ContradictionsReading order 165Bible context 1 min read
How old was Jehoiachin when he began to reign?
The accession notices differ by ten years in Jehoiachin's age, while describing closely corresponding short reigns in Jerusalem.
- 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.
Jehoiachin is explicitly eight and eighteen at the same accession in matching reign notices.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Jehoiachin becomes king at eighteen years old
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
2 Kings 24:8
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:2 Kings 24
Jehoiachin becomes king at eight years old
Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
2 Chronicles 36:9
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:2 Chronicles 36