"In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time." Reminds me of the old joke which I can't remember enough details of to preserve the humor, where a dumb

"In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time." Reminds me of the old joke which I can't remember enough details of to preserve the humor, where a dumb FBI agent is given the task of hunting communists, and his boss gives him a test which he humorously misunderstands, and at the end of the week he proudly reports "I've already killed several thousand communists sir. And you sent me here just in time, the communists were really entrenched, I haven't found a single loyal american." Sorry I botched it. But anyway, this is a fascinating archaeological record of a classic bias, where you assume your test was 100% accurate because the opposite would be horrifying...