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Someone wrote “I stumbled very challenging arguments. About contradictions in the Tanach, how may I answer this guy 😭. Babylonian captivity, how many were the children of Pahrath-Moab? There are differences between the number given in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7…
Also Did Joshua and the Israelites capture Jerusalem? (a) Yes (Joshua 10:23, 40) (b) No (Joshua 15:63) ************************************************* Let’s first address Ezra and Nehemiah. First realize Ezra and Nehemiah are one book. Why repeat the same thing in one book? Because there are differences. Remember that both the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are found in Ketuvim -- Writings. This is the third part of the T'nach and the "least" holy in that they were all written by humans inspired by G-d (not prophecy). If there are differences no harm no foul – people make mistakes. But are they mistakes? Maybe yes, maybe no. There are 29 small differences in all from Ezra. 8 differences in names. 7 omissions. 19 discrepancies in the numbers. Rashi (the Torah commentator from 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105) said they weren’t focusing on the numbers, until you get to the total number (which is the same in Ezra and Nehemiah). "Scripture was not so exact with the figures, but the total is the same in both places, as it is stated (Ezra 2:64, Neh. 7:66): “The entire congregation together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty.” The writer relied on this total and was not so exact in the figures of the individual numbers. Everything is explained above (Ezra 2)." Rashi. There are a few other opinions. The difference in clan figures may reflect people who came and went at different times. Jerusalem was a dangerous place because of those who had moved in during the Babylonian Exile of 70 years… Ibn Ezra (1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167) says the list also reflects the births and deaths in the time from Ezra’s list and Nehemiah’s later being literally a generation (maybe 2 generations) later. There was a 36 year gap between Ezra’s list and Nehemiah’s list. Nehemiah says he found a document found at the time of the original settlement – but he updated the numbers to take account of the population when he was writing – 36 years later. Because of the 36 year gap there would have been different census takers, too – so rather than try to reconcile the lists both were included – from the times they were taken and the differences may be explained by births, deaths, people arriving, people leaving – with the total number remaining the same in the end. Ezra says there were 42,360 returnees to Judah. Yet the details in Ezra are less by nearly 13,000. Ezra says there were 42,360 returnees to Judah. Yet the details in Ezra are less by nearly 13,000. The 30,000 given are only from Judah and Benjamin. The other 13,000 are everyone else. Our sages said that the 13,000 “missing” are Jews from the other ten Tribes, who were not listed separately and Jews without tribes (converts or children of Erev Rav). There was a huge donation recorded in Nehemiah that isn’t in Ezra – again it may have been given in that 36 year gap or it could have been modesty on the part of the donor. As for Joshua It doesn't say that the Israelites did not capture Jerusalem. It says "As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah in Jerusalem to this day." In other words the Jebusites were not driven out of Jerusalem -- it doesn't say the city wasn't captured. Read for context. Again here is Rashi's commentary "We learned in Sifrei : Rabbi Joshua the son of Korha says: They really could, but they were not permitted, because of the oath which Abraham had sworn to Abimelech. Now these Jebusites were not of the Jebusite nation, but the Tower of David which was in Jerusalem, was called Jebus, and the inhabitants of that section were of the Philistines. And when the children of Judah conquered Jerusalem, they did not drive out the inhabitants of that section." There is a good video on this topic at the Orthodox Union website. https://outorah.org/p/120620
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