THE JEWISH KINGS.
Much of the Bible is devoted to events which are narrated but
once. These records may be true, or they may be false. We may
question their truthfulness, but it is difficult to demonstrate their
falsity. Had all the events of the Bible been recorded but once
its credibility could the more easily be maintained. But wherever
two or more accounts of the same events occur, such as in Kings and
Chronicles, where two histories of the Jewish Kings are given, and in
the Four Gospels, where four biographies of Jesus are given, we find
them so filled with discrepancies as to make them unworthy of credit.
The following are some of the contradictory statements that occur in
the books pertaining to the Jewish kings:
1
Was David the seventh or the eighth son of Jesse?
"And Jesse begat his first-born Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and
Shimma the third, Nethaniel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the
sixth, David the seventh" (1 Chron. ii, 13-15).
"Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel
said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto
Jesse, are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet
the youngest [David]" (1 Sam. xvi, 10, 11).
2
Who gave David the shewbread to eat when he was a fugitive from Saul?
"Then came David to Nob to Abimelech the [High] priest.... So the
priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the
shewbread" (1 Sam. xxi, 1, 6).
"And he [Jesus] said unto them, Have ye never read what David did
when he was ahungered, he, and they that were with him? How he went
into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and
did eat the shewbread?" (Mark ii, 25, 26).
3
What relation did the High Priests Abimelech and Abiathar bear to
each other?
"Abiathar the son of Abimelech" (1 Sam. xxiii, 6).
"Abimelech the son of Abiathar" (2 Sam. viii, 17).
4
What sons were born to David in Jerusalem?
"And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem:
Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, Ibhar also, and Elishua,
and Nepheg, and Japhia, and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet"
(2 Sam. v, 14-16).
"Now these are the names of his children which he had in Jerusalem:
Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, and Ibhar, and Elishua,
and Elpalet, and Nogah, and Nepheg and Japhia, and Elishama, and
Beeliada, and Eliphalet" (1 Chron. xiv, 4-7).
5
What was the name of David's tenth son (twelfth according to
Chronicles)?
Eliada (2 Sam. v, 16).
Beeliada (1 Chron. xiv, 7).
"Eliada" means "God knows;" "Beeliada" means "Baal knows." Did David
name his son for the God of the Jews, or for the God of the heathen?
6
How many horsemen did David take from Hadadezer?
"David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen,
and twenty thousand footmen" (2 Sam. viii, 4).
"David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen,
and twenty thousand footmen" (1 Chron. xviii, 4).
7
Was it forty thousand horsemen or forty thousand footmen that David
slew of the Syrians?
"David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and
forty thousand horsemen" (2 Sam. x, 18).
"David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots
and forty thousand footmen" (1 Chron. xix, 18).
8
Who moved David to number the people, the Lord or Satan?
"The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David
against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah" (2 Sam. xxiv, 1).
"And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number
Israel" (1 Chron. xxi, 1).
9
How many warriors had Israel and Judah?
"And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand [800,000] valiant men
that drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand
[500,000] men" (2 Sam. xxiv, 9).
"And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand
[1,100,000] men that drew sword; and Judah was four hundred three
score and ten thousand [470,000] men" (1 Chron. xxi, 5).
10
Was David to suffer three or seven years of famine?
"So Gad came to David and said unto him: Thus saith the Lord, choose
thee either three years of famine, or three months to be destroyed
before thy foes" (1 Chron. xxi, 11, 12).
"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?" (2 Sam. xxiv, 13).
11
What did David pay for the threshing floor?
"And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an
altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of Araunah [Ornan] the
Jebusite.... So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for
fifty shekels of silver [$26.50]" (2 Sam. xxiv, 18, 24).
"Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David
should go up, and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshing-floor
of Ornan the Jebusite.... So David gave to Ornan for the place six
hundred shekels of gold [$3,414]" (1 Chron. xxi, 18, 25).
12
How many overseers did Solomon have while building the Temple?
"And Solomon had three score and ten thousand that bare burdens,
and four score thousand hewers in the mountains; besides the chief
of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and
three hundred" (1 Kings, v, 15, 16).
"And he set three score and ten thousand of them to be bearers of
burdens and four score thousand to be hewers in the mountains, and
three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people awork"
(2 Chron. ii, 18).
13
What was the height of the pillars before the house?
"For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high
apiece.... And he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof
Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof
Boaz" (1 Kings vii, 15, 21).
"Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits
high, ... and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin,
and the name of that on the left Boaz" (2 Chron. iii, 15, 17).
14
What was the capacity of the molten sea?
"And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the
other.... And it was a hand-breadth thick, and the brim thereof was
wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained
two thousand baths" (1 Kings vii, 23, 26).
"Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim.... And
the thickness of it was a handbreadth, and the brim of it like the
work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received
and held three thousand baths" (2 Chron. iv, 2, 5).
