Why does 2 Samuel 15:7 mention "four years" when some translations say "forty years"? Text Of The Passage “Now at the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, ‘Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I have made to the LORD.’” (2 Samuel 15:7, Berean Standard Bible) The Variant Reading Many English versions based on the traditional Masoretic consonantal text follow the figure “forty,” while most modern evangelical translations (BSB, ESV, NIV, CSB, NET, etc.) adopt “four.” The divergence rests on a single Hebrew numeral: • ד (daleth) = 4 • מ (mem) = 40 In Paleo-Hebrew script these letters resemble each other closely, making a copyist’s slip unsurprising. No doctrine hinges on the difference, but the question affects the internal chronology of David’s reign and Absalom’s conspiracy. Internal Chronology Of Absalom’S Life • Absalom murders Amnon two years after the rape of Tamar (2 Samuel 13:23). • He flees to Geshur for three years (13:38). • Upon return he lives in Jerusalem two years without royal audience (14:28). From reconciliation to rebellion the text naturally expects a short span, not a generation. Adding four more years (total ≈ 9) accords with David’s mid-reign, whereas forty would place the conspiracy after David’s death. Moreover, David’s total reign lasted forty years (1 Kings 2:11); if Absalom rebelled “after forty years,” the figure would extend beyond the very length of David’s kingship. Possible Explanations If “Forty” Were Original Some commentators have suggested ingenious harmonizations: • Counting forty years from Israel’s demand for a king (1 Samuel 8). • Counting from David’s anointing at Bethlehem (1 Samuel 16). • Counting Absalom’s age (assuming he was born early in David’s life). Each proposal forces the context and lacks textual backing. The simplest solution obeys the historian’s maxim: prefer the reading that best explains the rise of competing readings. A scribe could easily expand ד to מ; it is far less likely that multiple independent lines altered an undisputed “forty” to “four.” Theological Implications And Scriptural Integrity Biblical inerrancy affirms that the original autographs are without error. Variants in transmission do occur, yet God has preserved His word so that, through the abundance of manuscripts, the true reading stands recoverable (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18). The “four/forty” question illustrates: 1. The unrivaled transparency of Scripture: variants are listed in the footnotes of our Bibles, not concealed. 2. The providence of God in manuscript multiplicity: earlier Hebrew (4Q51) confirms what later Greek and Syriac had already witnessed. 3. The robustness of historical faith: no core doctrine—creation, sin, atonement, resurrection—depends on this numeral. Archaeological And Extra-Biblical Corroboration Hebron’s prominence as David’s first capital (2 Samuel 2:1-4) is supported by Middle Bronze fortifications unearthed at Tell Rumeida and the Iron II cultic installations discovered nearby. These findings validate Hebron’s strategic and cultic value, making Absalom’s stated vow a plausible ruse for gathering political support. Summary The external manuscript evidence (earliest Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Latin) and the internal narrative flow converge on “four years.” The appearance of “forty” in the later Masoretic stream is best explained as a scribal oversight involving similar Hebrew letters. Recognizing and resolving such variants does not weaken but rather strengthens confidence that the Bible we hold faithfully conveys the God-breathed word, pointing unerringly to the risen Christ, “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). |
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