Contradiction with 2 Kings 22:3-6
These verses present a similar account of Josiah’s reforms and the repairing of the temple, detailing the same events but with variations in wording and specifics that could be seen as discrepancies.
2 Kings 22:3-6: And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, [that] the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,
Contradiction with 2 Chronicles 29:3
This verse describes Hezekiah's purification of the temple in the first year of his reign, raising the question of whether temple repairs should have been a prior focus rather than Josiah's task, creating a time-related narrative tension.
2 Chronicles 29:3: He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.
Contradiction with 2 Chronicles 36:19
This verse recounts the destruction of the temple, which could contradict the efforts of rebuilding and restoration noted in Josiah’s reign, showing a cyclical pattern of destruction and restoration.
2 Chronicles 36:19: And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
Contradiction with 1 Kings 6:1
This verse documents the building of the temple under Solomon's reign, providing a contrast to later restoration efforts, which might suggest a disconnect in the continuity of temple function and maintenance.
1 Kings 6:1: And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which [is] the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. [began...: Heb. built]
Contradiction with Jeremiah 26:18
Refers to the widespread destruction and prophecy against Jerusalem, which may contradict the continuity and success of Josiah's reforms depicted in 2 Chronicles 34:8.
Jeremiah 26:18: Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed [like] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.