7 years or 3 years of famine? Is there a contradiction in the Hebrew text that the NIV, ESV and many Catholic versions need to correct?
Several of the bogus modern Vatican supervised text versions - but not all of them - reject the Hebrew and Syriac reading of SEVEN years in 2 Samuel 24:13.
2 Samuel 24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall SEVEN years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land?
1 Chronicles 21:11-12 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee either THREE years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land...
There are many atheistic, Islamic and Bible Debunker sites on the internet which contain longs lists of supposed contradictions in the Bible.
On one Islamic site listing "101 Clear Contradictions in the Bible" this is number four.
Contradiction #4
God sent his prophet to threaten David with how many years of famine?
(a) Seven (2 Samuel 24:13).
(b) Three (1 Chronicles 21:12).
Those Christians who continue to use the modern versions like the NASB, NIV, ESV and NKJV will typically answer these objections in this way which is taken directly from the Apologetics Index.
"It is probably a copyist error and the better preserved text renders the famine as three years -- Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985."
Another modern version site by the name of Tecktonic.org Apologetics Ministries has this to say: "Were there seven years of famine offered, or three (per 1 Chronicles 21:11)? Three is the more likely reading, favored by the LXX and by symmetry with the other punishments offered (three months of flight from enemies, three days of plague). Samuel was hit by a copyist error. See our foundational essay on copyist errors for general background. "
So, Samuel was hit by a copyist error, was he? Where was God during this whole process?
Another site that calls itself Rational Christianity - Christian Apologetics, which uses the NKJV has this to say: "This is a copyist error. Presumably the correct number is three, since the other choices are threes.
Bible corrector Adam Clark confidently (and mistakenly) affirms: “Shall seven years of famine - In 1 Chronicles 21:12, the number is three, not seven; and here the Septuagint has three, the same as in Chronicles: this is no doubt the true reading.”
John Gill at least offers a reasonable explanation. He writes: “in (1 Chronicles 21:12) , only "three years" are mentioned, and so the Septuagint version here; but Josephus , the Targum, the Syriac and Arabic versions, have the number "seven"... for the reconciling of which let it be observed, that there had been three years of famine already on account of the sin of Saul, (2 Samuel 21:1) ; and in the current year, through the rains not falling in the proper time, the land was barren and unfruitful.. and the sense is, shall there be a continuance of seven years of famine, that is, three more added to what had been?”
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown likewise see the simple truth when they comment: “Shall seven years of famine come unto thee--that is, in addition to the three that had been already, with the current year included (see on 1Ch 21:11).”
Bible commentator Matthew Poole (1624-1679 English Annotations on the Holy Bible) rightly says: "Seven years of famine. Objection. In 1 Chron. xxi. 12, it is only three years of famine. Some conceive that here was an error in the transcriber, and that the true reading is three years, as the LXX. read it in this place, being supposed to have found it so in their copies, and that otherwise they durst never have presumed to make so great a change in the text. In Chron. he speaks exactly of those years of famine only which came for David's sin; but here he speaks more comprehensively, including those three years of famine sent for Saul's sin, chap. xxi. And this sin of David's was committed in the year next after them, which was in a manner a year of famine; either because it was the sabbatical year, wherein they might not sow nor reap; or rather, because not being able to sow in the third year, because of the excessive drought, they were not capable of reaping this fourth year. And three years more being added to these four, make up the seven here mentioned. So the meaning of the words is this, As thou hast already had four years of famine, shall three years more come ? And that it is said of these seven years, that they shall come, it is a synecdochical expression frequent in Scripture, because part of the years were yet to come; even as it is said of the Israelites, that they should wander in the wilderness forty years, Numb. xiv. 33, when part of that time was already spent."
In 2 Samuel 24: 13 the prophet Gad comes to David and says: "Shall SEVEN years of famine come unto thee in thy land?"SEVEN years is the reading of the Hebrew text here as the NIV, RSV, NRSV, ESV and the Catholic New Jerusalem bible footnotes tell us. The reading of THREE YEARS comes from the Greek Septuagint version, but not the Hebrew or even from the Syriac.The false reading in 2 Samuel 24:13 of THREE years is found in the NIV, RSV, NRSV 1946 and 1989 editions, ESV, NEB, Bible in Basic English, the New Living Translation 2015, the Holman Standard 2009, Christian Standard Bible 2017, Contemporary English Version 2011, Common English Bible 2011, New International Reader’s Version 2014, The Voice 2012 and the Message of 2018 and The New Catholic Bible 2019.
The Catholic Versions are continually changing and are in disagreement with each other. The older Douay-Rheims and the Douay of 1950 both follow the Hebrew reading in 2 Samuel 24:13 and say "SEVEN years", but then the Jerusalem bible 1969, St. Joseph NAB of 1970, the New Jerusalem bible 1985 and The New Catholic Bible 2019 went with "THREE years", and then tell us in a footnote that the Hebrew reads "seven years".
