Though the Hebrew scribes took tremendous care when copying the Scriptures, some mistakes should be
expected due to human error. Many languages of antiquity did not contain vowels, spacing, paragraphs, or even
punctuation. Whereas today we would write I love you very much this would be written in antiquity as
LVYVRYMCH. Naturally this became the cause of much confusion once vowels and punctuation were later added
into the texts as the written language progressed. It was at the scribe's discretion to best determine each word
and number. If a word was spelled BN, the scribes had to determine if this word was bone, ban, bane, etc.
Though the scribes could usually find their answer using tradition or context, this still left room for occasional
human error. If we pretend for a moment that 4 is a consonant and 0 is a vowel, should a certain number be
considered 4 thousand, 40 thousand, or 400 thousand? This was one of the difficulties scribes had to consider.

Throughout this section we will see that many of the older manuscripts do not even contain the errors of newer
texts (this gives us reason to believe some contradictions may logically be explained as transcription errors).
Other discrepancies are shown as they appear in the Masoretic text to demonstrate just how easy it was to
commit a scribal error.

YEARS OF FAMINE
(KJV) Contradiction 1: Choose thee either three years' famine... I Chronicles 21:11
(KJV) Contradiction 2: Shall seven years of famine come unto thee... II Samuel 24:13
(NIV) Accurate: Take your choice: three years of famine... I Chronicles 21:11
(NIV) Accurate: Shall there come upon you three years of famine... II Samuel 24:13

Though the Masoretic text shows conflicting amounts between three and seven years, the Greek Septuagint
reveals the possible accurate length of three years in both verses.

HOW OLD WAS JEHOIACHIN WHEN HE BEGAN TO REIGN?
(KJV) Contradiction 1: Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign... II Chronicles 36:9
(KJV) Contradiction 2: Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign... II Kings 24:8

(NIV) Accurate: Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king... II Chronicles 36:9

Pre-Masoretic manuscripts record the presumably correct age as being 18 in both verses.

THE AMOUNT OF KING SOLOMON'S HORSES & STALLS
(KJV) Contradiction 1: Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots... I Kings 4:26
(KJV) Contradiction 2: Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots... II Chronicles 9:25

(NIV) Correct: Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses... I Kings 4:26
(NIV) Correct: Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots... II Chronicles 9:25

The Septuagint states the possible correct amount as being 4,000 in both verses.

To demonstrate how easily a scribal error could be committed, I listed the text below as it appears in the
Masoretic Text and highlighted the discrepancies in red font. If anyone notices any errors in my Hebrew, please
let me know! :-)
KING BAASHA BATTLED ASA IN THE 36TH YEAR OF HIS REIGN BUT DIED DURING THE 26TH YEAR
(KJV) Contradiction 1: So Baasha slept with his fathers...in the twenty sixth year of Asa... I Kings 16:6,8
(KJV) Contradiction 2: In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa... II Chronicles 16:1

Now that we understand the basic principles behind scribal errors, here are a few other contradictions that may
be resolved through the same means:

THE AMOUNT OF GOLD TALENTS SOLOMON RECEIVED
(KJV) Contradiction 1: [They] fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to
king Solomon... I Kings 9:28
(KJV) Contradiction 2: [They] took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king
Solomon... II Chronicles 8:18

THE AGE OF KING AHAZI'AH WHEN HE BEGAN HIS REIGN
(KJV) Contradiction 1: Two and twenty years old was Ahazi'ah when he began to reign... II Kings 8:26
(KJV) Contradiction 2: Forty and two years old was Ahazi'ah when he began to reign... II Chronicles 22:2

THE AMOUNT OF SUPERVISORS FOR SOLOMON'S TEMPLE PROJECT
(KJV) Contradiction 1: Solomon's officers were... three thousand and three hundred... I Kings 5:16
(KJV) Contradiction 2: Solomon told...three thousand and six hundred to oversee them... II Chronicles 2:2

THE AMOUNT OF ARAMEAN CHARIOTEERS KILLED BY DAVID
(KJV) Contradiction 1: David slew the men of seven hundred chariots... II Samuel 10:18
(KJV) Contradiction 2: David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men in chariots. I Chronicles 19:18
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