Problem: The statement in 2 Kings 24:6 indicates that Jehoiakim died a peaceful death at home. However, 2 Chronicles 36:6 describes Jehoiakim’s capture and deportation to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, which indicates that Jehoiakim died a terrible death in a foreign land. Which is correct?
Problem: This verse says Josiah died in the city of Megiddo, but elsewhere it affirms he died in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 35:24).
Problem: According to the sequence of events as they are presented in 2 Kings 20:12–15, the delegation sent from Berodach-Baladan (spelled Merodach-Baladan in Isa. 39:1) came to visit Hezekiah after the invasion of Sennacherib in 701 b.c. However, according to historical evidence, Berodach-Baladan had fled to Elan after having been expelled from Babylon by Sennacherib in 702 b.c. How can the chronology of these verses be reconciled?
Problem: In response to Hezekiah’s prayer, God instructed Isaiah to prophesy to Hezekiah that God would add 15 years to Hezekiah’s life. When he heard this, Hezekiah asked for a sign to confirm God’s promise. The sign was that the shadow would retreat ten degrees. But, this would involve making the shadow go backward instead of forward as the sun set. How could the shadow retreat?
Problem: 2 Kings 18:13 claims that “in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.” Since archaeological evidence has established Sennacherib’s invasion at 701 b.c., this would mean that Hezekiah became co-regent with his father Ahaz in 719 b.c., and sole ruler of Judah in 715 b.c. However, according to 2 Kings 18:1, Hezekiah became co-regent in 729 b.c., and he became sole ruler of Judah when his father died in 725 b.c. This is a discrepancy of ten years. Which account is correct?
Problem: When Shalmaneser king of Assyria came to do battle with Hoshea king of Israel, Shalmaneser discovered a conspiracy which Hoshea had begun when he “sent messengers to So, king of Egypt” (2 Kings 17:4). However, besides this statement in the Bible, there are no records of a king of Egypt named So. Is this an error?
Problem: According to 2 Kings 15:27, Pekah ruled over Israel in Samaria for 20 years. However, Hoshea the son of Elah killed Pekah only 8 years after Pekah had taken Samaria from Menahem. How could Pekah have reigned over Israel for 20 years when he only reigned from Samaria for 8 years?
Problem: As in this passage, the Bible often speaks of death as the time when one “sleeps with his fathers” (e.g., 1 Kings 2:10; 11:21, 43; 14:20, kjv). Jesus said, “Lazarus sleeps” (John 11:11) when he was “dead” (John 11:14). Paul speaks of believers who have “fallen asleep” in the Lord (1 Thes. 4:13; cf. 1 Cor. 15:51). Yet, in other places, the Bible speaks of persons being conscious in the presence of God after they die (cf. 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; Rev. 6:9).
Problem: The record says that Amaziah did “what was right in the sight of the Lord” (v. 3) and that “he killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt” (v. 7). This is in spite of the fact that the law commanded, “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother” (Deut. 23:7).
Problem: In 2 Kings 9:6–10, we find the commissioning of Jehu by the Lord to strike down the house of Ahab. According to 2 Kings 10:30, God commended Jehu for having destroyed the house of Ahab. However, Hoshea prophesied that God would “avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu” (Hosea 1:4). How could God condemn Jehu for shedding blood when it was God who had commanded him to do so?
Problem: According to 2 Kings 8:25, Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah in the twelfth year of the reign of Jehoram son of Ahab, king of Israel. However, 2 Kings 9:29 states that Ahaziah became king of Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Jehoram over Israel. Which is right?
Problem: When Elisha went out to meet his enemies, he told them “this is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek” (2 Kings 6:19). How could a man of God lie to these Syrian troops?
Problem: Moses had commanded the armies of Israel about their enemy’s land saying, “You shall not destroy its trees” (Deut. 20:19). However, here in 2 Kings they were instructed to “cut down every good tree.” Continue reading →
Problem: As Elisha was going up to Bethel, he was confronted by some young people who mocked him saying, “Go up, you baldhead!” When Elisha heard this, he turned and pronounced a curse on them, and two she-bears came out of the wood and mauled 42 of the young men. How could a man of God curse these young men for such a minor offense?
Problem: According to 2 Kings 1:17, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. However, according to 2 Kings 3:1, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. When did Jehoram son of Ahab become king in Israel?