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Texts -- 2 Samuel 24:1-19 (NET)

Context
David Displeases the Lord by Taking a Census
24:1 The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel , and he incited David against them, saying , “Go count Israel and Judah .” 24:2 The king told Joab , the general in command of his army , “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army , so I may know the size of the army .” 24:3 Joab replied to the king , “May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king ! But why does my master the king want to do this ?” 24:4 But the king’s edict stood , despite the objections of Joab and the leaders of the army . So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the Israelite army . 24:5 They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer , on the south side of the city , at the wadi of Gad , near Jazer . 24:6 Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi , coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon . 24:7 Then they went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites . Then they went on to the Negev of Judah , to Beer Sheba . 24:8 They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem . 24:9 Joab reported the number of warriors to the king . In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors , and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers . 24:10 David felt guilty after he had numbered the army . David said to the Lord , “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now , O Lord , please remove the guilt of your servant , for I have acted very foolishly .” 24:11 When David got up the next morning , the Lord had already spoken to Gad the prophet , David’s seer : 24:12 “Go , tell David , ‘This is what the Lord says : I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’” 24:13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven years of famine come upon your land ? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit ? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land ? Now decide what I should tell the one who sent me.” 24:14 David said to Gad , “I am very upset ! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord , for his mercy is great ; I do not want to be attacked by men !” 24:15 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time . Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba . 24:16 When the angel extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem , the Lord relented from his judgment . He told the angel who was killing the people , “That’s enough ! Stop now !” (Now the Lord’s angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite .) 24:17 When he saw the angel who was destroying the people , David said to the Lord , “Look , it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing ! As for these sheep – what have they done ? Attack me and my family .”
David Acquires a Threshing Floor and Constructs an Altar There
24:18 So Gad went to David that day and told him, “Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite .” 24:19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, according to the Lord’s instructions .

Pericope

NET
  • 2Sa 24:1-17 -- David Displeases the Lord by Taking a Census
  • 2Sa 24:18-25 -- David Acquires a Threshing Floor and Constructs an Altar There

Bible Dictionary

  • David

    [ebd] beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother's name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25. As to his personal ...
    [isbe] DAVID - da'-vid (dawidh, or dawidh, "beloved"; Daueid, also in New Testament, Dauid, Dabid; see Thayer's Lexicon): I. NAME AND GENEALOGY II. EARLY YEARS 1. Shepherd 2. Slinger 3. Harpist 4. Poet 5. Psalmist 6. Tribesman III....
    [smith] (well-beloved), the son of Jesse. His life may be divided into three portions: His youth before his introduction to the court of Saul; His relations with Saul; His reign. The early life of David contains in many important re...
    [nave] DAVID 1. King of Israel. Genealogy of, Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Sam. 16:11; 17:12; 1 Chr. 2:3-15; Matt. 1:1-6; Luke 3:31-38. A shepherd, 1 Sam. 16:11. Kills a lion and a bear, 1 Sam. 17:34-36. Anointed king, while a youth, by the ...

  • Gad

    [ebd] fortune; luck. (1.) Jacob's seventh son, by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, and the brother of Asher (Gen. 30:11-13; 46:16, 18). In the Authorized Version of 30:11 the words, "A troop cometh: and she called," etc., should rather be...
    [smith] (a troop). Jacob?s seventh son, the first-born of Zilpah, Leah?s maid, and whole-brother to Asher. (Genesis 30;11-13; 46:16,18) (B.C. 1753-1740.) "The seer," or "the king?s seer," i.e. David?s (1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Ch...
    [nave] GAD 1. Jacob's seventh son, Gen. 30:11; 35:26; Ex. 1:4. Children of, Gen. 46:16; Num. 26:15-18; 1 Chr. 5:11. Prophecy concerning, Gen. 49:19. 2. A tribe of Israel. Blessed by Moses, Deut. 33:20. Enumeration of, at Sinai,...

  • SAMUEL, BOOKS OF

    [isbe] SAMUEL, BOOKS OF - || I. PLACE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL IN THE HEBREW CANON II. CONTENTS OF THE BOOKS AND PERIOD OF TIME COVERED BY THE HISTORY III. SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS 1. Life of Samuel (1 Samuel 1 through 15) 2. Reign and D...

