Is There Contradiction with 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chron 21:1?

King David playing the harp

Anonymous said...

magandang araw po father

itatanongko lang po,bakit magkakontra ang 1 cro 21:1-... at 2 sam 24:1-... pakipaliwanag naman ang mga ibig sabihin,pls hihintayin kopo ang sagot n'yo,salamat po

April 5, 2010 5:48 PM

Fr. Abe, CRS said...

[magandang araw po father itatanongko lang po,bakit magkakontra ang 1 cro 21:1-... at 2 sam 24:1-... pakipaliwanag naman ang mga ibig sabihin,pls hihintayin kopo ang sagot n'yo,salamat po]

Dear Anonymous,

This is just a 'seeming' contradiction. The two textx were written years or decades apart from each other and for sure they were written by different Biblical writers. Even though the story that they want to present is similar or one and the same event the writers presented them with different perspective or theological viewpoint.

That of the Book of Samuel presented David's census of Israel as regards the king's relation with God... thus the divine command for the census. On the other hand, the Book of Chronicles presented it on the perspective of the inner weakness of David wherein he succumbed to the temptation of Satan.

The two could be reconciled. Look again in 2 Sam 24:1 God is already angry when He ordered the census.Why was the Lord God angry? Because David succumbed to the temptation of Satan. David wanted to census the people because he was lacking in faith and trust that the Lord can give him victory in battle even with very few soldiers. In fact in 2 Sam 24:10 King David categorically asked God's forgiveness for his sin. It means that the census was primarily motivated by David's sin which is an effect of Satan's temptations.

I hope I was able to clarify this one a little bit.

April 29, 2010 2:07 PM