2 Samuel 24:1–25

24:2 The censuses under Moses were conducted by the priests (Num. 1:3; 26:1–2), but David’s focus is on the military resources of his kingdom (cf. what went wrong in transporting the ark in 2 Samuel 6), and so he turns to the army to conduct a nationwide census “from Dan to Beersheba” (cf. comment on 1 Sam. 3:20). “Number the people” here uses the verb paqad (cf. comment on 1 Sam. 2:21) to describe the king’s action in counting his subjects liable to conscription (cf. 1 Chron. 27:23).

Josephus hints that David’s sin originates in there being no provision made for collecting the atonement money as a census tax in terms of Exodus 30:12 (Antiquities 7.318). However, there is no indication that such had been intended to be a standing procedure. Most probably the fault lies in David’s motivation.

24:3 Surprisingly it is unscrupulous Joab, of all people, who objects to David’s proposal with a mixture of political realism and religious concern. Since a census is a frequent precursor to increased taxation and conscription, it might further unsettle the people. He also appeals to David’s commitment to the Lord by reminding him of the divine promise to make the nation great. He therefore implies that David is seeking security and prosperity by wrong and unnecessary means.

24:4 Even though the other army commanders concur with Joab, David is adamant, and those commissioned with the task leave the king’s court to carry out their duties.

24:5–8 The itinerary in verses 5–8 traces the outer limits of the area covered by the census, beginning in the southeast of the considerable territory David rules and moving counterclockwise.² Areas within that boundary would also be enumerated.

The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 21:6 relates that Joab never completes the census. The tribes of Levi and Benjamin have not been included when a report is submitted to David, who has a change of heart. The “nine months and twenty days” taken on this task is indicative of the lack of enthusiasm with which the whole process has been undertaken.

24:9 Joab reports to David “the sum” or “count” of “the numbering” (from paqad; cf. v. 2). First Chronicles 21:5 includes different figures of men eligible for military service, most probably because the totals are compiled on a different basis. In both accounts, the totals for Israel and Judah are kept separate (as in 1 Sam. 11:8; 15:4; and also in 2 Sam. 24:1). The land is thought of as a confederation of two groups who have pledged their loyalty to David separately.

The figures suggest a total population of about five to six million, which the majority of modern commentators consider excessive and propose that “thousand” be understood as designating a fighting unit of a much smaller size (cf. comment on 1 Sam. 4:2).

24:10 For almost ten months David has had no misgivings about conducting a census, but on the night after Joab reports to him, “David’s heart struck him.” His conscience is troubled as he realizes his conduct has failed to conform to what God requires (cf. 1 Sam. 24:5). He immediately confesses directly to God, “I have sinned.” This is also the expression he used after Nathan’s intervention (2 Sam. 12:13), but now David’s spiritual self-awareness has increased, and he does not require a prophet to alert him to his sin.

David immediately follows his confession with a plea for forgiveness. As the Lord’s “servant,” he has abused the powers committed to him, and only the Lord whom he has offended could effectively deal with his guilt. “I have done very foolishly” (cf. 1 Sam. 13:13) does not minimize his wrongdoing as momentary carelessness but admits his failure to assess correctly the implications of his actions.

24:11 The connection between the two clauses in this verse is perhaps better brought out by the translation “the word of the Lord had come” (cf. 7:4). Before David arises on the morning of the next day, the Lord communicates with “the prophet Gad” (last mentioned in 1 Sam. 22:5). As “David’s seer” he is officially recognized at court as a divinely authorized counselor (cf. 1 Sam. 9:9–19, though the term for “seer” differs there).

24:12–13 Gad’s message for David is reported in two parts, which must be combined to produce its full content. David’s guilt is taken for granted, but in a procedure not paralleled elsewhere in the OT, his responsibility is brought home to him when he is presented with three options regarding the penalty to be imposed. David is required to give careful thought regarding his choice, which Gad will convey “to him who sent me,” an oblique reference to God himself.