  • Temptation

    [ebd] (1.) Trial; a being put to the test. Thus God "tempted [Gen. 22: 1; R.V., 'did prove'] Abraham;" and afflictions are said to tempt, i.e., to try, men (James 1:2, 12; comp. Deut. 8:2), putting their faith and patience to the ...

  • SALVATION

    [isbe] SALVATION - sal-va'-shun: I. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 1. General 2. Individualism 3. Faith 4. Moral Law 5. Sacrifices 6. Ritual Law II. INTERMEDIATE LITERATURE 1. General 2. The Law III. THE TEACHING OF CHRIST 1. The Baptist 2. ...

  • GUILT

    [isbe] GUILT - gilt: The Christian idea of guilt involves three elements: responsibility (Greek aitia, "cause," depending upon a man's real freedom), blameworthiness (Latin reatus culpae, depending upon a man's knowledge and purpos...

  • Joab

    [isbe] JOAB - jo'-ab (yo'-abh, "Yahweh is father"; Ioab): (1) Son of Zeruiah, David's sister. He was "captain of the host" (compare 2 Sam 19:13) under David. 1. Joab and Abner: (a) Joab is first introduced in the narrative of the w...
    [smith] (whose father is Jehovah), the most remarkable of the three nephews of David, the children of Zeruiah, David?s sister. (B.C. 1053-1012.) Joab first appears after David?s accession to the throne at Hebron. Abner slew in battle...
    [nave] JOAB 1. Son of David's sister, 1 Chr. 2:16. Commander of David's army, 2 Sam. 8:16; 20:23; 1 Chr. 11:6; 18:15; 27:34. Dedicated spoils of his battles, 1 Chr. 26:28. Defeated the Jebusites, 1 Chr. 11:6. Defeats and slays ...

  • Presumption

    [nave] PRESUMPTION. Ex. 5:2; Ex. 14:11, 12; Ex. 17:7; Num. 15:30; Num. 16:41; Num. 21:5; Deut. 29:19, 20; 1 Kin. 20:28; 1 Kin. 22:24; Job 15:25; Psa. 19:13; Psa. 131:1; Prov. 18:12, 13; Prov. 25:6, 7; Isa. 5:18-25; Isa. 10:15; Isa...

  • Plague

    [isbe] PLAGUE - plag (negha`, makkah, maggephah; mastix, plege): This word which occurs more than 120 times is applied, like pestilence, to such sudden outbursts of disease as are regarded in the light of divine visitations. It is ...
    [nave] PLAGUE As a judgment on the Egyptians, Psa. 105; 135:8, 9; Acts 7:36. The plague of blood, Ex. 7:14-25; frogs, Ex. 8:1-15; lice, Ex. 8:16-19; flies, Ex. 8:20. On cattle, Ex. 9:1-7. Of boils and sores, Ex. 9:8-12; hail, Ex...

  • Araunah

    [ebd] agile; also called Ornan 1 Chr. 21:15, a Jebusite who dwelt in Jerusalem before it was taken by the Israelites. The destroying angel, sent to punish David for his vanity in taking a census of the people, was stayed in his wo...
    [isbe] ARAUNAH - a-ro'-na ('arawnah, 2 Sam 24:16,20 ff; 'aranyah 2 Sam 24:18, and 'ornan, 1 Ch 21:15 ff; 2 Ch 3:1, all from a Hebrew root meaning "to be strong"): A Jebusite from whom David at the request of the prophet Gad bought ...
    [smith] (ark), a Jebusite who sold his threshing floor on Mount Moriah to David as a site for an altar to Jehovah, together with his oxen. (2 Samuel 24:18-24; 1 Chronicles 21:25)
    [nave] ARAUNAH A Jebusite from whom David bought a site for an altar, 2 Sam. 24:16-24. Called also Ornan, 1 Chr. 21:15-25.

  • Census

    [ebd] There are five instances of a census of the Jewish people having been taken. (1.) In the fourth month after the Exodus, when the people were encamped at Sinai. The number of men from twenty years old and upward was then 603,...
    [nave] CENSUS Numbering of Israel by Moses, Ex. 38:26; Num. 1; 3:14-43; 26; by David, 2 Sam. 24:1-9; 1 Chr. 21:1-8; 27:24. A poll tax to be levied at each, Ex. 30:12-16; 38:26. of citizens, Isa. 4:3. Of the Roman Empire, by Caes...

