Old Testament · questions that cite 1 Kings.
Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
The tension: Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and New Testament passages repeatedly assert strict monotheism, with YHWH alone and no other gods beside him.
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Leans toward reconciliation
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward reconciliation
The tension: This one is a three-way tangle.
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Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
The tension: The Hebrew Bible repeatedly narrates theophanies in which God is seen face-to-face — by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, seventy elders, Manoah, Micaiah, Job, Isa…
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 8:9 and 2 Chronicles 5:10 both state flatly that when Solomon brought the ark into the temple, "there was nothing in the ark save the two tables of sto…
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Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
The tension: Exodus, Leviticus, and Nehemiah consistently name Mount Sinai as the mountain of revelation (Exod 31:18, 34:4, 34:32, Lev 26:46, 27:34, Neh 9:13).
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Usually considered reconciled
Scholarly consensus: Usually considered reconciled
The tension: Leviticus 20:13 prescribes the death penalty for male same-sex intercourse.
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Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction
The tension: Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 6:18 declare flatly that God cannot lie.
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Genuinely disputed among scholars
Scholarly consensus: Genuinely disputed among scholars
The tension: 2 Samuel 22:21-25 has David claiming the LORD rewarded him according to his righteousness and the cleanness of his hands.
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Genuinely disputed among scholars
Scholarly consensus: Genuinely disputed among scholars
The tension: 2 Samuel 23:1-7 explicitly introduces a poetic oracle as "the last words of David," a Spirit-inspired psalm of righteous kingship.
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Leans toward reconciliation
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward reconciliation
The tension: 1 Kings 3:4 describes Solomon going to Gibeon and offering a thousand burnt offerings, with no mention of any congregation accompanying him.
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Usually considered reconciled
Scholarly consensus: Usually considered reconciled
The tension: 1 Kings 3:12 has God telling Solomon that none would arise like him in wisdom, before or after.
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Leans toward reconciliation
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward reconciliation
The tension: 1 Kings 4:26 says Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots.
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Leans toward reconciliation
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward reconciliation
The tension: 1 Kings 4:31 calls Heman a "son of Mahol" along with Ethan, Chalcol, and Darda.
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Genuinely disputed among scholars
Scholarly consensus: Genuinely disputed among scholars
The tension: 1 Kings 5:11 says Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat and 20 measures of pure oil annually for his household.
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 5:16 reports that Solomon employed 3,300 overseers over the temple workforce, while 2 Chronicles 2:18 puts the number at 3,600.
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 6:1 places Solomon's fourth regnal year — when temple construction begins — 480 years after the Exodus.
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 7:13-14 says Hiram, Solomon's master craftsman, was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali.
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 7:15 (paralleled by 2 Kings 25:17 and Jeremiah 52:21) gives the bronze pillars Jachin and Boaz a height of 18 cubits each.
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 7:26 states the molten sea held 2,000 baths.
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Usually considered reconciled
Scholarly consensus: Usually considered reconciled
The tension: 1 Kings 8:12 and 2 Chronicles 6:1 declare that Yahweh said he would dwell in thick darkness, with Psalms 18:11 and 97:2 echoing the imagery.
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Genuinely disputed among scholars
Scholarly consensus: Genuinely disputed among scholars
The tension: 1 Kings 8:13 and 2 Chronicles 7:12, 16 declare that God's name and presence will dwell in the Jerusalem temple Solomon built.
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Genuinely disputed among scholars
Scholarly consensus: Genuinely disputed among scholars
The tension: 1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36, Proverbs 20:9, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:8-10 all declare that no human is without sin.
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 9:23 reports that 550 chief officers oversaw Solomon's construction projects.
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Leans toward a genuine contradiction
Scholarly consensus: Leans toward a genuine contradiction
The tension: 1 Kings 9:27-28 says Hiram's fleet brought 420 talents of gold from Ophir.
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