Bible Discussion Thread

1 Kings 4:26-How can this verse say Solomon had 40,000 stalls when 2 Chronicles 9:25 says he had only 4,000 stalls?

Problem: In recording the prosperity of Solomon, this passage states that he had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots. However, 1 Chronicles 9:25 affirms that Solomon had only 4,000 stalls for horses. Which one is right?

Solution: This is undoubtedly a copyist error. The ratio of 4,000 horses to 1,400 chariots, as found in the 2 Chronicles passage, is much more reasonable than a ratio of 40,000 to 1,400 found in the 1 Kings text. In the Hebrew language, the visual difference between the two numbers is very slight. The consonants for the number 40 are rbym,? while the consonants for the number 4 are rbh (the vowels were not written in the text). The manuscripts from which the scribe worked may have been smudged or damaged and have given the appearance of being forty thousand rather than four thousand.

Thank you Jack. I appreciated that clear explanation - sounds very plausible as minor textual (copyist) errors have been noted from time to time. Of course, these don't in any way take away from the veracity of Scripture, but it bears remembering that such small inconsistencies can appear, as in any writing/publication, that shouldn't warrant our complete rejection of the whole.

Hello Jack Gutknecht,

I want to just clarify an issue that you pointed out here. This is not an error or typo. The texts are saying that King Solomon has 10 chariot cities with 4000 chariots in each city. Altogether he has 40,000 chariots. Hope this helps. God bless you