Contradiction with 1 Chronicles 21:3
Joab questions the decision to count the people, showing reluctance, but in 2 Samuel 24:4, Joab proceeds with the census despite his hesitation.
1 Chronicles 21:3: And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they [be]: but, my lord the king, [are] they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?
Paradox #1
The contradiction or inconsistency could involve the differences in the accounts of David's census in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. In 2 Samuel, the Lord's anger prompts David to take a census, while in 1 Chronicles, it is Satan who incites David to do so. This raises questions about the source of the temptation and God's role in the event.
Paradox #2
The main contradiction involves the story of David taking a census of Israel. In 2 Samuel 24, it says that God incited David to take the census. However, in 1 Chronicles 21, it claims that Satan incited David to do it. This difference raises questions about who actually prompted David to conduct the census.
Paradox #3
This verse could show a contradiction because it involves a conflict between following a king's orders and the potential wrongness of the action ordered. The conflict arises when doing what the authority wants might go against ethical or divine rules, raising questions about obedience and morality.
Paradox #4
In 2 Samuel 24:4, there is a numerical inconsistency when compared to 1 Chronicles 21:4. The two accounts describe the same event but report different figures or details about the number of people involved in the census that was taken. This discrepancy in numbers is what causes the contradiction.