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Jerusalem captives taken into Babylon

Babylon is the name of an ancient city on the left bank of the Euphrates river, not far south of the modern Baghdad, where the Tigris and the Euphrates approach each other most closely. During the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar (605 - 562 BC) the Babylonians conquered Syria and Palestine:  "And he carried away all Jerusalem:....none remained, save the poorest sort of people of the land ...Those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon." (2 Kings 24:14-15)   The captivity occurred in 598 BC, and many returned to Jerusalem when Cyrus captured Babylon and set them free in 538 BC [1].  In the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the return story is told:   Now these are the children...whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one into his city (Ezra 2:1) These are the children...whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city   (Nehemiah 7:5-6) The Contradiction In both Ezra and Nehemiah a list of about sixty figures is shown for the various families. However, there are many discrepancies in these numbers; sometimes an Ezra figure is higher than the corresponding one from Nehemiah, other times the Ezra figure is lower. Here are just three examples:   Disagreements Between Ezra and Nehemiah Figures "The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five." (Ezra 2:5) "The children of Arah, six hundred fifty two " (Nehemiah 7:10).....(lower) "The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty and two." (Ezra 2:12) "The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty and two ." (Nehemiah 7:17)....(higher) Beside their servants and their maids, of whom [there were] seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and [there were] among them two hundred singing men and singing women.  (Ezra 2:65) Beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom [there were] seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women. (Nehemiah 7:67)   "The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three." (Ezra 2:19) "The children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and eight ." (Nehemiah 7:22).....(higher)   There are as many agreements as there are disagreements. The two comparisons below will suffice to illustrate the point:   Agreements Between Ezra and Nehemiah Figures "The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four." (Ezra 2:7) "The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four." (Nehemiah 7:12)....(same) "The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven." (Ezra 2:38) "The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven." (Nehemiah 7:41)....(same)   Two Harmonizations We present below two attempted harmonizations of the alleged contradictions in the census figures. The Bible Was Written to Confuse One way around the problem is to claim that the Bible can, indeed, be hard to understand at times, but God understands it, and that's what really counts. God deliberately meant for man to puzzle over the meaning of the words in his book because it builds character and tests the faith of its readers. Just as Jesus spoke in parables so that only the faithful would understand him, then so does God often speak in riddles--sometimes mathematical ones--which only the most faithful can understand; others less diligent and dedicated are destined to be cast into the fires.  Census Figures Obtained at Different Times Apologists sometimes claim that the figures Ezra quoted were taken at a different time than Nehemiah's, however, both Ezra and Nehemiah said that the whole congregation together was 42,360. (Ezra 2:64, and Nehemiah 7:66). The agreement between Ezra and Nehemiah about the total number of returnees is excellent evidence that the data used by Ezra and Nehemiah came from the same ultimate source, and that there was only one census, not two. The discrepancies between the numbers in the various families evidently have arisen because some of the family figures were corrupted. By the way, readers may verify for themselves that the actual total of the figures given Ezra is 29,818, while the total in Nehemiah is 31,089. Thus, while both Ezra and Nehemiah were in agreement about the exact number of returnees (42,360), neither of them provide the numbers to support the total. If the Ezra census was a different one from the Nehemiah one--if indeed there were two censuses, then the total of both is 29,818+31,089=60,907.  But, this figure has to be wrong, because they each claim the total was 42,360. [1] "The Home Book of Bible Quotations", quoted in "Illustrated Family Encyclopedia of the Living Bible", Volume 3, page 132. [2] Cyrus II was king of Persia (modern Iran) (c. 559-530 BC), head of the greatest empire yet to be formed in the ancient world. He assisted Jews in returning to their own land from Babylon, which he captured around 539 BC. "The Handbook of Biblical Personalities", by George M. Alexander, Seabury Press, New York, New York., ibid, page 155.