Inquiry:
How long did Jehoash reign? 2 Kings 12:1 says 40 years, but 2 Kings 13:10 says 16 years. Is there a contradiction?
Response:
As we read through the history of Israel and Judah as recorded in the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, it is imperative that we pay attention to which nation a king is being associated with. Many of the names we will come across are used in both nations.
2 Kings 12:1 reads,
In the seventh year of Jehu (king of Israel, wjs), Jehoash became king (of Judah, wjs), and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
This Jehoash reigned in Jerusalem over the nation of Judah for forty years.
2 Kings 13:10 reads:
In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.
These are two different kings, reigning in two different nations, one in Jerusalem over Judah (2 Kings 12:1) and the other in Samaria over Israel (2 Kings 13:10). They are not the same man.
There is no contradiction.
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