ContradictionsReading order 164Bible context 1 min read
How old was Ahaziah when he began to reign?
The parallel accession notices disagree by twenty years about Ahaziah's age.
- Textual conflict
- Direct contradiction
- The quoted passages make incompatible claims about the same subject under the same conditions. Little additional inference is needed.
- Importance
- Minor
- A local detail in a story, chronology, or inventory.
Matching royal notices give Ahaziah ages twenty two and forty two at the same accession.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Ahaziah begins his reign at twenty-two years old
Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
2 Kings 8:26
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:2 Kings 8
Ahaziah begins his reign at forty-two years old
Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
2 Chronicles 22:2
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:2 Chronicles 22