There is some textual uncertainty over the first option. While the Hebrew text has “seven years of famine,” “three years” is found in 1 Chronicles 21:12 and also in the Septuagint in both texts. That reading is generally preferred, as it yields the declining sequence of “three years . . . three months . . . three days.” God uses the three scourges of the ancient world (cf. Jer. 14:12; Ezek. 5:17) to punish and correct his people when they are unfaithful (Lev. 26:23–26; Deut. 29:21–25). “Famine” is the penalty that would last the longest. “Fleeing” before their foes would expose them to enemy reprisals. “Pestilence” might refer to a fatal disease such as bubonic plague. The term is rendered “plague” in Exodus 9:3, where it describes a deadly epidemic affecting the livestock of Egypt.

24:14 David is perplexed as he contemplates the severity of the various possibilities before him. His choice of the third option is not directly recorded but is implied by his statement, “Let us fall into the hand of the Lord . . . but let me not fall into the hand of man.” This obviously rules out the second option of military defeat, and probably also the first, because severe famine would leave the weakened nation vulnerable to commercial exploitation and foreign attack. The third option is the shortest and does not give time for foreign nations to intervene.

Additionally, David seems to anticipate some measure of divine relief if the penalty is directly imposed by God, “for his mercy is great [rab; cf. v. 16].” “Mercy” (rakhamim) refers to God’s compassionate involvement that goes beyond what is required by strict justice (cf. Pss. 40:11; 51:1; 69:16; 119:156). It is to this divine attribute that David looks to avert the full consequences of what is bearing down on himself and the nation.

24:15 The epidemic that will sweep through the land starts “from the morning” immediately after Gad spoke to David. Some have supposed that “until the appointed time” refers to the time of the evening sacrifice. More probably it indicates the end of the stipulated three days, or until God commands the angel to cease outside Jerusalem (v. 16). The calamity is severe, leading to the death of 70,000 men eligible for military service; the very resource from which David sought prestige is significantly depleted.

24:16 Generally “from Dan to Beersheba” (v. 15) indicates the land as a whole, but here it probably implies that the pestilence moves in from the border of the land toward the capital. At any rate, when “the angel” of destruction, God’s agent in spreading the pestilence (cf. Ex. 12:23), is about to destroy Jerusalem, “the Lord relented from the calamity” (cf. Ex. 32:14; cf. comment on 1 Sam. 15:35), where “calamity” (lit., “evil”) refers to a physical catastrophe. In this case, the outbreak of pestilence may be a selective infliction (as against the firstborn in Egypt; Ex. 11:4–7) rather than a general epidemic.

David’s perception was correct. By saying “It is enough” (rab; cf. 2 Sam. 24:14), the Lord graciously curtails the punishment already in progress (Ex. 32:14; Hos. 11:8–9; Amos 7:3, 6). “Stay your hand” commands the angel to desist from spreading the pestilence, which occurs when “the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite,” an elevated place outside the walls of the Jebusite settlement in Jerusalem (cf. 1 Sam. 23:1; 2 Sam. 6:6). Araunah’s name is variously spelled and may be a title for the Jebusite leader (“the Araunah”). Stopping the plague at this location is a divine way of identifying it as a sacred site (1 Chron. 22:1; 2 Chron. 3:1). However, as 2 Samuel 24:18–24 makes clear, the incident is not finally resolved at this juncture.

24:17 The time sequence is not totally clear here, but it seems that David’s prayer precedes God’s relenting. As David sees the “angel who was striking the people” (stated more explicitly in 1 Chron. 21:16), he is overwhelmed by the calamity he has brought on the nation and again confesses his sin (cf. 2 Sam. 24:10), twice emphasizing his personal role in the matter: “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly.” The first verb has the underlying meaning of “missing the mark,” whereas the synonymous verb “do wickedly” or “commit iniquity” is based on the concept of “twisting away from a norm.”

On the other hand, David is acutely conscious of the plight of his people. His reading of the situation is incomplete (cf. v. 1), but he knows that the penalty “these sheep” (his subjects) are suffering has been brought on by his ill-conceived policy. So he pleads for divine power (“hand”) to be exercised in judgment upon himself and his immediate family. This is one of the nobler actions of the covenant king, as he prioritizes the well-being of his subjects.

