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2 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 24
In
this chapter an account is given of David's numbering of the people
2 Samuel 24:1; of
the sense he had of his sin
and of his acknowledgment of it; and of the Lord's
displeasure at it
who sent the prophet Gad to him
to propose three things to
him
one of which he was to choose as a punishment for it
2 Samuel 24:10;
when he chose the pestilence
which carried off a great number of the people
2 Samuel 24:14; and
David was directed to build an altar to the Lord in the threshingfloor of
Araunah the Jebusite
with whom he agreed for it
and built one on it
and
offered upon it
and so the plague was stayed
2 Samuel 24:18.
2 Samuel 24:1 Again
the anger of the Lord
was aroused against Israel
and He moved David against them to say
“Go
number
Israel and Judah.”
YLT
1And the anger of Jehovah
addeth to burn against Israel
and [an adversary] moveth David about them
saying
`Go
number Israel and Judah.'
And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel
.... It had
been kindled
and appeared before in sending a three years' famine among them
for Saul's ill usage of the Gibeonites
2 Samuel 21:1; and
now it broke forth again
either for some secret sins committed
as Kimchi suggests
or for the rebellion of Absalom
and the insurrection of Sheba
in which
multitudes of them joined; so Abarbinel; no doubt there was cause for it
though it is not expressed:
and he moved David against them; not the Lord
but Satan
as may be supplied from 1 Chronicles 21:1;
or "it moved him"; the anger of the Lord
as the last mentioned
writer interprets it; or the heart of David
as Ben Gersom; that is
the evil
imagination of his heart
as Kimchi; the Lord left him to the corruption of his
nature
sometimes called Satan
2 Corinthians 12:7;
which wrought powerfully in him
and stirred him up to take a step contrary to
the interest of Israel
and what was prejudicial to them
as the event showed:
it moved him to say; to Joab and his captains:
go
number Israel and Judah: not all the individuals
but such as were fit for war
able to bear arms
see 2 Samuel 24:9.
2 Samuel 24:2 2 So the king said to Joab
the commander of the army who was with him
“Now go throughout all the
tribes of Israel
from Dan to Beersheba
and count the people
that I may know
the number of the people.”
YLT
2And the king saith unto
Joab
head of the host that [is] with him
`Go to and fro
I pray thee
through
all the tribes of Israel
from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba
and inspect ye the
people -- and I have known the number of the people.'
For the king said to Joab the captain of the host
which was
with him
.... Or who was with him
even Joab
who was now at court
and
was a counsellor of David
as well as his general; or which army was with Joab
a standing army he had the command of:
go now through all the tribes of Israel
from Dan even to
Beersheba; from the northern part of the land of Israel to the southern
part of it
and this course was accordingly steered
2 Samuel 24:6
and number ye the people
that I may know the number of the people; so that this
appears to be done not through any urgent necessity
but merely out of
curiosity
and to gratify the pride of his heart
and please himself with the
thought of ruling such a numerous people
and brag of their numbers to other
nations
and place his confidence therein; and no wonder it was displeasing to
the Lord.
2 Samuel 24:3 3 And Joab said to the king
“Now may the Lord
your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are
and may the
eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire
this thing?”
YLT
3And Joab saith unto the
king
`Yea
Jehovah thy God doth add unto the people
as they are
a hundred
times
and the eyes of my lord the king are seeing; and my lord the king
why
is he desirous of this thing?'
And Joab said unto the king
.... Not so rudely and
insolently as he did on account of his mourning for Absalom
but in a more
modest
decent
and polite manner:
now the Lord thy God add unto the people (how many soever they be)
an hundredfold; he wished his subjects were an hundred times more numerous than
they were:
and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it; that he might
live to see with his own eyes so great an increase:
but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing? he being now
old
and therefore it might seem strange to indulge such curiosity
pride
and
vanity
and besides quite needless and useless: the numbering of them would not
make them more or less; and they were all the king's servants
who were ready
to obey him whenever he needed them
whether numbered or not; and it might be
prejudicial to them
and bring down the wrath of God upon them
as well as be a
troublesome and expensive business; all which
though not expressed here
is
hinted at in 1 Chronicles 21:3.
