Bible Problem: 2 Samuel 10:18 versus 1 Chronicles 19:18 – Horsemen or Footmen?

Posted on 10/05/2022 by Thomas Carroll
Problem:

2 Samuel 10:18 says:
And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.

And 1 Chronicles 19:18 says:
But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.

Both verses are about the same event, however 2 Samuel says that forty thousand “horsemen” were killed, while 1 Chronicles calls them “footmen.”

Is this an error?

Solution:

In the Old Testament being a horseman is not an exclusive category. A horseman would also likely be trained as a footman, just like the U.S. Marines are trained to fight with vehicles and without vehicles. The warriors in question may have been trained to fight from horses and from the ground. So the two terms could have been used interchangeably by the authors of the two biblical books.

It is a matter of viewpoint.
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