This of course is a blunder. The whole reign of David was only forty years, and this was towards its close. Probably “forty years” should be forty _days_, but the correction is only a guess, and the text is responsible for the mistake. 1 Chron., i., 13–15. The First Book of Chronicles begins with a genealogy from Adam down to David. The subject occupies several chapters, but any attempt to reconcile the numerous genealogies of Scripture is quite hopeless. Let any one, for example, take the two tables of Matthew and Luke, and it will presently appear how little they correspond; or take the genealogy of Simeon given in Gen., xlvi., 10, and 1 Chron., iv., 24, and compare them together; or that of the sons of Benjamin given in Gen., xlvi., 21; 1 Chron., vii., 6; and 1 Chron., viii., 1. In Genesis his sons are said to be ten, in Chron., vii., they are three, in Chron., viii., they are five. 1 Chron., ii., 14. One would have thought that no diversity could possibly exist respecting David, the favourite king; but what is the fact? The Bible writers agree neither respecting his father’s family nor his own. The reference given above states David to be “the seventh son of Jesse;” but in 1 Sam., xvi., 10, 11, he is represented to be the eighth son. The writer says, “Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel; and Samuel said: Are these all thy children? and (Jesse answered) there remaineth yet the youngest, and he keepeth the sheep.” Similarly, in regard to the sons of David, compare 1 Chron., iii., 6–8, and 1 Chron., xiv., 5–7, with 2 Sam., v., 15–16. If anyone had known about David one would suppose that Samuel would have been that man, but Samuel says only seven sons were born to David in Jerusalem, whereas the chronicler says he had nine, viz., (1) Ibhar, (2) Elishua, (3) ELIPHELET, (4) Nogah, (5) Nepheg, (6) Japhia (7), Elishama, (8) Eliada, (9) ELIPHELET. It will be seen that the name Eliphelet occurs twice in the Book of Chronicles but only once in the book of Samuel. The other name omitted by the prophet is Nogah. Now we are upon the subject of genealogy we would direct attention to two other examples. In 1 Chron., iii., 22, we read that the “sons of Shemaiah [were] Hattush, Igeal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat, six;” but only five names are given, so that “six” should have been _five_. The other example is 1 Chron., vii., 14–15, compared with Numbers, xxvii., 1. The chronicler says: The children of Manasseh were first Ashriel, and “the name of the second was Zelophehad, who had daughters;” but the author of the book of Numbers says Zelophehad was the “son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh,” and that no mistake may possibly exist respecting the Zelophehad referred to, the writer expressly mentions that it was the Zelophehad who had “the daughters.” (_See_ verse 7.) 1 Chron., vi., 57–60.