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Heman: Identifying His Sons in the Bible | Answering the Atheist

Answering the Atheist, Heman

Inquiry:

Who were the sons of Heman? 1 Chronicles 25:4 lists fourteen sons. 2 Chronicles 29:14 lists two sons, neither of them from the list in the previously mentioned text. Is there a contradiction?

Response:

It is not uncommon to know more than one person by the same name. Off the top of my head, I can think of 6 people with the name John whom I know. Most of them have children, but the names of the children are varied, as are the number of children. Is that a contradiction?

It should be noted that one of the texts given by the questioner is in 1 Chronicles and the other is found in 2 Chronicles. Why is that important? These texts record different parts of Israel’s history.

1 Chronicles 25 lists the captains of the host (Levites) in the days of David, and identifies Heman as the king’s seer (v 5).

2 Chronicles 29 is not a record of the days of David, but the days of Hezekiah (v 1). This Heman is also a Levite, but cannot be the same man recorded in 1 Chronicles. The two are separated by several generations.

There is no contradiction.


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