Lev 11 20-23 No Errors in God’s Word CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The supposed contradictions in the Bible are reconciled by believing the Bible and by understanding that the information in the Bible is supplemental, not contradictory. You must realize that men who purport to have found contradictions in the Bible do not believe the King James Bible is perfect. When they correct the Bible or profess that they have found an error in the Bible, they question the word of God, like the devil did in Gen 3:1. They can talk you out of your faith in the Bible. Here are some of the supposed contradictions fully reconciled:
The number of legs on flying creeping things – Lev 11:20-23 – Skeptics say that this passage is wrong because grasshoppers, locusts and beetles don’t go “upon all four” and don’t just have “four feet.” They have six. However, upon closer examination, you see that they have four ambulatory legs [the walking legs] and two saltatory legs [the jumping legs]. The jumping legs are called “legs above their feet, to leap withal,” [Lev 11:21]. There is no error here. The Bible identifies the legs just like the entomologists do.
The molten sea in Solomon’s temple – 1 Ki 7:26; 2 Chr 4:5 – the capacity of the molten sea was 3,000 baths [2 Chr 4:5] but it was filled with only 2,000 baths [1 Ki 7:26]. In other words, it was only two-thirds full.
The genealogies of Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 – Ezra 2:64; Neh 7:66 – notice, first, that the census of the whole congregation is the same, 42,360. The differences are in the count among some of the families in the lists. For one thing, the numbers in the lists don’t add up to the total census. Ezra’s list of the families is 12,542 less than the total census. Nehemiah’s list of families is 11,271 less than the total census. These difference between the lists and the total census represent those who could not “shew their father’s house, and their seed” [as in Ezra 2:59].
Ezra’s list was the original census when they “came again unto Jerusalem and Judah,” [Ezra 2:1]. Nehemiah’s list was written over 10 years later and revised Ezra’s list [Neh 7:5]. About 1,300 more men were able to shew their father’s house by then and some of the numbers had to be revised within the families as they found some discrepancies. Notice very carefully that Ezra said, “The number of the men of the people of Israel,” [Ezra 2:2] whereas Nehemiah said, “The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this” [Neh 7:7]. He clearly came up with some differences after they had time to identify the families of some more of the men and clear up a few differences within the families. Nineteen of the families are identical and fourteen are revised. Two of the revisions differ by 1, one by 4, two by 6, two by 9, one by 11, two by 100, one by 105, one by 201, one by 300, and the largest, the sons of Azgad, by 1,100 between the accounts of Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7. These are not contradictions, at all, but rather the actual numbers in the two different lists.
The chariots and footmen or horsemen who were killed by David – 1 Chr 19:18; 2 Sam 10:18 – David killed the men of 700 chariots, which totaled 7,000 men which fought in chariots. And he killed 40,000 mounted infantrymen. They rode to the battlefield on horseback. When they arrived at the battlefield, the dismounted and fought on foot. So, they are correctly classified as “horsemen” and “footmen.”
The number of chariots, horsemen and footmen David took from Hadadezer – 2 Sam 8:4; 1 Chr 18:4 – comparing the two lists, we notice these similarities: a thousand chariots and twenty thousand footmen. The contradiction appears to be in the numbers of horsemen: seven hundred horsemen in 2 Sam 8:4 and seven thousand horsemen in 1 Chr 18:4. You find the reconciliation when you contrast the rest of the words in the verses.
In 2 Sam 8:4, David took “a thousand chariots.” The King James Bible translators added the word “chariots” because it was not in the Hebrew texts. That italicized word is not an error, but rather, it helps us understand that the “thousand” he took were the chariots and the seven thousand horsemen that went with them, as you see in 1 Chronicles. 1 Chr 18:4 says, “a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen.” That is, each “chariot” consisted of one chariot and seven horsemen. Thus, “a thousand chariots” consisted of a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen.
David “houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots,” [1 Chr 18:4]. Well, those hundred “chariots” included seven horsemen for each chariot, or seven hundred horsemen. That’s why, in 2 Sam 8:4, where the Bible says that David “reserved of them (the horses) for an hundred chariots,” it also lists the “seven hundred horsemen” that went with them.
In summary, David took from Hadadezer 1,000 chariots including 7,000 horsemen that went with them, 20,000 footmen, and 100 chariots with their chariot horses and the 700 horsemen that went with them.
Ahaziah’s age when he began to reign – 2 Ki 8:26; 2 Chr 22:2 – The discrepancy in Ahaziah’s age is easily reconciled when you realize that there were two Ahaziah’s. The younger one was 22 years old. He was the son of Jehoram, and thus, the grandson of Jehoshaphat. The older one was 42 years old. He was the adopted son of Jehoshaphat [2 Chr 22:9]. The younger Ahaziah would have ruled over Judah, while Joram, the son of Ahab, ruled over Israel. The older Ahaziah would have ruled over the combined kingdoms, like Jehoshaphat did, after Ahab’s death. Notice that Jehoshpahat was called the king of Israel in 2 Chr 21:2. You can see clearly that there are two men named Ahaziah when you examine how they died. One was brought to Jehu and killed in Samaria. The other one was shot while he tried to escape and died in Megiddo. See 2 Ki 9:27; 2 Chr 22:9.
Conclusion: Don’t let skeptics and critics talk you out of your faith in God’s word, preserved in your King James Bible. They are quick to criticize what they don’t understand. Study [2 Tim 2:15] and believe God’s words. They are true.