But they are not done yet. Now in 2009 the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible has come out and it goes BACK to the Hebrew reading of "SEVEN years" saying: "Either SEVEN years of famine will come to you in your land; or you will flee for three months from your adversaries". You can see this 2009 Catholic version here -
http://www.sacredbible.org/catholic/OT-10_2-Samuel.htm#24
The ever changing NRSVs.
An interesting case if the New Revised Standard Version. The 1946 and 1989 NRSV editions rejected the clear Hebrew reading and put THREE years famine. BUT now in 2021 they have come out with the NEW Revised Standard Version UPDATED Edition and it has now gone back to the Hebrew reading of “SEVEN years of famine.”
The so called Living Translation has done the same thing but in reverse! The Living Bible of 1971 stayed with the Hebrew and said SEVEN years of famine, but now the NEW Living Translation of 2015 has rejected the Hebrew text and reads “THREE years of famine.”
Modern scholarship is indeed a wonder to behold. You always wonder what they are going to come up with next.
Those versions that agree with the KJB reading of SEVEN years are the Latin Vulgate 405 A.D., Wycliffe bible 1395, Coverdale's bible 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew's Bible 1549, the Bishops's Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, Darby 1890, Youngs 1898, the Revised Version 1881, the ASV of 1901, Rotherham's Emphasized Bible of 1902, the Jewish translations of 1917 (JPS), 1936 Hebrew Publishing Company, the 2004 Judaica Press Tanach, the Complete Jewish Bible 1998, the Hebrew Names Bible, the New Life Bible of 1969, the Amplified Bible 1987, the Koster Scriptures 1998, the Spanish Reina Valera's 1569, 1960, 1995, 2011, the Spanish La Biblia de las Américas 1997, the Italian Diodati 1649 and the New Diodati of 1991, the Italian Nuova Riveduta of 2006 - "sette anni di carestia", the Portuguese Ferreira de Almeida Actualizada, and the Portuguese O Livro of 2000 - "sete anos de fome", Lamsa's 1933 translation of the Syriac Peshitta, the French Martin 1744, the French Ostervald 1996, La Bible de Semeur 1999, the French Luis Segond 21 of 2007- "Veux-tu 7 années de famine", Luther's German bible 1545 and the German Schlachter Bible 2000 - "Willst du, daß sieben Jahre Teuerung in dein Land komme?", the NASB 1995 and 2020, Legacy Standard Bible 2021, Douay 1950, the NKJV 1982, Contemporary English Version 1995, the Living Bible 1971 edition, , Names of God Bible 2011, Modern English Version 2014, Tree of Life Version 2015 and even Daniel Wallace's NET version!
And the Modern Greek Bible also follows the Hebrew reading of SEVEN years of famine.
2 Samuel 24:13 - Θελεις να επελθωσιν εις σε επτα ετη πεινης επι την γην σου;
https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/.../greek.../2-amuel/24/
This is really a very simple "contradiction" to solve if one just believes God's word as found in the King James Bible and takes the time to read it carefully.
Only in the book of 2 Samuel are we told in chapter 21:1 "Then there was a famine in the days of David THREE years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
David then, as requested by the Gibeonites, had seven men of the sons of Saul put to death by hanging in "the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of the barley harvest." This couldn't have been much of a harvest because the famine was still in the land. They would then have to wait till next year for a good crop.
Next we read of king David telling Joab to go and number the people of Israel. This census taking seems to have been a vain attempt by David to boast in the power of the flesh. See how strong I am and how many people I command. This was the sin that brought about the threatened judgment of more famine by God.
It is important to see that this numbering of the people took a period of 9 months and 20 days as is noted in 2 Samuel 24:8. "So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days."
So, what we have here is four years of famine that had already preceded the time when Gad comes to David and says in 2 Samuel 24:13 "Shall SEVEN years of famine come unto thee in the land?"
But when we look at 1 Chronicles, there is no mention of the famine that had already been going on before David numbered the people. There in 1 Chronicles we read: "Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee either THREE years' famine: or three months to be destroyed before thy foes...or else three days the sword of LORD, even the pestilence..."
The account in 1 Chronicles 21:11-12 gives the verbatim quote of what GOD spoke. It says, “So Gad came to David, and said unto him, THUS SAITH THE LORD, Choose thee either THREE years' famine...” (emphasis added).Thus, it is God who says “three years” in 1 Chronicles 21:11-12. On the other hand, the number, “seven years,” in 2 Samuel 24:13 are the personal words of GAD, and NOT of GOD. It says, “So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come…." If we read 2 Samuel 24:13 carefully, we see that Gad first “told him” (the verbatim words of God as recorded in 1 Chronicles 21:11-12) and then “said unto him, Shall seven years….”So to answer the question: "Were there seven years of famine or only three?", the correct answer is BOTH. There were seven years of famine altogether; four had already occurred and three more years were threatened as a further judgment.
The King James Bible is right as always - get used to it.
Will Kinney