Question: Dear Greg,
I did a search on the Internet and found a hateful atheist web site. I read through some of the so-called contradictions and errors in the Bible. One of the “errors” they found was in Ezra 2:6 and Nehemiah 7:11. This guy was taking scriptures out of context on a lot of this stuff, but could this have been an error in the KJV with these verses? God forbid!
Ezra 2:6—The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and TWELVE.
Nehemiah 7:11—The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and EIGHTEEN.
What happened here?
In Christ,
Heath
Answer: Dear Heath,
Finding differences in numerical amounts reported by different authors in the Bible is not a new gambit in attempting to discredit the Bible. In the account you mention, for instance, there are 32 family groups mentioned as returning to Jerusalem from Babylon. In 18 of these examples the numbers in Ezra and Nehemiah are identical, while in the remaining 14 (one of which you mention) the numbers differ.
The atheist, as you mentioned, takes issue with the Christian’s belief—and the Bible’s own claim—that the Bible is inspired. If, says the atheist or non-believer, we can find that there are errors in the Bible, we can prove that the Bible is just another book produced by humans or even better (for their theory), we can show that God is a liar.
There are several possible answers. The first is an error in copying and editing. What we often (in our lack of understanding) do not understand is that ancient Hebrews used words and letters of the alphabet to stand for numbers. Numbers were given names, if you like, and the larger the number, the more names had to be employed to convey the number. In addition, there was no hard and fast rule about the order in which large numbers were recorded. Sometimes the lower number would be written, followed by the larger. At other times, as in English, the larger would be first (for example, three hundred and twenty three).
Another possibility—Ezra and Nehemiah may have compiled their lists at different times. Perhaps Ezra wrote of those who actually left Babylon for Jerusalem with Nehemiah speaking of those who actually arrived in Jerusalem. The number may have changed en route for a variety of reasons—deaths, new “recruits” who heard of the return from exile and joined their families and relatives en route.
Two other general issues need to be discussed. First, the nature of the Bible. There is a huge debate on this topic among Christians. Without discussing the entire issue, here is the point: the Bible is not a mathematics textbook, it is not a geography manual and it is not a biology lesson. The Bible is above all a book of God’s special revelation to humans about those things humans cannot discover on their own. The Bible is a book about faith and belief, about our relationship with God and about salvation—it is a spiritual book about spiritual issues. The Bible tells us that God created the universe, and while it mentions a few details (whether they are literal or metaphorical is another discussion), it does not give us all of the specifics in a blueprint-like fashion. The Bible tells us that God created the universe, not necessarily how. So, the purpose of the Bible is not to give us endless groups of numbers that we can use to construct chronologies, a precise census of particular areas and cities, etc.
Secondly, we should be careful to read the Bible as it is written. The Bible was not written in the 21st century. The most recent parts of the Bible were written over 2000 years ago. Our culture of technology and mathematical precision did not exist in the same manner then. Our interest in the exact and specific was not shared by those who wrote of spiritual realities. It is a mistake to read our cultural interests and values into the Bible and then triumphantly pronounce the Bible to be flawed.
In Christ,
Greg Albrecht