2 Samuel 24:4 4 Nevertheless the king’s
word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore
Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count
the people of Israel.
YLT
4And the word of the king is
severe towards Joab
and against the heads of the force
and Joab goeth out
and the heads of the force
[from] before the king to inspect the people
even
Israel;
Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab
and
against the captains of the host
.... Who it seems were of
the same mind with Joab
and were against numbering the people
yet their
arguments and remonstrances were of no avail with the king; he was determined
it should be done
and laid his commands upon them to do it
which they were
obliged to comply with:
and Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence
of the king
to number the people of Israel; seeing him resolute and
determined
they submitted
took his orders
and set out to execute them.
2 Samuel 24:5 5 And they crossed over the
Jordan and camped in Aroer
on the right side of the town which is in
the midst of the ravine of Gad
and toward Jazer.
YLT
5and they pass over the
Jordan
and encamp in Aroer
on the right of the city that [is] in the midst of
the brook of Gad
and unto Jazer
And they passed over Jordan
.... To take the number
of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh first:
and pitched in Aroer; for it seems that Joab
and the captains had the army with them
and the several captains under their
command
partly to assist in numbering the people
and partly to keep them in
awe
lest they should oppose them
not knowing what was the design of all this
Aroer was a city given to the tribe of Gad
and rebuilt by them
Numbers 32:34
on the right side of the city; that is
of Aroer
the
south side of it
as the Targum
did Joab and his army pitch:
that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad; which was the
river Arnon
so called now from the tribe of Gad
which possessed it
and so
the Targum
in the midst of the river of the tribe of Gad; for in the midst of
the river Arnon Aroer lay
see Joshua 13:9
and toward Jazer; another city given to the Gadites
Numbers 32:3; and
according to BuntingF21Travels
&c. p. 147.
was sixteen miles
from Aroer.
2 Samuel 24:6 6 Then they came to Gilead
and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon;
YLT
6and they come in to Gilead
and unto the land of Tahtim-Hodshi
and they come in to Dan-Jaan
and round
about unto Zidon
Then they came to Gilead
.... The land of Gilead
half of which was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad
and the other half to
the half tribe of Manasseh
Deuteronomy 3:12;
which tribes were numbered
and the first of all:
and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; or the low lands of a
new place; it seems to be a country newly possessed and inhabited; the Targum
calls it the southern land of Hodshi; BuntingF23Travels
&c. p.
147. calls it the lower country of Hodshi
near to the city Corazin
in the
half tribe of Manasseh
fifty two miles from Jerusalem
and towards the
northeast
and signifies a new land:
and they came to Danjaan; the same that is simply
called Dan
and formerly Leshem
Joshua 19:47; why
Juan is added to it is not easy to say; it lay at the northern border of the
land of Israel
and was four miles from Paneas as you go to TyreF24Hieron.
de loc. Heb. fol. 90. H. :
and about to Zidon; from Dan they went round about to Zidon
to
the parts adjacent to it; for with Zidon itself they had nothing to do
of
which See Gill on Joshua 11:8.
2 Samuel 24:7 7 and they came to the
stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites.
Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba.
YLT
7and they come in to the
fortress of Tyre
and all the cities of the Hivite
and of the Canaanite
and
go out unto the south of Judah
to Beer-Sheba.
And came to the strong hold of Tyre
.... That is
old Tyre
which stood thirty furlongs from new Tyre
the islandF25Strabo.
Geograph. l. 16. p. 521. ; of which See Gill on Isaiah 23:1; this
must be understood of the parts near unto it; for that itself was not within
the land of Israel
and so its inhabitants not to be numbered:
and to all the cities of the Hivites
and of the Canaanites: which were
possessed by them
and from whence they were not driven out by the Israelites;
to all places contiguous to them
Joab and his captains came to take the number
of them:
and they went out to the south of Judah: even to Beersheba; passing
through the western part of the land
they came to the southern part of it
even as far as Beersheba
which was the extreme part of the land to the south.
2 Samuel 24:8 8 So when they had gone
through all the land
they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and
twenty days.
