ContradictionsReading order 273Bible context 2 min read
How many men were in the king's presence?
The lists of captured officials match in several categories but disagree over five versus seven royal attendants.
- 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.
Otherwise closely matching detention lists count the same royal-attendant category as five and seven.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Five men from the king's presence are captured
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king’s presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
2 Kings 25:18-19
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:2 Kings 25
Seven men close to the king are captured
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.