Contradictions In The Bible: 1 Chronicles 21:25 VS 2 Samuel 24:24 -By Joe Dauda

1 Chronicles 21:25

“So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.”

2 Samuel 24:24

“So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”

Note: Ornan and Araunah refer to the same individual.

There is more than enough evidence that the above are parallel passages and are telling the same story. See 1 Chronicles 21:21-25 and compare with 2 Samuel 24:20-24.

But the amounts stated as paid by king David are vastly different. One says 50 shekels of silver and another says 600 shekels of gold by weight.

How do we harmonize these apparently contradictory passages?

First of all, you need to know that there are several parallel passages in the Bible that prove that the Bible sometimes avoids repetition. Even the formula for salvation sometimes only mentions believing in Jesus Christ but actually contains believing and being baptized, based on passages like Mark 16:16. This is very important.

With regards to 1 Chronicles 21:25 and 2 Samuel 24:24, there is evidence that, while 2 Samuel was referring to the cost of the wheat and other things in Ornan’s threshing floor, 1 Chronicles was referring to the cost of the threshing floor itself; in other words, the land on which the threshing floor sat.

Where is the threshing floor and how large is it?

Well, it was large enough for the first temple to be built on it.

2 Chronicles 3:1

“Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”

Note that this was clearly the same location where Abraham bound Isaac and where he would have sacrificed him, but for Jesus Christ — the Lamb provided by God; see John 1:29. Isaac was spared at Mount Moriah and Abraham sacrificed the ram caught in a thicket; see Genesis 22:11-13.

That location was the same place the second temple was built and it is the same place now hosting the Islamic mosque popularly known as Al Aqsa. It is a massive piece of land and contains several hundred square meters. Going by the cost of a measure of wheat during the time of the kings, it is clear that the 50 shekels king David was said to have paid (as stated in 2 Samuel 24:24) was for the wheat and stuff in Ornan’s threshing floor and not for the threshing floor itself. I will soon show that the land on which Al Aqsa sits today could not have been bought for just 50 shekels, even in David’s time.

Note that a measure of fine flour (made from wheat) cost a shekel in times of high supply and probably two shekels in normal times: Please read about this in 2 Kings 7:16, 18.

2 Kings 7:16

“So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel . . .”

In times of excess, a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, showing it could cost more when supply was stable.

What quantity of wheat could 50 shekels purchase during the times of the kings? Using the account of 2 Kings 7:16,18, 50 shekels could purchase 25 measures of wheat and, at most, 50 measures of wheat when supply is high and wheat is very cheap, as was the case in 2 Kings 7:16,18. This is the sort of quantity of wheat one would expect in a threshing floor because a measure of wheat is not that much. In fact, according to the Bible, three measures of wheat were required to feed three men, showing that a measure is just a little quantity and that 50 measures of wheat can be found in a typical threshing floor. How do we establish (from the Bible) that at least three measures of wheat would be required to feed three men?

Genesis 18:6

“And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.”

Note that the “fine meal” Abraham mentioned is the same thing as fine flour (mentioned in 2 Kings 7:16) and simply refers to processed wheat. And to get a measure of fine meal (processed wheat) you actually need a little more than a measure of wheat because of the chaff. To prove that the quantity the Bible refers to as “measure” in Genesis 18:6 is the same as the quantity referred to in 2 Kings 7:16,18, note that the Hebrew word translated as “measure” in both texts is the word “Seah” pronounced “Sehaw” and it has the Strong’s Concordance number H5429. This is definitive proof that when the Bible mentions the word “measure” it is referring to the same quantity, at least in Genesis 18:6 and 2 Kings 7:16,18 respectively.

The 50 shekels mentioned in 2 Samuel 24:24 was thus apparently payment for the little quantity of wheat Ornan had in his threshing floor. Remember that the deal between Ornan and king David included the threshing floor itself, the oxen, and the threshing instruments, apart from the wheat.

1 Chronicles 21:23

“And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee . . . I give thee the oxen also . . . and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat . . .”

The 50 shekels is a reasonable price for all the above — with the exception of the threshing floor. 2 Samuel 24:24 was stating what king David paid for these things. No wonder it mentions “oxen.”