  • Jerusalem

    [ebd] called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the "city of God," the "holy city;" by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning "the holy;" once "the city of Judah" (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the dual form, and means "posses...
    [nave] JERUSALEM Called Jebus, Josh. 18:28; Judg. 19:10; Zion, 1 Kin. 8:1; Zech. 9:13; City of David, 2 Sam. 5:7; Isa. 22:9; Salem, Gen. 14:18; Psa. 76:2; Ariel, Isa. 29:1; City of God, Psa. 46:4; City of the Great King, Psa. 48:2;...

  • Armies

    [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...

  • Rulers

    [nave] RULERS Appointed and removed by God. See: Government, God in. Chastised, Dan. 4. See: Nation. Monarchical, See: Kings. Patriarchal, Gen. 27:29, 37. Instances of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-10. Abraham, Gen. 14:13-24; 17:6; 21:2...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Nation

    [nave] NATION Sins of, Isa. 30:1, 2. Chastised, Isa. 14:26, 27; Jer. 5:29; 18:6-10; 25:12-33; Ezek. 2:3-5; 39:23, 24; Dan. 7:9-12; 9:3-16; Hos. 7:12; Joel 1:1-20; Amos 9:9; Zeph. 3:6, 8. Perish, Psa. 9:17; Isa. 60:12. National a...

  • Angel

    [ebd] a word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a "messenger," and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam. 11:3; Luke 7:24; 9:52), of...
    [isbe] ANGEL - an'-jel (mal'akh; Septuagint and New Testament, aggelos): I. DEFINITION AND SCRIPTURE TERMS II. ANGELS IN OLD TESTAMENT 1. Nature, Appearances and Functions 2. The Angelic Host 3. The Angel of the Theophany III. ANGE...
    [nave] ANGEL. One of the Holy Trinity Trinitarian authorities interpret the Scriptures cited under this topic as referring to Christ, who according to this view was the divine presence in the wilderness. Called Angel, Acts 7:30, ...

  • Ornan

    [nave] ORNAN A Jebusite, 1 Chr. 21:15-25, 28; 2 Chr. 3:1. Called Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:16-25.

  • DESTROYER

    [ebd] (Ex. 12:23), the agent employed in the killing of the first-born; the destroying angel or messenger of God. (Comp. 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Sam. 24:15, 16; Ps. 78:49; Acts 12:23.)
    [isbe] DESTROYER - de-stroi'-er: In several passages the word designates a supernatural agent of destruction, or destroying angel, executing Divine judgment. (1) In Ex 12:23, of the "destroyer" who smote the first-born in Egypt, ag...