YLT
8And they go to and fro
through all the land
and come in at the end of nine months and twenty days to
Jerusalem
So when they had gone through all the land
.... Beginning
at the east
and from thence to the north
and then going about to the west
came to the south
which finished their circuit:
they came to Jerusalem
at the end of nine months and twenty days: they were ten
months wanting ten days in numbering the people; in which they seem to have
been very expeditious.
2 Samuel 24:9 9 Then Joab gave the sum of
the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred
thousand valiant men who drew the sword
and the men of Judah were five hundred
thousand men.
YLT
9and Joab giveth the account
of the inspection of the people unto the king
and Israel is eight hundred
thousand men of valour
drawing sword
and the men of Judah five hundred
thousand men.
And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king
.... Having
collected from the several captains employed in this work their several
particular numbers
he put them together
and gave in the sum total to David:
and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that
drew the sword; though many of them might be under the age of twenty
yet being
robust and tall
and fit to bear arms
though but sixteen
seventeen
eighteen
or nineteen years of age
were mustered
contrary to the law; which
according
to Cornelius BertramF26Lucubrat. Frauktall
c. 2. was David's sin
see 1 Chronicles 27:23.
In 1 Chronicles 21:5
they are said to be a million and an hundred thousand
which is three hundred
thousand more than the sum here given; several methods are taken to reconcile
this; but what seems to be the best solution of the difficulty is what is
observed by a JewF1R. Eliezer in Halicot Olam
tract. 4. c. 3. p.
181.
that here the number of the people in the several parts of the land of
Israel was given
which were eight hundred thousand
there along with them
the
numbers of the standing army which waited on the king in their courses
which
were twenty four thousand every
month
and amounted in the twelve months to
288
000
and reckoning lo thousand officers to them
they make the sum of three
hundred thousand wanted
see 1 Chronicles 27:1
&c.
and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. In 1 Chronicles 21:5
they are said to be only 470
000
thirty thousand less than here; which may be
accounted for by making use of a round number
though something wanting
as is
often done; or else the thirty companies
consisting of a thousand each
under
the eighty captains mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:8
are
taken into the account here
but left out in the book of Chronicles; or there
were so many in the sum total of the men of Judah before the plague
but thirty
thousand being consumed thereby
are left out in the latter accounts
so
Kimchi; but the other solutions seem best: Levi and Benjamin were not counted;
it being abominable to Joab
he did not finish it
and especially being
displeasing to God
who smote Israel for it
1 Chronicles 21:6.
2 Samuel 24:10 10 And David’s heart
condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord
“I have
sinned greatly in what I have done; but now
I pray
O Lord
take away the
iniquity of Your servant
for I have done very foolishly.”
YLT
10And the heart of David
smiteth him
after that he hath numbered the people
and David saith unto
Jehovah
`I have sinned greatly in that which I have done
and now
O Jehovah
cause to pass away
I pray Thee
the iniquity of Thy servant
for I have acted
very foolishly.'
And David's heart smote him
after that had numbered the people
.... For nine
or ten months his conscience lay asleep
but now the thing was done
it is
awakened
and accuses him for it
and he repents of it; now he began to see the
pride and haughtiness of his heart; his vanity and confidence in the creature
which led him to it; aggravated by doing it without seeking to know the mind of
God
and without giving him his due
the half shekel
according to the law
Exodus 30:12;
intent only upon increasing his own revenue
as some think
intending to impose
a poll tax upon the people when he had numbered them; and attempting to number
a people who were not to be numbered; and numbering those who were under the
age of twenty
and therefore the plague began before it was finished
1 Chronicles 27:23
and David said unto the Lord
I have sinned greatly in that I have
done; he saw and owned his sin to be exceeding sinful
attended with
very aggravating circumstances:
and now I beseech thee
Lord
take away the iniquity of thy
servant; the guilt of it from his conscience
which lay heavy there
and
suffer not the punishment it deserves to take place on him
but grant an
application of pardon to him:
for I have done very foolishly; all sin is folly
and
some sins are exceeding foolish
and so this appeared to David; or
"though I have done very foolishly"F2כי
"quamvis"
so Goassius notes it may be rendered; so Pool.
yet
forgive my sin
see Psalm 38:5.
