During the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the captain of his guard came to Jerusalem. However, there seems to be a contradiction in the Books of Jeremiah and 2nd Kings regarding when Nebuzar-adan arrived. Let’s take a closer look.
In the account of the Book of Jeremiah, it says:
“Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,” (Jeremiah 52:12)
Whereas, on the other hand, the account in the Book of Kings says:
“And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem.” (2 Kings 25:8)
There seems to be a contradiction here; the first verse says: “on the tenth day of the month” but the second verse says: “on the seventh day of the month.” So, one is on the 10th day of the 5th month in the 19th year and the other verse is on the 7th day of the 5th month in the 19th year.
Explanation:
In fact, there are two possible solutions to solve this apparent “contradiction.”
Solution 1:
Since there were no means of transport at that time, people had to travel on animals (camels, horses, donkeys, etc.). It is therefore very plausible that Nebuzar-adan arose on the 7th day and did not arrive until the 10th day. That would mean he had a 3-day trip.
This is similar to when a person flies from America to Europe by plane, for example, on Sunday. The flight takes about 12 hours. So, if someone were to fly on Sunday evening, they would arrive in Europe on Monday. If you were to ask someone in America when they left, they would answer Sunday. However, if you ask someone from Europe, the answer would be Monday.
Similarly, in this case, Nebuzar-adan left on the 7th day but only arrived on the 10th day.
Solution 2:
Nebuzar-adan came to conquer Jerusalem and took Judah captive. So, he certainly didn’t just march in through the main gate. It may therefore be entirely plausible that Nebuzar-adan arrived in Jerusalem on the 7th day, but he did not enter Jerusalem until the 10th day. Presumably, there was a war and Jerusalem tried to defend itself and consequently closed the city gates.
In addition, the wording of the two verses supports this solution since the first verse writes:
“… in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, … into Jerusalem,” (Jeremiah 52:12)
Whereas in the account of the Book of Kings, it says:
“… in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, … unto Jerusalem.” (2 Kings 25:8)
It may therefore be plausible that Nebuzar-adan came on the 7th day unto Jerusalem, spent 3 days outside, and only came into Jerusalem on the 10th day.
Conclusion:
In both cases, the two verses do not contradict each other, and both cases are highly plausible.
You can find more articles dealing with the alleged contradictions in the Bible at the link below:
Category: Bible Difficulties
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@SaintPaulCopticApologetics
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