15
How many overseers did Solomon have over his other works?
"These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work,
five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought
in the work" (1 Kings ix, 23).
"And these were the chief of King Solomon's officers, even two hundred
and fifty, that bare rule over the people" (2 Chron. viii, 10).
16
How many stalls did Solomon have for his horses?
"And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen" (2 Chron. ix, 25).
"And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots,
and twelve thousand horsemen" (1 Kings iv, 26).
17
How much gold did they bring Solomon from Ophir?
"And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred
and twenty talents, and brought it to King Solomon" (1 Kings ix, 28).
"And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence
four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King
Solomon" (2 Chron. viii, 18).
18
Who was the first to die, Jeroboam or Abijah?
"Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah:
and the Lord struck him, and he died. But Abijah waxed mighty"
(2 Chron. xiii, 20, 21).
"And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years"
(1 Kings xiv, 20).
"And Abijam [Abijah] slept with his fathers; and they buried him in
the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. And in the
twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah"
(1 Kings xv, 8, 9).
Instead of Abijah waxing mighty after Jeroboam's death, Jeroboam
reigned two years after Abijah's death.
19
Who was the mother of Abijah?
"He [Rehoboam] took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him
Abijah" (2 Chron. xi, 20).
"His [Abijah's] mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel
of Gibeah" (2 Chron. xiii, 2).
20
Was Asa the son or the grandson of Maachah?
"Forty and one years reigned he [Asa] in Jerusalem. And his mother's
name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom" (1 Kings xv, 10).
"Three years reigned he [Abijam] in Jerusalem. And his mother's name
was Maachah the daughter of Abishalom.... And Asa his son reigned in
his stead" (1 Kings xv, 2, 8).
21
How long did Omri reign?
"In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to
reign over Israel twelve years.... So Omri slept with his fathers,
and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. And
in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the
son of Omri to reign" (1 Kings xvi, 23, 28, 29).
From the thirty-first to the thirty-eighth year of Asa's reign Omri
is said to have reigned twelve years.
22
When did Baasha die?
"Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his
son reigned in his stead.... In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king
of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign" (1 Kings xvi, 6, 8).
"In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of
Israel came up against Judah" (2 Chron. xvi, 1).
23
When did Jehoram king of Israel and Jehoram king of Judah begin
to reign?
"And Jehoram [of Israel] reigned in his stead in the second year of
Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah" (2 Kings i, 17).
"And in the fifth year of Joram [Jehoram of Israel].... Jehoram the
son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign" (2 Kings viii, 16).
According to the first account, Jehoram of Israel began to reign
in the second year of Jehoram of Judah; according to the second,
Jehoram of Judah began to reign in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel.
24
When did Ahaziah begin to reign?
"In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign
over Judah" (2 Kings ix, 29).
"In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did
Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign" (2 Kings
viii, 25).
25
How old was Ahaziah when he began to reign?
"Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he
reigned one year in Jerusalem" (2 Kings viii, 26).
"Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he
reigned one year in Jerusalem" (2 Chron. xxii, 2).
26
How long did Jotham reign?
"In the second year of Pekah ... began Jotham the son of Uzziah king
of Judah to reign. Five and twenty years old was he when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem" (2 Kings xv, 32, 33).
"And Hoshea ... slew him [Pekah] and reigned in his stead, in the
twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziab" (2 Kings xv, 30).
27
Who was Josiah's successor?
"Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and
made him king in his father's stead" (2 Chron. xxxvi, 1).
"For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of
Judah which reigned instead of Josiah his father" (Jer. xxli, 11).
28
How old was Jehoiachin when he began to reign?
"Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign" (2
Chron. xxxvi, 9).
"Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign" (2 Kings
xxiv, 8).
29
When did Evil-Merodach release Jehoiachin from prison?
"In the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month"
(2 Kings xxv, 27).
"In the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month"
(Jer. lii, 31).
30
What relation did Zedekiah, the last of the Jewish kings, bear to
Jehoiachin, his predecessor?
1. He was his son. "Jechoniah [Jehoiachin] his son, Zedekiah his son"
(1 Chron. iii, 16).
2. He was his brother. "Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him
[Jehoiachin] to Babylon, ... and made Zedekiah his brother king of
Judah" (2 Chron. xxxvi, 10).
3. He was his uncle. "The king of Babylon made Mattaniah his
[Jehoiachin's] father's brother king in his stead and changed his
name to Zedekiah" (2 Kings xxiv, 17).
"That Zedekiah, who in 1 Chron. iii, 16, is called 'his son,' is the
same as Zedekiah his uncle (called 'his brother,' 2 Chron. xxxvi,
10), who was his [Jehoiachin's] successor on the throne seems certain"
(Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. Jehoiachin).