2 Samuel 24:11 11 Now when David arose in
the morning
the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad
David’s seer
saying
YLT
11And David riseth in the
morning
and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Gad the prophet
seer of David
saying
For when David was up in the morning
.... Which it
is probable was very early
he not being able to sleep through the distress of
mind he was in; for the words should be rendered
"and David arose in the
morning"F3ויקם "et
surrexit"
Pagninus
Montanus
&c.
for
as we render them
they seem
to imply as if he had no sense of his sin before the prophet came to him next
mentioned; whereas it was in the night he had been under the conviction of it
and had acknowledged it
and prayed for the pardon of it; upon which the
prophet was sent to acquaint him what was the will of God concerning him:
the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad
David's seer; with whom he
had used to advise about the will of God on various occasions
though in this
he had neglected to consult him; the Targum calls it the word of prophecy from
the Lord:
saying; as follows.
2 Samuel 24:12 12 “Go and tell David
‘Thus
says the Lord:
“I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself
that I may
do it to you.”’”
YLT
12`Go
and thou hast spoken
unto David
Thus said Jehovah: Three -- I am lifting up for thee
choose thee
one of them
and I do [it] to thee.'
Go
and say unto David
.... Not my servant
David
as Nathan was bid to say to him when it was in his heart to build an
house for him
2 Samuel 7:5; but
now he had sinned and displeased the Lord
and therefore it is only plain
David:
thus saith the Lord
I offer thee three things; or lay them
before thee to consider of which thou wouldest have done; the Targum
is
"one of three things I cast upon thee
'as a burden to bear; one of the three
I will certainly inflict upon thee by way of chastisement:
choose thee one of them
that I may do it unto thee; here is mercy
mixed with judgment; the Lord is angry
yet shows great condescension and
goodness; a sovereign Being
who could have imposed what punishment he pleased
and even all the three after mentioned
yet resolves but on one
and leaves
that to the option of David.
2 Samuel 24:13 13 So Gad came to David and
told him; and he said to him
“Shall seven[a] years of
famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your
enemies
while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your
land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”
YLT
13And Gad cometh in unto
David
and declareth to him
and saith to him
`Do seven years of famine come
in to thee in thy land? or three months art thou fleeing before thine adversary
-- and he pursuing thee? or are three days' pestilence in thy land? now
know
and see what word I take back to Him sending me.'
So Gad came to David
and told him
.... Said nothing to him
about his sin
but correction for it; which confirms it that David was made
sensible of his sin before he came to him:
and said unto him
shall seven years of famine come unto thee in
thy land? in 1 Chronicles 21:12
only "three years" are mentioned
and so the Septuagint version here;
but JosephusF4Antiqu. l. 7. c. 13. sect. 2.
the Targum
the Syriac
and Arabic versions
have the number "seven"; three seems to be more
agreeable to the numbers after mentioned
and no more as to come were designed
though seven are here expressed; for the reconciling of which let it be
observed
that there had been three years of famine already on account of the
sin of Saul
2 Samuel 21:1; and
in the current year
through the rains not falling in the proper time
the land
was barren and unfruitful; or through the penury of the preceding years the
famine would be continued at least until the harvest; and then three years more
now proposed made seven years; or
if these three years would have immediately
followed the other three
the following in course would be a sabbatical year
in which were no ploughing
sowing
nor reaping
or the current year was such
an one: and the sense is
shall there be a continuance of seven years of
famine
that is
three more added to what had been? which must be most dreadful
to think of; but a learned writerF5Dr. Kennicott's Dissert. 1. p.
474. thinks it a mistake of the copier
writing ז
"seven"
for ג
"three":
or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies
while they
pursue thee? be in such a condition as not to be able to face or fight his
enemies
or
if he did
would not be able to stand his ground
but be forced to
flee before them
and be pursued by them three months running; during which
time a prodigious number might well be thought to be slain
sad devastations
made in the land
and great shame and disgrace endured
and what a man of
David's spirit could not bear the thoughts of:
or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? which in 1 Chronicles 21:12
is called "the sword of the Lord"
in distinction from the sword of
man
it coming immediately from him
and the destroying angel
in all the
coasts of the land; being inflicted by means of one:
now advise
and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me; that is
consult
with himself
or with his friends
or both
what answer the prophet must return
to the Lord that sent him; for him he means.
