"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Colossians 2:8

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts... For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old,
-2 Peter 3:3-5

Skeptic's Argument: One who scoffs at God's Word.

These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel. And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.
-1 Chronicles 11:10-11

This section says that David killed 300 at one time, but later it says he killed 800.

These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
-2 Samuel 23:8

This is an obvious contradiction, therefore the Bible is wrong.

Bible-Reader's Answer: One who takes God's Word seriously.

The first thing that caught my eye when comparing these two verses is that the names of the men were different. Notice how Jashobeam the Hachmonite is chief of the captains in Chronicles, and then in Samuel, Adino the Eznite sat as chief of the captains. It's obvious this is talking about two different events.

Most people approach the Scripture with an attitude of "which one's right," maintaining an ASSUMPTION that both books are always identically talking about the same event in all places. The answer is that they're both correct, but we need to approach Scripture with the understanding that these are two different testimonies from two different times (i.e. they're not the same book).

The context explains to us how they are different testimonies, and let's first look at Chronicles, since it is the first book in the chronology of events:

So David waxed greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him.
1 Chronicles 11:9

In 1 Chronicles 11, David was in his prime, actively performing the work of the Lord. But what of 2 Samuel 23?

Now these be the last words of David...
-2 Samuel 23:1

Whereas 1 Chronicles 11 was written in his prime, 2 Samuel 23 was written as a last testimony before David's death. Thus, both instances of the men slain at one time in 1 Chronicles 11 & 2 Samuel 23 happened, but they are two separate events, in separate locations, with two separate numbers of men killed.
Furthermore, the highest achievements of men tend to be that which is last recorded. For example, as a Christian, if you had traveled to a foreign land and helped save 300 souls, that would be a wonderful feat, but it would not be as impressive as if you had traveled to another land and helped save 800 souls; therefore if you were writing down your record number of souls saved at one time, the 800 would be the instance you would leave behind for historical documentation. (i.e. Most people would know you for the 800, not the 300.) 2 Samuel 23 was recorded at the end of David's life, so whereas he had recorded accurately the 300 slain at one time earlier in his life, it was nothing compared to the 800 at one time, so that is the record he left with the world in his final testimony, needing not to again record the 300 since it had already been recorded in Chronicles.

This would be like George Washington (General of Colonists in American Revolution War) killing 30 men in a battle and writing it down, and then, later in his life, recording that he killed 80 men in a completely separate battle. The skeptic coming along to claim a contradiction between the two is hilariously silly.

These are two separate events, concerning the slaying of two different armies, from two separate times in David's life. Both are correct.

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