Another apparent contradiction in the Old Testament appears in 2 Kings 6:23–24. These two consecutive verses seem to describe opposite developments in the relationship between Aram (Syria) and the kingdom of Israel. The first reports that Aramean raiding parties stopped entering Israel’s territory, while the next describes the Aramean king launching a major military siege against Samaria.
In 2 Kings 6:8–22, the prophet Elisha repeatedly helps the king of Israel by revealing the movements of the Aramean army. Frustrated by these setbacks, the king of Aram sends a force to capture Elisha at Dothan. When the soldiers arrive, Elisha prays, and they are struck with blindness. He leads them to Samaria, where their sight is restored. The king of Israel asks whether he should kill the captured soldiers, but Elisha instead instructs him to provide them with food and drink before sending them home.
Verse 23 describes the outcome: the king of Israel prepares a great feast for the soldiers, and they return to their master. The verse concludes by stating that the bands of Aram stopped raiding the land of Israel. The episode appears to end on a peaceful note, suggesting that Elisha’s merciful treatment of the captured soldiers brought a temporary halt to these raids.
However, the very next verse introduces a dramatic change. According to 2 Kings 6:24, Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, gathers his entire army and marches against Samaria, laying siege to the city. The siege leads to a devastating famine, with the situation becoming so desperate that the people face extreme suffering (2 Kings 6:25–29).
This raises an obvious question: if the Arameans had stopped raiding Israel, why did their king soon launch a full-scale military attack?
One possible explanation is that the two verses refer to different kinds of military action. Verse 23 speaks specifically about raiding parties, which may have been smaller groups conducting repeated incursions into Israelite territory. Verse 24, by contrast, describes a major campaign led by the king himself. The cessation of raids does not necessarily mean that all hostility between the two kingdoms had ended permanently.
Another possibility is that the narrative describes separate events without specifying how much time passed between them. The phrase introducing Ben-Hadad’s campaign marks a new episode, but the text does not clearly establish the length of the interval or explain the political developments that led to the siege.
Nevertheless, the transition is striking. The first episode ends with the apparent cessation of raids and an act of mercy, while the next depicts renewed aggression and widespread suffering. The text offers no detailed explanation of how the situation changed.
Ultimately, these verses present a tension in the narrative, but they do not necessarily establish a direct contradiction. A temporary end to border raids can coexist with a later military campaign. The important question is whether the author intended to describe a lasting peace or simply the conclusion of one particular series of raids. The passage leaves that distinction open to interpretation.
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