2 Samuel 24:14 14 And David said to Gad
“I
am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord
for His mercies
are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
YLT
14And David saith unto Gad
`I have great distress
let us fall
I pray thee
into the hand of Jehovah
for
many [are] His mercies
and into the hand of man let me not fall.'
And David said unto Gad
I am in a great strait
.... Not
knowing well which to choose
each of them being so grievous
and an answer
being to be returned immediately; but by his next words
and by the event
it
seems he chose the pestilence
though that is not expressly said:
let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; the Targum in
1 Chronicles 21:13
is"into the hand of the Word of the Lord:"
(for his mercies are great)
and let me not fall into the
hand of men; indeed all the three judgments mentioned are by the hand of the
Lord whenever they come; but in the pestilence the hand of the Lord is more
visible
it coming immediately from his hand
as especially this was to do
and
did; it did not arise from second causes
a noxious air
&c. but by means
of an angel of God: David chose this
because he and his people would have
nothing to do with men
as in famine they must have gone into other countries
for food
and in war flee before their enemies
and lie at their mercy
and
either of them more disgraceful than this; and which he might the rather choose
on his own account
that his people might not be able to say he sought himself
and his own interest; for had he chosen famine
as his people had been lately
distressed that way already
they might
besides urging that
say
that he
could lay up stores for himself and family; or had he chosen war
they might
observe he had fortified places to flee to
one after another
and shelter
himself; but for the arrows of the pestilence he was as likely a mark as the
meanest of his subjects: but what seems to have moved him chiefly to make this
choice is
that it would not only be the soonest over
but that it wholly
depended on the pleasure of God what use he would make of it in that time; and
chiefly because he knew God was gracious and merciful
and it was upon his
great mercy he cast himself and his people.
2 Samuel 24:15 15 So the Lord sent a plague
upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba
seventy thousand men of the people died.
YLT
15And Jehovah giveth a
pestilence on Israel from the morning even unto the time appointed
and there
die of the people
from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba
seventy thousand men
So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel
.... Upon the
land of Israel
the people of the land
directly employing an angel to go
through the coasts of it
and empowering him to inflict a pestilential disease:
from the morning even to the time appointed: from the
morning the prophet Gad came to David with a message from the Lord; that very
morning the plague began
and lasted to the time set for it
the three days
or
at least unto the beginning of the third
when reaching Jerusalem
the Lord
repented of it
and stayed his hand; though many think a much shorter time is
intended; some think it lasted no more than half a day
if so much; some say
but three hoursF6Pirke Eliezer
c. 43. ; the Septuagint version
until dinnertime; and the Syriac and Arabic versions
until the sixth hour of
the day
which was noon; and so Kimchi says
some of their Rabbins interpret it
of the half or middle of the day; the Targum is
"from the time the daily
sacrifice was slain until it was burnt;'and it is the sense of several learned
men that it was only from the morning until the time of the evening sacrifice
or evening prayer
about three o'clock in the afternoon
and so lasted about
nine hours:
and there died of the people
from Dan even to Beersheba
seventy
thousand men; so that there was a great diminution of the people in all places
where they were numbered; and David's sin may be read in the punishment of it;
his heart was lifted up by the numbers of his people
and now it must be
humbled by the lessening of them.
2 Samuel 24:16 16 And when the angel[b] stretched
out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it
the Lord relented from
the destruction
and said to the angel who was destroying the people
“It is
enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the
threshing floor of Araunah[c] the
Jebusite.
YLT
16and the messenger putteth
forth his hand to Jerusalem to destroy it
and Jehovah repenteth concerning the
evil
and saith to the messenger who is destroying among the people
`Enough
now
cease thy hand;' and the messenger of Jehovah was near the threshing-floor of
Araunah the Jebusite.
