"How many horsemen did David take?" (Alleged Contradiction #E8202)
And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.
II Samuel 8:4
And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots.
I Chronicles 18:4
Response
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700 refers to those kept alive, while 7,000 refers to the total
I Chronicles 18:4 says that David took 1000 chariots, but reserved horses for 100 chariots. It is possible that there were 7 horsemen to 1 chariot; thus, when David captured 1,000 chariots, he captured 7,000 horsemen total. However, he kept 100 chariots, with their horses and horsemen (700) alive for his own use.
– - 700, then 6,300 more
It is possible that David initially captured only 700 of the chariots, while the other 6,300 escaped, and then David shortly thereafter captured the others. Thus, the numbers are not contradictory, but just reference different timeframes.
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