  • Threshing

    [nave] THRESHING By beating, Ruth 2:17; by treading, Deut. 25:4; Isa. 25:10; Hos. 10:11; 1 Cor. 9:9; 1 Tim. 5:18. With instruments of wood, 2 Sam. 24:22; of iron, Amos 1:3; with a cart wheel, Isa. 28:27, 28. Floors for, Gen. 50:1...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • In obedience to God's command Abraham took his promised heir to Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. Because Abraham was willing to slay his uniquely begotten son God restrained him from killing Isaac and promised to bless hi...
  • The directions regarding the tabernacle opened with instructions concerning contributions for its construction (25:1-9). They close with this directive that every Israelite 20 years or older was to pay a flat fee of half a sh...
  • God's recounting the news of the golden calf to Moses gives the reader the divine perspective on Israel's sin. Moses stressed three points in this pericope."These three points--idolatry of the golden calf, Israel's stiff-neck...
  • Having completed the major addresses to the Israelites recorded to this point in Deuteronomy, Moses needed only to make a few final arrangements before Israel was ready to enter the land. The record of these events concludes ...
  • Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) a...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • "I Samuel 1 is presented as a conventional birth narrative which moves from barrenness to birth. Laid over that plot is a second rhetorical strategy which moves from complaint to thanksgiving. With the use of this second stra...
  • These verses summarize Samuel's continuing ministry as a prophet in Israel. Samuel qualified for this privilege by his faithful obedience to God's will as he knew it. God sovereignly chose Samuel for this ministry, but his di...
  • "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
  • The basic theme in Samuel, that blessing, and in particular fertility of all kinds, follows from faithful commitment to God's revealed will, continues in this section. However another major motif now becomes more prominent. W...
  • This time God's choice was not a king for the people according to their desires, but a king for Himself (v. 1) who would put Yahweh first (13:14; cf. Gal. 4:4-5). Saul would have perceived Samuel's anointing another man as ki...
  • Gad appears to have been a prophet who remained with David throughout his reign (cf. 2 Sam. 24:11). Samuel had died, but God provided another prophet through whom He communicated to the king-elect. The forest of Hereth was so...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Samuel)V. David's triumphs chs. 1-8A. The beginning of David's kingdom 1:1-3:51. David's discovery of Saul and Jonathan's deaths ch. 12. David's move to Hebron 2:1-4a3. David's overtures to Jabesh-g...
  • Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...
  • The last major section of the Book of Samuel (2 Sam. 21-24) consists of six separate pericopes that together constitute a conclusion to the whole book (cf. Judg. 17-21). Each pericope emphasizes the theological message of the...
  • This last section of the book records another occasion on which God withdrew his blessing from Israel this time because of David's sin (cf. 21:1-14). When David stopped trusting in Yahweh for protection and placed his confide...
  • David probably ordered this census about 975 B.C."After the revolutions of both Absalom and Sheba it would have been reasonable for David to reassess his military situation against the possibility of similar uprisings or othe...
  • Apparently the census was complete before David acknowledged that he had sinned. Finally guilt for his pride penetrated his heart, and he confessed his sin and asked God for forgiveness (v. 10). This response shows David at h...
  • An angelic messenger from God again brought death to many people throughout all Israel (cf. Exod. 12:23). The Angel of the Lord may have been the preincarnate Christ, but he could have simply been an angelic messenger whom Go...
  • David proceeded to offer sacrifices in response to Gad's instructions (v. 18). David needed to commit himself again to God (the burnt offering) and to renew his fellowship with God (the peace offering, v. 25). God instructed ...
  • When 1 Samuel opened Israel was a loosely connected affiliation of tribes with little unity and loyalty. Judges led her many of whom were weak and ineffective. Her worship was in disrepute due to corruption in the priesthood....
  • Achtemeier, Paul J., and Elizabeth Achtemeier. The Old Testament Roots of Our Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.Ackerman, James S. "Knowing Good and Evil: A Literary Ananysis of the Court History in 2 Samuel 9-20 and ...
  • Another significant battle occurred between the battle of Ramoth-gilead that the writer recorded in chapter 22 (853 B.C.) and the battles he recorded in chapter 20. Ahab and his Aramean ally Ben-Hadad II (860-841 B.C.) defeat...
  • Chapter 21 records the fulfillment of God's second personal promise to David, namely, that He would appoint a place where Israel could dwell securely (17:9). This was a promise of peace for Israel, but as the verses following...
  • Numbers in Chronicles That Disagree With Their Old Testament Parallels89HigherSameLowerParallel PassageEvaluation of ChroniclesA.1 Chron. 11:11300 slain by Jashobeam, not 8002 Sam. 23:8Scribal errorB.1 Chron. 18:4Hadadezer's ...
  • 34:1-3 David exulted in the Lord and called on his people to praise God with him.34:4-7 The psalmist's recent experience of God's answering his prayer for help and delivering him (vv. 4, 6) was only one example to him. Those ...
  • Isaiah had predicted that God would break Assyria's power in the Promised Land (14:24-27). This short section records how He miraculously fulfilled that promise. This divine act of massive proportions settled the issue of Ass...
  • ". . . the focus of chap. 6 is on the individual responsibility of the people and prepares the way for the subsequent spoken messages."1216:1-2 The Lord directed Ezekiel to pronounce an oracle of judgment against "the mountai...
  • 38:1-2 The Lord commanded Ezekiel to utter an oracle of judgment against Gog (cf. 1 Chron. 5:4; Rev. 20:8), who was the prince (king) over Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. His land was Magog (cf. Gen. 10:2; Rev. 20:8).The identity o...
  • 7:10 Amaziah, who was one of the apostate priests who served at the Bethel sanctuary (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-33), felt that Amos was being unpatriotic in what he was prophesying. So Amaziah sent a message to King Jeroboam II charg...
  • The first four verses of this poem deal with the north and the last four with the south. The first two verses and the last two speak of salvation, and the middle four speak of judgment. The passage begins and ends with a refe...
  • Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
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