How do you reconcile the apparent contradiction between 2 Kings 9:27 and 2 Chronicles 22:9 on Ahaziah's death?
Robert Sungenis answers that there is no contradiction: 2 Kings 9:27 records Jehu's archers wounding Ahaziah, who fled to Ibleam and Megiddo and died there, while 2 Chronicles 22:9 simply says he was found in Samaria, the region where both towns lie. He says merging the accounts takes five minutes, and marvels at their accuracy though written centuries apart.
A viewer notes that 2 Kings 9:27 and 2 Chronicles 22:9 describe the death of King Ahaziah differently and asks how the two accounts can be reconciled.
Answer
This is a perfect example of how one passage about a person can look like it contradicts another. 2 Kings 9:27 says Jehu pursued Ahaziah, had him shot in his chariot at the ascent of Gur by Ibleam, and Ahaziah fled to Megiddo and died there. 2 Chronicles 22:9 simply says he was captured while hiding in Samaria, brought to Jehu, and put to death, without mentioning that Jehu shot him. Here is how you put it together. Ahaziah is shot by Jehu's arrow, that is 2 Kings; then, still wounded, he flees to Ibleam, which is in Samaria, about 30 miles west of the Jordan, and then, getting news that Jehu is coming, he flees on to Megiddo, also in Samaria, and dies there. Both Ibleam and Megiddo are in Samaria, so that matches 2 Chronicles, which does not bother to name the towns and just says Samaria. 2 Kings likes detail and names four places, all in Samaria, while Chronicles just wraps it up as Samaria. So there is no contradiction; in fact, since these were written hundreds of years apart, I am amazed at their accuracy. It took me five minutes to copy them down and merge them, which is the same thing that goes on in all the other places that seem to be contradictions.