| Question from John in New York: Some
of the bibles read that the person mentioned in 2 Chronicles 22:2 became
king at the age of 22; other bibles, including the Tanakh, read
that the person became king at the age of 42. Please
explain the different translations?
Reply by Jim Myers: John, as usual you have made a
great observation. There are two accounts of the same event
recorded in the Bible --
2 Kings 8:26 & 2 Chronicles 22:2. The Kings account is
generally believed by scholars to be the oldest version.
2 Kings
8:26
Hebrew Bible
Two
and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he
reigned one year in
Jerusalem
.
And his mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of
Israel
.
2 Chronicles 22:2 Hebrew Bible
Forty
and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he
reigned one year in
Jerusalem
;
and his mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
In addition to the above accounts of the event there are
also the Greek translations of the verses that are found in the
Septuagint..
2 Kings
8:26
Septuagint (4 Kings 8:26)
Twenty and two years old
was Ochozias when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in
Jerusalem
:
and the name of his mother was Gotholia, daughter of Ambri king
of
Israel
.
2 Chronicles 22:2 Septuagint
Ochozias began to reign when he
was twenty years old, and he reigned one year in
Jerusalem
:
and his mother’s name was Gotholia, the daughter of Ambri.
John, the answer to
your question is that the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and Septuagint agree that Ahaziah
was twenty-two years old in 2 Kings 8:26. The confusion is caused by
the later account recorded in 2 Chronicles 22:2 where the Hebrew Bibles
states that he was forty-two years old, but the Greek translation of the
same verse in the Septuagint states that he was twenty years-old.
Since there is agreement concerning the oldest account recorded in Kings,
some translators may take that in account in making their translation of 2
Chronicles. If, however, they do not state what they did in a
footnote, readers may not be aware that they completely ignored what was
written in the Hebrew text. This, of course, presents another
challenge for those who believe that their Bible is the "literal and
inerrant word of God;" but that is for another study.
|