And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to
destroy it
.... Which
as it was perhaps the last place where the people
were numbered
it was the last to which the plague came: this angel appeared in
an human form
standing "between the earth and the heaven"; in the
midst of the heaven
in the air
right over Jerusalem: "having a drawn
sword in his hand stretched over the city"; as is said in 1 Chronicles 21:16;
which was done as a menace
and to inject terror into David and the inhabitants
of the city
and to give them notice of what they must expect:
the Lord repented him of the evil; he was inflicting
and
now threatened Jerusalem with; having compassion on the place where the ark
the symbol of his presence
was
where a temple was to be built to the honour
of his name
and where he should be worshipped; and therefore stopped
proceeding; as men
when they repent of anything done by them
cease from it
so did the Lord now; otherwise repentance
properly speaking
falls not on him
and so it is next explained:
and said to the angel that destroyed the people; not the angel
of death
the devil
but a good angel
who had a commission from God for this
business:
it is enough: stay now thine hand: there is a sufficient
number slay no more:
and the angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of Araunah
the Jebusite; that is
he was in the air
right over the spot
or near it
where was this man's threshingfloor; and was seen by Araunah and his four sons
who upon it hid themselves
perhaps among the sheaves they were threshing
1 Chronicles 21:20;
and this threshingfloor was on Mount Moriah
2 Chronicles 3:1;
as threshingfloors commonly were on mountains for the sake of winnowing the
corn when threshed; See Gill on 3:2; who
according to Ben Gersom
though he was by birth a Jebusite
was proselyted to
the Jewish religion.
2 Samuel 24:17 17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw
the angel who was striking the people
and said
“Surely I have sinned
and I
have done wickedly; but these sheep
what have they done? Let Your hand
I
pray
be against me and against my father’s house.”
YLT
17And David speaketh unto
Jehovah
when he seeth the messenger who is smiting among the people
and
saith
`Lo
I have sinned
yea
I have done perversely; and these -- the flock
-- what have they done? Let
I pray Thee
Thy hand be on me
and on the house
of my father.'
And David spake unto the Lord
.... In prayer; he and
the elders of Israel being clothed in sackcloth
and fallen on their faces
he
prayed
not unto the angel
but to Jehovah that sent him; see 1 Chronicles 21:16
when he saw the angel that smote the people; in the air
over Jerusalem
with a drawn sword in his hand
which made him appear terrible:
and said
lo
I have sinned
and I have done wickedly; in numbering
the people:
but these sheep
what have they done? he looked
upon himself as the only transgressor
and his people as innocent
and as
harmless as sheep; he thought of no sins but his own; these were uppermost in
his mind
and lay heavy on his conscience; and it grieved him extremely the his
people should suffer on his account: but they were not so innocent as he
thought and suggests; and it was not only for his
but their sins
this evil
came; he was suffered to do what he did
to bring upon them deserved punishment
for their rebellion against him
and other sins; however
this shows the high
opinion he had of them
the great affection he had for them
and his sympathy
with them in this time of distress:
let thine hand
I pray thee
be against me
and against my
father's house; let me and mine die
and not they; a type of Christ
the good
Shepherd
willing to lay down his life for the sheep
and suffer in their
stead
that they might go free.
2 Samuel 24:18 18 And Gad came that day to
David and said to him
“Go up
erect an altar to the Lord on the
threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
YLT
18And Gad cometh in unto
David on that day
and saith to him
`Go up
raise to Jehovah an altar in the
threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite;'
And Gad came that day to David
.... Ordered and directed
by the angel of the Lord
1 Chronicles 21:18
and said unto him
go up
rear an altar unto the Lord in the
threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite: it was too far to go to
Gibeon
where the tabernacle was
at such a time of extremity
when the sword
of the angel was stretched out over Jerusalem
1 Chronicles 21:29;
and this was the most proper place
as it was the very spot over and nearest to
which the angel was; and was on Mount Moriah
where the Jews say Abraham
offered up Isaac; and where the temple was afterwards built
as Kimchi and Ben
Gersom observe; and Eupolemus
an Heathen writerF7Apud Euseb.
Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447.
says
that when David desired to build
a temple for God
and that he would show him the place of the altar
an angel
appeared to him
standing over the place where the altar at Jerusalem was to be
built.
2 Samuel 24:19 19 So David
according to the
word of Gad
went up as the Lord commanded.
YLT
19and David goeth up
according to the word of Gad
as Jehovah commanded.
And David
according to the saying of Gad
went up as the Lord
commanded. From the place where he was in a lower part of the city to Mount
Moriah
on which was the threshing floor
a place fit for winnowing corn when
threshed.
2 Samuel 24:20 20 Now Araunah looked
and
saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed
before the king with his face to the ground.
YLT
20And Araunah looketh
and
seeth the king and his servants passing over unto him
and Araunah goeth out
and boweth himself to the king -- his face to the earth.
And Araunah looked
.... Peeped up out of the place in which he
had hid himself with his four sons
for fear of the angel
and which they saw
1 Chronicles 21:20
and saw the king and his servants coming towards him; he perceived
by the course they steered
that they were coming to him:
and Araunah went out; of the threshingfloor
out of the place where he had hid himself
for he had been threshing wheat
1 Chronicles 21:20;
nor was it thought below great personages in those times to be employed in such
work; so Gideon was threshing
when the angel of the Lord appeared to him
Judges 6:11; Boaz
winnowed barley in his threshingfloor
3:2
and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground; in reverence
of the king.
2 Samuel 24:21 21 Then Araunah said
“Why
has my lord the king come to his servant?”
And David said
“To buy the threshing floor from you
to build an
altar to the Lord
that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
YLT
21And Araunah saith
`Wherefore hath my lord the king come unto his servant?' and David saith
`To
buy from thee the threshing-floor
to build an altar to Jehovah
and the plague
is restrained from the people.'
And Araunah said
wherefore is my lord the king come to his
servant?.... Which both implies admiration in him
that so great a person
should visit him in his threshingfloor; that a king should come to a subject
his servant
who should rather have come to him
and would upon the least
intimation; it was a piece of condescension he marvelled at; and it expresses a
desire to know his pleasure with him
supposing it must be something very
urgent and important
that the king should come himself upon it: and to this
David made answer:
and David said
what he was come for:
to buy the threshingfloor of thee
to build an altar to the Lord
that the plague may be stayed from the people; for though David had
acknowledged his sin
and God had repented of the evil he inflicted for it
and
given orders for stopping it; yet he would have an altar built
and sacrifices
offered
to show that the only way to have peace
and pardon
and safety from
ruin and destruction
deserved by sin
is through the expiatory sacrifice of
Christ
of which fill sacrifices were typical
and were designed to lead the
faith of the Lord's people to that.
2 Samuel 24:22 22 Now Araunah said to David
“Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him.
Look
here are oxen for burnt sacrifice
and threshing implements and
the yokes of the oxen for wood.
YLT
22And Araunah saith unto
David
`Let my lord the king take and cause to ascend that which is good in his
eyes; see
the oxen for a burnt-offering
and the threshing instruments
and
the instruments of the oxen
for wood;'
And Araunah said unto David
let my lord the king take and offer
up what seemeth good unto him
.... Build an altar
offer sacrifices of whatsoever he found upon the premises fit for the same
and
make use of whatever came to hand proper to perform such service with
as
follows:
behold
here be oxen for burnt sacrifice: which were
employed in treading the corn
hence the law in Deuteronomy 25:4
and threshing instruments; not flails
such as are
used by us
but wooden sledges
drays or carts drawn on wheels
which were
filled with stones
and the bottom of them stuck with iron teeth
and were drawn
by oxen to and fro over the sheaves of corn; see Isaiah 28:27
and other instruments of the oxen for wood; as their
yokes; these Araunah gave leave to take to burn the sacrifice with; and in 1 Chronicles 21:23
it is added
"and the wheat for the meat offering"
which was upon
the threshingfloor; and there always went a meat offering with a burnt
offering.
2 Samuel 24:23 23 All these
O king
Araunah
has given to the king.” And Araunah said to the king
“May the Lord your God
accept you.”
YLT
23the whole hath Araunah
given
[as] a king to a king; and Araunah saith unto the king
`Jehovah thy God
doth accept thee.'
