2 Samuel 24 - Introduction

The numbering of the People and the Plague

=1 Chronicles 21:1-27

There is no definite note of time to shew when the events here recorded took place, but several indications point to the later years of David's reign. (a) The language of 2 Samuel 24:1, "againthe anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel" evidently refers to the famine recorded in ch. 21. and points to a date after that occurrence. (b) It would have been impossible for the commander-in-chief to spend nearly ten months in taking the census, except at a time of permanent peace. (c) David's preparations for building the Temple, which occupied the last years of his reign, are narrated in Chronicles as the immediate sequel of his purchase of Araunah's threshing-floor.

The corresponding narrative in Chronicles agrees much less closely than usual with Samuel. Either its writer drew from other sources, or the compiler of Samuel has omitted much of the original account.

For a discussion of the nature of David's sin see Additional Note v. p. 238.