Was Jehoiachin Set Free From Prison On 25th Day (Jeremiah 52:31) Of The Month Or The 27th Day Of The Month (2 Kings 25:27)?
Alleged
Bible Contradiction
Bodie Hodge,
M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical
Authority Ministries, February 13, 2026 (Donate)
The relevant
passages (NKJV) are:
Jeremiah
52:31
Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin
king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that
Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the
head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.
2 Kings 25:27
Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin
king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month,
that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign,
released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.
Many
Christians assume that this alleged discrepancy is a “copyist mistake” because
it involves numbers. Numbers would be, after all, a reasonable mistake when
copying from another manuscript. In fact, if one were to search books or the
internet on this alleged contradiction, the likely answer given by Christians
is that this is a copyist mistake.
However,
before one assumes this, I suggest we take a closer look at what these two
verses are saying. In both verses, the passages have some portions that are
identical and others that are not; the form is below:
Now
it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king
of Judah, in the twelfth month [date] that Evil-Merodach king of
Babylon, in the first year of his reign, . . . [further information].
This would be
a legitimate contradiction, or perhaps a copyist mistake, if the date
were different, but the further information were identical. But this is
not the case, and accordingly, the further information proves very
significant in this case. So, let’s take a closer look at this further
information.
Jeremiah
52:31
has on the date of the 25 that the King of Babylon “lifted
up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.” On the
other hand, 2 Kings 25:27 has on the
27 that the King of Babylon “released
Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.”
These are two
different dates, indeed, because they are referring to two different instances.
On the 25, the King of Babylon gives the decree to release Jehoiachin king of
Judah. But it took a couple of days for Jehoiachin king of Judah to actually be
released.
Hence, this
is no contradiction; rather, the Bible is actually being much more specific in
the details than the reader may first realize. Even in today’s culture, if a
prisoner is pardoned by a governing official like the President, it takes time
before the person is released from prison—the orders need to be verified,
paperwork filed, etc. So, two days is not unreasonable.
This should
be a lesson to Christians, too. When an alleged contradiction is brought to our
attention, the first place we should look is the Scriptures themselves and
think logically about the verses in question.
Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of
science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about
one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical,
and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has
over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these
fields. Originally
at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.
