Oh, it was quite common.
Especially in Hebrew and like languages, all full of allusion. Google 'Two Jews, three opinions' ... that kind of thing.
Then you get into more complex 'chiastic' structure ... common in the ancient world, and used in the
Hebrew Bible (and in parts by Matthew in the NT)
Then you get into the idea that ancient narratives were composed for oral transmission, and were composed in a way that would be easy to memorise, in the same way it's easier to remember your favourite songs, and even not so favourite, but how many paragraphs from your favourite books can you recite?
So forensic detail is not so important, it's the story that matters.
+++
In the above link there's this, from the story of the flood:
Seven days waiting to enter Ark (7:4)
Second mention of seven days waiting (7:10)
40 days (7:17)
150 days (7:24)
God remembers Noah (8:1)
150 days (8:3)
40 days (8:6)
Seven days waiting for dove (8:10)
Second seven days waiting for dove (8:12)
The last four lines mirror the first four. It was argued that the repetition was due to two narrative sources (Jahwist and Priestly). Then the complexities of the language were uncovered and it was seen the repetitions are more likely there as an
aide memoire, so the text becomes 'self-correcting' as it were, whilst still possibly being drawn from one, two or more sources.
So language becomes figurative, rather than forensic.