All these things did Araunah
as a king
give unto
the king
.... The note of similitude as is not in the text; from whence
some have thought he was king of the Jebusites before Jerusalem was taken out
of their hands
or however was of the royal race
perhaps the son and heir of
the then king at that time; or he has this title given him
because of his
great liberality
having the spirit of a prince in him
even of a king; so
Ulysses addressed Antinous
saying
thou art like a king
and therefore should
give more largely than othersF8Homer. Odyss. 17. ver. 335. :
and Araunah said unto the king
the Lord thy God accept thee; thine
offering with a good will; with pleasure and delight
as the Targum; that so
the plague might be removed
and which no doubt made him the more ready to part
with the above things
and all that he had; so dreadful did the calamity appear
to him
and especially after he saw the angel with his drawn sword just over
him.
2 Samuel 24:24 24 Then the king said to
Araunah
“No
but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I
offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which
costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty
shekels of silver.
YLT
24And the king saith unto
Araunah
`Nay
for I do surely buy from thee for a price
and I do not cause to
ascend to Jehovah my God burnt-offerings for nought;' and David buyeth the
threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver
And the king said unto Araunah
nay
but I will surely buy it
of thee at a price
.... And a full price too
1 Chronicles 21:24;
that is
give him as much for it as it was worth:
neither will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that
which doth cost me nothing; which shows an ingenuous spirit
and
contrary to the temper of many
who like to serve the Lord in the cheapest
manner
or with little cost to themselves:
so David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels
of silver; which
reckoning a shekel at two shillings and sixpence
made
but just six pounds five shillings of our money; though its value is but about
two shillings and four pence farthing
which reduces the sum; in 1 Chronicles 21:25
David is said to give six hundred shekels of gold by weight; two ways are
proposed by the JewsF9T. Bab. Zebachim
fol. 116. 2. for the
reconciling of the difficulty; the one is
that fifty shekels were collected
out of every tribe
and twelve times fifty make six hundred shekels
and these
were of the value or weight of gold; but this seems not likely
that it should
be collected out of all the tribes
and since it appears plainly to be the
king's purchase
and with his money: the other is
that there were two
purchases
the first was of the threshingfloor
oxen
and instruments
which
were bought for fifty shekels of silver
as here
and the other was a purchase
of the place
as it is called in the book of Chronicles; that large space of
ground on which afterwards the temple
and all the courts adjoining to it
were
built
and which was now Araunah's farm
and on which were his dwelling house
and other buildings; and for all this David gave him six hundred shekels of
gold
which made three hundred ouncesF11Vid. Gronov. de Pecunia Vet.
l. 3. c. 7. p. 369. and reckoning gold as twelve times the value of silver
according to BrerewoodF12De Ponder. & Pretiis
c. 5.
it
amounted to four hundred fifty pounds of our money; and learned men have not
been able to give a better solution of this difficulty; and with this MontanusF13Tubal-Cain
p. 15. So Hieron. Trad. Heb. fol. 80. F. agrees. Bochart and Noldius have taken
another way
but not so clear and satisfactory; the Septuagint of 1 Chronicles 21:25
has fifty shekels
as here.
2 Samuel 24:25 25 And David built there an
altar to the Lord
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the
prayers for the land
and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
YLT
25and David buildeth there an
altar to Jehovah
and causeth to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings
and Jehovah is entreated for the land
and the plague is restrained from
Israel.
And David built there an altar unto the Lord
.... After he
had made the purchase:
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings; the one to
expiate the sin or sins committed
the other to give thanks for the intimation
given
that the plague would be stayed upon this:
so the Lord was entreated for the land; was pacified
and prevailed upon to remove the pestilence from it; which was signified by
fire descending upon the altar of burnt offering
which showed the sacrifice
was accepted
and by the angel being ordered to put his sword into its sheath
1 Chronicles 21:26;
and the Targum is
"and the Lord received the prayer of the inhabitants of
the land:"
and the plague was stayed from Israel; no more died
of the pestilence
either at Jerusalem
or in any other part of the land
Israel.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)