ContradictionsReading order 277Bible context 1 min read
How many of Adonikam's offspring returned from Babylon?
Adonikam's family receives totals one person apart in the two return lists.
- Textual conflict
- Direct contradiction
- The quoted passages make incompatible claims about the same subject under the same conditions. Little additional inference is needed.
- Importance
- Incidental
- A small detail with little effect on the wider account.
The same returning family is assigned the incompatible exact totals 666 and 667.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Adonikam's descendants number six hundred sixty-six
The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six.
Ezra 2:13
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Ezra 2
Adonikam's descendants number six hundred sixty-seven
The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven.
Nehemiah 7:18
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Nehemiah 7
Understanding the contradiction
Ezra 2:13 records 666 children of Adonikam. Nehemiah 7:18 records 667. The older expression 'threescore' means sixty, so the latter wording resolves to six hundred plus sixty plus seven, not a different counting unit.