Bible Difficulty

In these days, possession was nine tenths of the law! A decree from the king (hundreds of miles away) didn’t mean too much to the men out on the frontier. The Jews were a minority. Even though they were scared, it is admirable that the Jews immediately acted on their fear, building the altar. It would have been easy to set up a low profile. For more information, read the book of Nehemiah, where we see an intense battle over reclaiming this territory.

Problem: There are at least three possibilities:

Why are the statistics in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different? Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 are listings of numbered people from different families. The chapters represent the statistics of the same families, but they are not identical. I have produced a grid below that lists the families that do not match. If you would like to see the grid comparing all families in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, go here.

Of 39 entries (verses), 17 do not match. They are listed below.

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Problem: The Jews had disobeyed God’s law of obeying the Sabbath. They had been in the Promised Land for roughly 800 years, and for 490 years, they disobeyed his Sabbath rest. The Sabbath rest was not only every seventh day; it was also every seventh year. The Jews were allowed to work the land for six years, but on the seventh year they had to let the land get a rest. God commanded this because the land needs to recuperate, gaining back its minerals. Also, this was an act of trust and obedience to God. The Jews were trusting God’s provision by not farming for an entire year. Judgment was promised if they disobeyed God’s Sabbath rest:
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Problem: How long did Jehoiachin rule over Jerusalem?  Is it a copyist error or a mistake in the original document? 2 Kings 24:8 and 2 Chronicles 36:9
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Problem: How old was Jehoiachin when he became king? 2 Chronicles 36:9 and 2 Kings 24:8.  The correct age of Jehoiachin was 18, not 8.
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Problem: How old was Ahaziah when he began to rule over Jerusalem? 2 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2. The correct age of Ahaziah when he began to rule over Jerusalem is 22.
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Problem: Is there a geographical error in 2 Chronicles 20:1-2? The problem of “Aram” 2 Chronicles 20 provides an account of a coalition of enemies who gather against King Jehoshaphat of Judah and how God delivers His people from these invaders. Some critics, however, claim that 2 Chronicles 20:1-2 makes a geographical error when describing where the invading party comes from. While the passage does present an apparent difficulty, the critics are incorrect. The author of 2 Chronicles is not in error.
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Problem: Who was King Abijah’s mother? King Abijah’s mother was Micaiah, a different spelling of Maacah.
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Problem: How many stalls of horses did Solomon have, 4,000 or 40,000? 1 Kings 4:26 and 2 Chronicles 9:25 have different amounts.  Which is true?
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Problem: 1 Kings 4:26 states that Solomon had 40,000 stalls. However, 2 Chronicles 9:25 states that he had 4,000. Which is true?
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