The tone of this is a little (!) cynical, but is posted here for information re the inerrancy debate. Rowland.

Shalom!

Rowland Croucher

Numerical errors abound in the bible. Here are just a few more to make the point. When did Ahaziah son of Jehoram begin his reign in Judah? “In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.” 2Ki 9:29 “In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.” 2Ki 8:25

How old was Jehoiachin when he began to reign? “Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign.” 2Ch 36:9 “Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign.” 2Ki 24:8

How long did Jotham reign in Jerusalem? Sixteen years. 2Ki 15:33 At least twenty years. 2Ki 15:30

How old was Ahaziah when he began to reign? Twenty two years old. 2Ki 8:26 Forty two years old. 2Ch 22:2

How long did Omri reign? From the 31st to the 38th year of Asa’s reign, Omri is said to have reigned twelve years. An impossibility. 1Ki 16:23,28-29

How much gold was brought to Solomon from Ophir? 420 talents of gold. 1Ki 9:28 450 talents of gold. 2Ch 8:18

How many stalls did Solomon have for his horses? 4,000 stalls. 2Ch 9:25 40,000 stalls. 1Ki 4:26

How long did Gad tell David he was to suffer famine? Three years. 1Ch 21:11-12 Seven years. 2Sa 24:13

How many horsemen did David take with him from Hadadezer? 700 horsemen. 2Sa 8:4 7,000 horsemen. 1Ch 18:4

According to Genesis, Noah was 500 years old when he begat Shem (5:32). Noah was 600 years old when the Flood waters were on the earth (7:6). Shem was 100 years old when he begat Arphaxad, two years after the Flood (11:10). This is a mistake. If Shem begat Arphaxad two years after the Flood, then he should have been 102 years old.

According to the information supplied in Genesis chapters 5 through 9, Methuselah, who lived for an unbelievable 969 years, must have lived through the Flood. But there is no mention of him on the Ark. With the years supplied by the bible, if Methuselah died at the outset of the Flood, he would have only lived to 968 years. (According to the Septuagint, the Flood occurred 14 years before the death of Methuselah.

The author of Matthew recounts all the generations from Abraham to Jesus. He concludes that there are 41 generations, including Abraham and Jesus. Then, he goes on to say that there are 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David until the “carrying away into Babylon”, and then 14 generations from there to Christ. This is in Matthew 1:17. Three times fourteen is not forty-one. God needs a calculator?

There are many, many more of these numerical errors. But if this amount doesn’t convince someone, no amount will.

from http://freethought.mbdojo.com/familycensus.html

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