2 Samuel 11:3 vs 1 Chronicles 3:5

Who Was Bathsheba's Father?

In 2 Samuel, it is written: "So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (2 Samuel 11:3 NASB1995).

In 1 Chronicles 3:5 it states: "These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four, by Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel,"

(1 Chronicles 3:5 NASB1995).

In this text, there seems to be a contradiction over the name of Bathsheba or Bath-shua's father. 2 Samuel says that it is "Eliam" while 1 Chronicles reports it was "Ammiel". The simple answer to this question is that it was a scribal error. In Hebrew, "Eliam" is: "אליעם"; "Ammiel" is "עמיאל". Note that "מ" and "ם" are the same letter just different based on their placement. When we look at these two names, we instantly see what happened. The scribe, when copying a manuscript, misspelled the word, writing it backward. There is no contradiction; rather, a scribe made a simple mistake (Falk).

As Barnes writes: "Eliam - Or Ammiel, 1 Chronicles 3:5, the component words being placed in an inverse order," (Barnes).

Ellicott also writes: "Ammiel and Eliam are the same name with its component parts transposed, as Scripture names are often varied: God’s people and the people of God," (Ellicot).

In the book, The Cambridge Bible for Schools and College, it is written: "Eliam (= God of the people) and Ammiel (= people of God) are compounded of the same words placed in different order," (Cambridge).

References:

Barnes' Notes on the New Testament. United Kingdom, Kregel Publications, 1962.

Dr. Falk, David. Live Stream #157: The No True Canadian Fallacy. YouTube, 3 May. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/live/pqpz1SEv_II?si=g4bos9LdZ61r8Oqu. Accessed 7 May. 2024.

Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Volume 1. N.p., Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. United Kingdom, The University Press, 1905.