1 Chronicles 21:6

But Levi, etc.] This is not mentioned in 2 S. If the numbering of the people was due to a presumptuous reliance upon material resources, or some specific command connected with the taking of a census (e.g. Exodus 30:11) had been neglected, the non-inclusion of two tribes by Joab was perhaps a device to prevent the full completion of the king's purpose, in the hope of averting the evil consequences that were feared.