Chapter Twenty-Four

The Census of the Hebrews. The Pestilence. The Altar of the Lord on the Threshing Floor of Ornan.

2 Samuel 24:1. The anger of the Lord burned again against Israel, and He incited David against them, saying: Go, number Israel and Judah. “The anger of the Lord burned again against Israel.” The thought that came to David of numbering the Hebrews and the subsequent pestilence that struck the people are regarded as permission from God upon the Israelites for their transgressions. One of the main transgressions of Israel at that time is (in the opinion of many ancient and modern commentators) their participation in uprisings against the anointed king and prophet David, the best of Hebrew kings. “Israel and Judah,” that is, all the Hebrew tribes, which later formed the Israelite and Judean kingdoms.

2 Samuel 24:2. And the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him: Go throughout all the tribes of Israel [and Judah] from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know the number of the people. “Dan” is the northern boundary of Canaan, “Beersheba” is the southern boundary. “Number the people so that I may know the number of the people.” What prompted the thought of taking a census is unknown. But from the way the Lord responded to David’s undertaking (2 Sam 24:10-15), one can conclude that David was motivated in this case not only by a desire to know the actual condition of the Hebrew people entrusted to him and a desire to render them necessary assistance, but also by impulses of a different character, having nothing to do either with the good of the Hebrew people or with the moral improvement of David himself. It is supposed that among the motives that prompted the king to number the Hebrews, ambition in his dominion over the Hebrew people and a power-seeking desire to unduly strengthen this dominion held a significant place.

2 Samuel 24:3. And Joab said to the king: May the Lord your God multiply the people a hundredfold as they are now, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king desire this thing? It is evident that Joab feared that the undertaking of David, which could be falsely interpreted by the people, might serve as a cause for new disturbances in the state.

2 Samuel 24:5. And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city, which is in the middle of the valley of Gad, toward Jazer; 2 Samuel 24:6. And they came to Gilead and to the land of the Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon; 2 Samuel 24:7. And they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites and went out to the south of Judah at Beersheba; 2 Samuel 24:8. And they went throughout all the land and came through nine months and twenty days to Jerusalem. The tour of the country began from the eastern Transjordan, which, as we have already noted (see the note to (2 Sam 17:27)), was distinguished by the most peaceful character and faithfulness to the given word or sworn promise, in comparison with other regions, and therefore, not having offered resistance, could set an example of obedience to others. From the southern border of the eastern Transjordan, Joab went through all Gilead to the foot of Mount Hermon. From here he turned toward the western Transjordan, visited the cities that were in the possession of the Canaanites, passed along the very border of Phoenicia, and then descended to the south, to Beersheba. “Aroer” is a city between the Jordan River and Rabbah of the Ammonites. “Gilead” is the region on the left bank of the Jordan River, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. “Sidon,” “Tyre” are coastal cities of the Phoenicians. “Hivites” are the same as the Hivvites, a Canaanite people descended from Hivvi (Gen 10:17), the grandson of Ham through Canaan.

2 Samuel 24:9. And Joab gave the number of the census of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand able-bodied men fit for war, and in Judah five hundred thousand. “Fit for war.” Consequently, the enumeration did not include those who had not reached the age of manhood, the elderly and the infirm, and also all the female half of the population.

2 Samuel 24:10. And David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord: I have sinned greatly in what I have done; and now, I beg You, O Lord, forgive the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly. “David’s heart troubled him” at the thought of what a great multitude of people was entrusted to God for his care and how unworthily he acted when he surrendered himself in this case to impulses of a chiefly ambitious and power-seeking character (see the note to verse 2).

2 Samuel 24:11. In the morning, when David rose up, the word of the Lord came to Gad the prophet, the seer of David: “The seer” of David’s time.

2 Samuel 24:14. And David said to Gad: I am in great distress; but let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercy is great; only let me not fall into the hand of man. [And David chose for himself the pestilence at the time of wheat harvest.] “At the time of wheat harvest,” that is, at the end of April and the beginning of May.

2 Samuel 24:16. And the Angel [of God] stretched out His hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it; but the Lord was sorry about the calamity and said to the Angel who was destroying the people: Enough, now withdraw your hand. The Angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. “At the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” The Jebusites are a Canaanite people descended from Jebus (Gen 10:16), the grandson of Ham through Canaan.

2 Samuel 24:17. And David said to the Lord when he saw the Angel striking the people, saying: Indeed, I have sinned, I [the shepherd] have acted wrongly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, turn against me and against the house of my father. “But these sheep, what have they done?” See the note to verse 1.