In the plague in Moav 24,000 died, but Paul said 23,000. Which is true?
Question: In the plague in Moav 24,000 died, but Paul said 23,000. Which is true?
Answer: Torah says, “And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.” (Num 25:9)
But Apostle Shaul (Paul) says referring to the same event, “Neither should we commit whoring, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell,” (1Co 10:8)
It seems that there are conflicting facts in the Scripture.
Why would the apostle say that 23,000 died, whereas he knew very well that 24,000 died on that day because of whoring with the women of Moav and Midian?
Evidently, the apostle deviated from the Torah in 1Co 10:8, and gave a different number.
Actually, there is no discrepancy if we consider that Shaul might have used the traditional interpretation of the sages, according to which a thousand that died were those who were hanged by the judges.
It appears that the apostle deducted 1,000 from the total number of 24,000 who perished, so that only 23,000 were killed by the plague.
Continue reading for more insight in this dark story.