"How many soldiers counted by Joab?" (Alleged Contradiction #E3890)
And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
II Samuel 24:9
And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.
I Chronicles 21:5
Response
II Samuel 24 gives the number of actual soldiers, whereas I Chronicles is giving the number of men who could be soldiers and were on standby (i.e., on reserve). For instance, II Samuel uses the word “valiant”, whereas I Chronicles does not.
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