How old was Jehoiachin when he became king?
2 Chronicles 36:9 and 2 Kings 24:8
- Eight years old 2 Chron. 36:9, "Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord."
- Eighteen years old 2 Kings 24:8 "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem."
The correct age of Jehoiachin was 18, not 8. Obviously, Jehoiachin was 18 when he began his rule since it says he did evil in the site of the Lord which suggests maturity and responsibility.
The discrepancy in ages is probably due to a copyist error. We can see that the difference in ages is 10 years. The system of number notation used by the Jews at the time of Ezra consisted of horizontal hooks that represented values of ten.
would equal the number 14 where
would be 24. If one or both of the hooks were smudged or flaked off of a papyri, then the dates would be off by values of 10 years.
Does this mean the Bible is not trustworthy? Not at all. Inspiration is ascribed to the original writings and not to the copies. Scribes made errors. However, the errors were very infrequent and from other information in the Bible, we can easily ascertain what the correct age is.
Another possible explanation is that the difference of 10 years from the two different texts could be that he began to rule with his father at the age of eight but did not take complete control until the age of 18, a 10-year difference.
|
|
|
CARM ison |
| Tweet |
| Follow @Carmorg |
Apologetics
- Apologetics
- Apologetics Dialogues
- CARM Radio
- Cut and Paste Information
- Discussion Boards
- Email and Responses
- Evidence and Answers
- Heresies
- Lost Books
- Objections and Answers
- Online Schools
- Preachers and Teachers
- Recommended Websites
- Research Links
- Responding to Critics
- Verses Examined - OT
- Verses Examined - NT
- Women in Ministry
- Women's Issues
Christian Life
Secular Movements
Questions
- About Angels
- About Apologetics
- About Baptism
- About the Bible
- About Bible Verses
- About the Church
- About Christianity
- About Demons
- About Doctrine
- About End Times
- About Ethics
- About Evangelism
- About God
- About Heresies
- About The Holy Spirit
- About Jesus
- About Man
- About Marriage
- About the Occult
- About Pastors
- About People
- About Prayer
- About Philosophy
- About Religions
- About Salvation
- About Sanctification
- About Science
- About Sexuality
- About Sin
- About Theology
- Other Questions
- Skeptics Ask
Joshua - Esther
- Judges 1:19, Is the Lord omnipotent or not?
- 1 Sam. 15:2-3, Why would God order the destruction of men, women, and children?
- 1 Sam. 31:4, Who killed Saul, Saul or the Amalekite?
- 2 Sam. 24:1, Who incited David to count the men, God or Satan?
- 1 Kings 4:26, How many stalls of horses did Solomon really have?
- 2 Kings 2:11, Did anyone ascend into heaven before Jesus or not?
- 2 Kings 2:23-24, Why did God kill 42 lads merely for saying Elisha was bald?
- 2 Chron. 4:2, The diameter of a bowl is mathematically incorrect
- Ezra 2, Why are the statistics in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different?
Help CARM by Liking It!
See Also
CARM ONLINE SCHOOLS
A lot of knowledge and an easy way to learn it.
15%
Discount off of Logos Bible Program.
CARM highly recommends using the Logos Bible Research Program. It is what
we use. It is the best in the world.
Just go to
http://www.logos.com/carm.
Use the coupon code of CARM6.