24:18 On the same day that David confesses his sin for a second time and God halts the pestilence, Gad conveys to David further directions received from the Lord (through “the angel of the Lord”; 1 Chron. 21:18). David is to “go up” to “the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite” located on Mount Moriah, the summit immediately to the north of the city of David (2 Chron. 3:1). There David is directed to “raise an altar to the Lord.” An altar, of course, implies sacrifice (2 Sam. 24:25), which sets out the basis on which the Lord extends pardon to David and reduces the severity of the punishment.

24:19 David, acting as a covenant king should, complies with the instructions relayed to him. So the king who has not been permitted to build a temple (7:5) is nonetheless instructed to build an altar—and on the site where the temple will be erected (1 Chron. 22:1).

24:20 Araunah and his sons are engaged in threshing wheat (1 Chron. 21:20; also implied by 2 Sam. 24:22). As he “looks down” from the threshing floor, he sees the royal party coming up the incline toward him. So he leaves the threshing floor and performs obeisance before the king.

24:21 It is a perplexing day for Araunah, who has already witnessed the appearance of the angel of the Lord (1 Chron. 21:20) and now, contrary to the etiquette of eastern courts, is not being summoned into the king’s presence but instead sees the king and his courtiers approaching him. It would be with trepidation that Araunah ventures to address David as “my lord the king” and asks the reason for this encounter.

David explains that he has come “to buy the threshing floor”—not requisition it, as many a conqueror would have done (cf. 1 Kings 21:1–16). As a non-Israelite Araunah is entitled to sell his land, and so David acquires clear title to it. He declares his intention to “build an altar to the Lord.” Sacrifice would propitiate the Lord so “that the plague may be averted from the people.” David considers the “plague” (a more general term than “pestilence” in 2 Sam. 24:13, 15) to be merely suspended until atoning sacrifice has been duly offered.

24:22 A session of Near Eastern bargaining ensues, similar to that of Abraham with Ephron the Hittite (Gen. 23:10–16). Araunah responds generously to the king, thereby showing his willingness to reach an agreement. For the proposed sacrifice, he offers David the oxen he has been using to thresh the grain, as well as the wood of “the threshing sledges” (heavy wooden logs) and of “the yokes of the oxen.” But he makes no mention of selling the land, which is what David actually requested.

24:23 The Hebrew word order of “All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king” is unusual in that “O king” and “to the king” are juxtaposed. It is possible to render “O king, Araunah” as “Araunah the king,” and some have supposed that he is the original Jebusite king of Jerusalem (cf. vv. 16, 18). Possession of a suitably placed threshing floor implies that he is a wealthy member of the community, but it is not possible to be certain of more than that.

The repeated introduction, “And Araunah said to the king,” suggests that David initially does not respond and that Araunah then expresses his desire that his offer would enable David to enjoy the Lord’s favor as a result of the sacrifice.

24:24 However, David will not accept the animals as a gift. By saying “I will buy it” (lit., “I will certainly buy it”), he categorically rules out acquiring it as a gift, because sacrifice requires the offerings to belong to the offerer. “So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver,” which is a relatively small sum but not necessarily an underestimate of its worth (cf. Lev. 27:16). It is, however, later increased to six hundred shekels of gold, which perhaps includes the purchase of more surrounding land (“the site”; 1 Chron. 21:25).

24:25 Having concluded the purchase, David builds an altar and offers “burnt offerings and peace offerings,” the former to effect atonement and the latter signifying renewed fellowship (1 Sam. 1:4; 7:9; 11:15).

When King David has presented the offerings on behalf of himself and of the land, “the Lord responded to the plea for the land,” the same expression as in 2 Samuel 21:14. “The plague was averted [the same word as in 24:21] from Israel” and the calamitous situation David’s sin has brought on his nation is rectified. Further details of what happens on this occasion, and particularly the Lord’s acceptance of the sacrifice, are recorded in 1 Chronicles 21:26–30.