"RELATIVE" CONTRADICTIONS

There are so many genealogical references and connections found in the Old Testament that it is inevitable that critics would try to catch mistakes and contradictions in the records in an attempt to discredit the historical veracity of the whole Bible. Here are three such groups of problem passages with comments from Bible scholars refuting the critical arguments.

Was Abiathar the father or the son of Ahimelech? (I Samuel 22:20; 23:6 vs. II Samuel 8:17; I Chronicles 8:16; 24:6)

The simple answer to this question is “Yes.” As Tsumura explains, “There are two Ahimelechs..., namely, 'Ahimelech, son of Ahitub' (see I Sam 21:2; 22:20) and 'Ahimelech son of Abiathar' (2 Sam. 8:17; I Chr. 18:16).” This is perfectly in line with a common Jewish naming pattern according to which a newborn boy would be given the name of his grandfather. Thus, Abiathar was the son of one Ahimelech and the father of another one.

A less likely explanation is given by Baldwin: “Ahimelech, whose father was Abiathar, and is later himself called Abiathar, had been with David since escaping death at the hand of Saul (I Sa. 22:20)...” She points to the similar case of two Ahitub's in the same family line and states, “There is, of course , no reason why there should not have been two men by the name of Ahitub.”

As a third possibility, Tsumura in commenting on II Samuel 8:17 says that “it is possible that the MT [i.e. Hebrew text] Ahimelech son of Abiathar on is a scribal mistake for 'Abiathar son of Ahimelech.” As evidence, he points to the Aramaic version of I Samuel 23:6 and 30:7. McCarter's translation of II Samuel 8:17 for The Anchor Bible sides with the Aramaic as well as the Ethiopic text in order to bring this verse in line with passages such as I Samuel 22:20; 23:6; 30:7 and II Samuel 20:25 perfectly.

Lastly, McCarter cites the rather complicated scenario proposed by Frank Cross involving (1) accidental deletion of some words from II Samuel 8:17, (2) the confusion of one Hebrew letter for another, followed by (3) mistaken insertion of a scribal explanation in the margin while (4) adding a few letters to it in the process.

The first possibility above appears to me to be the most satisfactory.

The next two questions are closely related to one another.

Who was Abijam's mother? (I Kings 15:1-2 vs. II Chronicles 13:1-2)

How were Abijam and Asa related? (I Kings 15:8 vs. I Kings 15:1-2, 9-10)

I Kings calls Abijam's mother Maacah while she is listed as Micaiah in II Chronicles 13:2. Knoppers' comment on this discrepancy: The Hebrew gives Abijah's mother a Yahwistic name ('who is like the LORD'), whereas the ancient versions [i.e. translations] name her Maacah in conformity with 1 Kings 15:2 and 2 Chr 11.20.” This is a rather minor contradiction since the ancient texts were originally written in all consonants, and pointings to indicate the vowels only appeared centuries later. Thus, Williamson treats the two names as “only a scribal variant.”

A more serious “contradiction” comes from the fact that Abijam's mother is said to be the daughter of Abishalom in I Kings and the daughter of Uriel in II Chronicles. But Cogan in referring to the I Kings verse notes that both Josephus and some early Greek manuscripts have Maacah listed as the grqanddaughter of Absalom/Abishalom, not his daughter. Both NEB and NJB translations go with this understanding, according to which Maacah is actually named after her great-grandmother, an earlier Maacah (see II Samuel 3:3).

Williamson concludes regarding the above question, “With so little of the necessary information available it is more prudent simply to observe what is said without assuming that it must be irreconcilable or that it is necessary to harmonise.”

And Myers chimes in: “There may have been divergent records, hardly surprising in view of the many wives, concubines and children Rehoboam and Abijah are supposed to have had. In the present state of our knowledge, any solution can only be speculative. The following suggestions have been put forth:”

    Abijah and Asa were brothers.

    Uriel was the husband of Tamar the daughter of Absalom.

    The wife of Asa also bore the name of Maacah.

    Chronicles is correct and the name of Maacah in I Kings 16:2 is secondary due to the influence of verse 10.

    Maacah was the grandmother of Asa. Myers says, “Only in 20:16 is the mother of Asa referred to as Maacah. It is possible that in Kings the real name of Abijah's wife was submerged by the strong personality of his mother, Maacah.”

Elaborating on the relationship between Abijam and Asa, I Kings 15:8 says, “Abijam slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Then his son Asa succeeded him.” However, vv. 1-2 and 9-10 of that chapter list Macaah daughter of Abishalom as the mother of both of them, making them brothers instead.

The NIV reads, “His grandmother's name was Maacah” instead. Cogan explains that the confusion probably arises since under Asa's reign, Maacah (his grandmother) was the very powerful Queen Mother and that is why she has been called his “mother.” Some manuscripts resolve the difficulty by replacing “son” in 15:8 with “brother” instead.

If you aren't confused by all of this, I must admit that I am. But the bottom line is that there are several ways in which to resolve what looks like insolvable contradictions.