2 Samuel 24:24

“So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”

But note the wording of 1 Chronicles 21:25.

“So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.”

It says David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for “the place.” Place is very different from just things, like the oxen, wheat, and threshing instruments. It even mentions “by weight” with reference to the price because this was the main deal. The oxen and wheat and threshing instruments were just peripheral to this main deal, but it was their price that was mentioned in 2 Samuel 24:24.

And does the Bible provide any evidence for us to believe that the price of a land is in the range of several hundred shekels and not just 50 shekels?

Yes it does.

Centuries before the time of king David, father Abraham bought a piece of land for 400 shekels of silver — by weight.

Genesis 23:15-16

“My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.”

Go to Google and take a look at the Temple Mount, where both the Dome of the Rock mosque and the Al Aqsa mosque are located. You will realize that, making adjustments for inflation over many centuries, that piece of land would have cost around the 600 shekels of gold stated in 1 Chronicles 21:25 during David’s time. What I mean is that if a piece of burial land cost 400 shekels of silver during the time of Abraham, the large piece of land on which Al Aqsa and co sit today could very well have cost 600 shekels of gold during the time of king David — as stated in the Bible.

Just like the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John complement one another, these two parallel accounts about what king David paid Ornan reveal a depth of information not apparent at first. When the Bible says in John 3:16 that “whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” it is not a contradiction of Mark 16:16 which mentions baptism as a precondition for salvation, along with believing in Jesus Christ. They are complementary passages and both are required to understand the whole truth.

The summary is that, in mentioning the amount king David paid Ornan, 2 Samuel 24:24 mentioned what was paid for the oxen, the wheat, and the threshing instruments (50 shekels) while 1 Chronicles 21:25 mentioned what David paid for the threshing floor itself.

Unfortunately, these are the sort of biblical passages unlearned people pounce upon to accuse the Bible of contradicting itself. However, when understood, it reveals the beauty of the divine inspiration of the text, which seems designed to hide the truth from the disobedient. And there are several of such apparent contradictions in the Bible, giving great light to the wise while providing solid excuse for the children of disobedience to disbelieve the Bible and continue in their blindness. One example of such will suffice.

Exodus 33:11

“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”

When the above is compared with John 1:18, it seems to suggest a contradiction.

John 1:18

“No man hath seen God at any time.”

But here is the harmonization.

God clearly stated that He took deliberate steps to ensure that Moses did not see His face.

Exodus 33:19-23

“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”

So why would the Bible categorically state that the LORD spoke to Moses face to face in Exodus 33:11? What does the Bible mean by that since we have just seen (from Exodus 33:19-23) that Moses at no time saw God face to face?

Numbers 12:4-8

“And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

From the above, we find the answer to our question in the word “apparently”.

An easy synonym for the word “apparently” is the word “obviously”. With Moses, God did not need to codify His message with visions and dreams, as was the case with regular prophets. With Moses, it was as with a friend. That is what God meant by the phrase translated as “mouth to mouth” in verse 8.

So these are just two examples of the depth of the hidden knowledge in the Bible. And it perfectly validates what Daniel the prophet said concerning the wicked and the wise:

Daniel 12:10

“None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”

To understand the significance of the Temple Mount in end time prophecy (especially at this time when war is raging between Israel and some entities in the Middle East region, read my past articles on Benjamin Netanyahu, the Ezekiel 38 war, a series titled Gravity As A Weapon Of War, and other related topics. Just visit Opinion Nigeria Dot Com and search for Joe Dauda in the search bar. To read articles that mention Benjamin Netanyahu, add his name to Joe Dauda; to read articles that mention the Ezekiel 38 war, add Ezekiel 38 to Joe Dauda in the search bar.

Even unbelievers and serious minded sinners know that we are in the end times and that something of cosmic significance is about to happen. The sweet thing for students of prophecy is that all these things confirm their faith and make them understand in a real and intellectually appealing way that the God of the Bible is the true God and that He has no boss to report to or defer to because the things He has said will happen are coming to pass in amazing ways.

May God have mercy on all of us.