The census part III – Why do the numbers not match?

⁹And Joab gave the number of the registration of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. (2 Samuel 24:9)

But 1 Chronicles 21:5 concerning the same incident says,

⁵Joab gave the number of the census of all the people to David. And all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword.       (1 Chronicles 21:5)

So, why the 300,000 difference for Israel and 30,000 for Judah? I believe it was to point back to Scripture to address the root of what went wrong. God dispossessed nations that made no logical sense as to how, but that God was fighting for Israel. The purpose of the census was not to measure military strength. The difference in recording leads us to 1 Samuel 11:8 after Saul had been declared king but there was still debate over his ability (1 Samuel 10:24-27). The Ammonites give Saul his first chance to lead Israel and Judah into battle under a king. It says,

⁸He numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. (1 Samuel 11:8)

References

2 Samuel 24:9

1 Chronicles 21:5

1 Samuel 10:24-27

1 Samuel 11:8