Shirley H Supporter Wife, mother, veteran in the spiritual war we all face!

Looking in my NKJV Nelson study Bible, the explanation is a copycat's error.

However I looked in every other version I have and they all say the same thing. Back to 1985, a King James from 1961, and other versions, and all of them say the same thing!

You would think that someone would have caught that and made it even steven!

However, I had a similar question and wrote to the publisher of the Bible, and they never answered me.

Anyway, we know David won, and nothing can change that now...so, I guess it's just another thing we have to move on from.

May 13 2025 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Appelt Supporter

Many feel that the difference between the 700 charioteers of 2 Samuel 10:18 and the 7,000 charioteers of 1 Chronicles 19:18 is due to scribal error. However, there is a plausible explanation that shows the Bible is correct as written in this matter. 

Both writers narrate the same war but have different perspectives concerning it. Because of this, there are going to be variations as shown below:

THE DEPLOYMENT OF SYRIAN TROOPS 
2 Samuel 10:6 - “...Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba(h), 20,000 foot soldiers, and from the king of Maacah 1,000 men, and from Ish (men of) Tob 12,000 men.”

1 Chronicles 19:6, 7 “...to hire chariots and horsemen out of Aram Naharaim [see note below], and out of Syrian Maachah, and out of Zobah... So they hired 32,000 chariots, with the king of Maachah and his people...”

They both see 32,000 Syrian troops. However, one has foot soldiers and the other has horsemen. They are used interchangeably. “Chariots” can represent the total number of army personnel who rode on chariots.

THE DEFEAT OF SYRIAN TROOPS
2 Samuel 10:18 – “...David killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen of the Syrians...”

1 Chronicles 19:18 “...David killed 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers of the Syrians...”

When the chariot army arrived at the battlefield, the personnel dismounted and became the infantry engaged in combat. As noted above, 40,000 horsemen are the same as 40,000 foot soldiers. These writers switched terms from what they gave before, additional proof they are the same. 

When it comes to the charioteers, there may be a solution to this great disparity. The 700 charioteers may be the crew of the chariots, whereas the 7,000 charioteers may be those riding on troop chariots, likely four-wheeled chariots. Each troop chariot may have carried about six to ten soldiers each. The two different manners of counting the casualties are acceptable. 

Instead of the explanation of scribal error, which could be possible in some cases, the better option in these passages is to understand the differing perspectives of the writers and the specific terms they used to describe the event. 

A principle concerning so-called discrepancies, is that different authors, writing about the same thing, complement or complete the sense of the other. Also, some have observed that Chronicles gives an expanded official record, while Samuel gives a condensed version. The writers did not consult with or copy from the other but independently reached the same conclusion that David won. They faithfully wrote their records, and their writings became part of the trustworthy Word of God. 

NOTE: “Aram Naharaim,” often wrongly translated as Mesopotamia “the land between the rivers,” is literally “Syria of two rivers,” which is an area near Damascus, between the Abana and Pharpar rivers. “Beyond the River,” in 2 Samuel 10:16, 1 Chronicles 19:16, is not the Euphrates, but as the Septuagint has, the “River Chalamak,” a northern Syrian river now called “Aleppo River.” All the troops were from Syrian kingdoms, none from Mesopotamia.

3 days ago • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report