Contradiction Number 2

According to 2 Chronicles 36:9, he was 8 years old. But in 2 Kings 24:8, it says he was 18 years old. That's a huge difference—ten years is no small error when you're talking about whether a child or a young adult was ruling a kingdom. This contradiction has minor theological significance but raises real concerns for people who view Scripture as inerrant down to every word and number. Critics argue that this discrepancy reveals how historical books may have been copied or edited over time with occasional numerical mistakes. Defenders of the Bible often try to "explain it away" by suggesting the Chronicler's version (8 years old) is a copyist's error—the Hebrew characters for 8 (שׁמֹנֶה) and 18 (שְׁמֹנֶה־עֶשְׂרֵה) are very similar and may have been misread by a scribe. Others argue that Jehoiachin may have been made co-regent at 8 and became full king at 18, although there's no strong textual support for that theory. Either way, it paints a picture of fragile bible texts where seemingly simple details don't align.