David captured 7,000 horsemen. Which number is correct?
Problem: After the death of Saul, his son Ishbosheth reigned over Israel. According to 2 Samuel 2:10, Ishbosheth reigned for two years. While Ishbosheth reigned in Israel, Judah followed after David (2 Sam. 2:10). After Ishbosheth was killed, the people of Israel came to David to crown him king of all Israel. However, according to 2 Samuel 5:5, David reigned in Hebron for seven and one-half years. How could David have reigned over Judah for seven and one-half years when Ishbosheth reigned over Israel for only two years?
Problem: King Saul was mortally wounded, and he asked his armorbearer to assist him in committing suicide. Was this justified?
Problem: First Samuel 31 says that King Saul committed suicide by falling on his sword, but 2 Samuel 1 records that he was killed by an Amalekite as he was about to lean on his sword.
Problem: The Bible severely condemns witchcraft and communication with the dead (Ex. 22:18; Lev. 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:9–12; Isa. 8:19). In the OT those who practiced it were to receive capital punishment. King Saul knew this and even put all witches out of the land (1 Sam. 28:3). Nevertheless, in disobedience to God, he went to the witch of Endor for her to contact the dead prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 28:8ff). The problem here is that she appears to be successful in contacting Samuel, which lends validity to the powers of witchcraft which the Bible so severely condemns.
Problem: In this text the sword of Goliath was located in Nob (cf. v. 1). However, in 1 Samuel 17:54 it says David “put his [Goliath’s] armor in his tent.”
Problem: Samuel was conducting a service in which the group of prophets were prophesying. When Saul’s men came to capture David, they were overcome by the Spirit of the Lord and they also prophesied. However, when Saul came, he prophesied, danced, and stripped off his clothes. Why does Saul do this when apparently none of the others did?
Problem: When Saul came to Naioth in Ramah to try to capture David, he sent soldiers up to bring David back in chains. When his soldiers came back empty-handed, Saul decided to go up himself. However, when he came near to Naioth, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and he danced and prophesied before Samuel. How could it be said that the Spirit of God was upon Saul when God had already rejected him?