The textual history of biblical pericopes preserved in more than one version is very complex. Although the stories in Isa 38 and 2 Kgs 20 appear to have originated with some distinctive accents, one can observe a later tendency to harmonise these parallel accounts. Against the background of ancient scribal practices, the current investigation places the wide range of available empirical data regarding Isa 38:8 and 2 Kgs 20:9–11 in a complex network of evidences.