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Another contradiction? Not a divine religion?

My first post -

Contradiction in the torah? Please explain this. I have heard many times that a divine book can not contradict

Huram sent him, under the charge of servants, a fleet with a crew of expert seamen; they went with Solomon’s men to Ophir, and obtained gold there in the amount of 450 talents, which they brought to King Solomon.

II Chronicles 8 : 18

They came to Ophir; there they obtained gold in the amount of four hundred and twenty talents, which they delivered to King Solomon.

I Kings 9 : 28

So is it 420 talents or 450 talents?

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    Are you here to troll or to learn?
    – shmosel
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 5:58
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    The entire Torah is understood through the lens of commentary. If you have questions about the role of tradition and commentary in understand Biblical text, you can ask about it directly. Posting gotcha questions with snarky comments is a waste of our time and yours.
    – shmosel
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 6:17
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    You're not the first person to encounter these. In general -- the Jewish commentaries have long ago noted, and worked through, the apparent discrepancies between Kings and Chronicles. (The two books are holy scripture, but were still written at different times, by different people, with different narrative focuses and purposes.) Please look at the Jewish commentaries on Sefaria. (Unfortunately the comprehensive commentary of Malbim isn't yet fully available in English on Sefaria, but there are still lots of good ones.)
    – Shalom
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 7:05
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    @user32576 I don't think you understand how commentaries work. They don't necessarily try to insert additional meaning (well, if the commentary is decent at least), but try to exegate and provide clarity on a particular text or to show answer questions that people often have, to resolve alleged contradictions by drawing from multiple texts as a totality, by highlighting important and interesting facts from the text that often get missed by many and have implications in certain contexts, etc. I think that a good commentary can only help you in the long run and enrich your understanding.
    – setszu
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 7:11
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    @user32576 "not a divine religion?" It should be noted that Judaism is the only religion to have claimed, and ever will claim, a mass revelation in which everyone agreed on what happened. So much so that every day and every festival, the account of the Exodus from Egypt is mentioned, and even has a historical basis. The Jewish people were freed from Egypt on the account they serve God via the commandments, and if not they would be exiled, famine and other disasters would occur (something only God can control). Unlike the other false religions that threaten hell (an unfalsifiable claim)
    – Jewish Context
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 7:29

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Rashi in his commentary on I Kings states that the apparent contradiction is resolved if one understands that the additional 30 were from the Chirom's 120 since Chirom’s servants were in Ophir with his servants:

It is written in Divrei Hayomim that [the ships brought] from Ophir 450 [talents], however it does not include the 120 talents of Chirom. We can resolve the contradictions that the extra 30 were from the 120 of Chirom, because Chirom’s servants were in Ophir with his servants.

Additionally, commentary by Radak on I Kings highlights this alleged contradiction and states that in the Book of Chronicles it says four hundred and fifty gold coins, but in the I Kings it says four hundred and twenty and that's because the thirty were spent on road expenses:

ארבע מאות ועשרים ככר. ובדברי הימים אומר ארבע מאות וחמשים ככר זהב כי השלשים הוציאו בהוצאות הדרך:

As far as your comment on commentaries goes, I think it's a bit of a misconception. Commentaries don't necessarily try to insert additional meaning, but instead try to exegete and provide clarity on a particular text or to show answers to questions that people commonly have. Some features that commentaries often include are regarding resolution of alleged contradictions by drawing from multiple texts as a totality, trying to highlight important and interesting facts from the text that often get missed by many and have implications in certain contexts, and much more. I don't think that, for example, Rashi is adding any new meaning or text here, G-d forbid, but is instead is highlighting what is often implicit within the context of the Torah and the Jewish tradition. In the long run, I think that a good commentary can only be of help and enrich your understanding, and Rashi's and Radak's commentaries have a high reputation in Jewish circles so it wouldn't be bad to get acquainted with them.

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  • If you need any further clarification, just ask here and I will try to explain it if I can and/or edit it into the answer.
    – setszu
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 7:08
  • Wouldn't a divine book stick to the same number to avoid confusion? You would think that a book that is all knowing wouldn't mix up 420 and 450 with a forced explanation from someone that lived many generations later
    – user32576
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 7:47
  • @user32576 1st of all, the book is not "all knowing", never say that again. 2nd, as the answer explains, the numbers aren't "mixed up", but are intentionally used within their proper context to highlight and indicate different things. Commentaries have many different reasons for being written, & some can write them even just for the sake of it, so that it was written later is irrelevant. The entire point is that there is no actual confusion. The commentaries here aren't forced, but are often even included somewhat akin to side-notes, & these meanings have been passed orally for generations.
    – setszu
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 7:53
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    @user32576 you seem to come here with an agenda, not to learn. If you want to learn, ask and we will do our best to help. Specifically entire books have been written about how to answer this kind of contradiction, for two excellent examples in English see R Amnon Bazaq's To This Very Day and R Joshua Berman's Ani Maamin
    – mbloch
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 8:49
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    @mbloch I agree with this, and I also second Rabbi Joshua Berman's Ani Maamin which shows that what seems to be a "contradiction" is actually often an intentional juxtaposition to highlight developments in the law. Reading that book will help one see the Torah in a different perspective and closer to the eyes of the people in the ANE context. It is very useful in my view.
    – setszu
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 8:52

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