2 Samuel 24

This is the final chapter of 2 Samuel. Chapters 21–24 are regarded as a kind of appendix that gathers various records from David's reign. The book closes with this chapter, which follows David's last words and the list of his mighty men in 2 Samuel 23.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 The LORD's anger is again kindled against Israel, and He moves David to number the people. Joab objects but obeys the king's command.
• Verses 5–9 Joab and the captains begin east of the Jordan and travel throughout the land as far as Beersheba, a journey of nine months and twenty days. They report 800,000 men in Israel who drew the sword and 500,000 in Judah.
• Verses 10–14 David's heart smites him, and he confesses his sin. The prophet Gad tells him to choose among seven years of famine, three months of fleeing before his enemies, or three days of pestilence. David chooses to fall into the hand of the LORD rather than into the hand of man.
• Verses 15–17 Seventy thousand people die in the pestilence. The LORD has the angel stay his hand from striking Jerusalem, and David asks that the punishment fall on himself and his father's house instead of on the people.
• Verses 18–25 Following Gad's word, David buys the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite for fifty shekels of silver and offers burnt offerings and peace offerings, and the plague is stayed.

Key Verses

• 2 Samuel 24:10 "I have sinned greatly in that I have done" — David recognizes and confesses his own sin.
• 2 Samuel 24:14 "for his mercies are great" — Even while choosing a punishment, David relies on God's mercy.
• 2 Samuel 24:24 "neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing" — Widely quoted as an example of costly devotion.

People and Places

• Gad: A prophet called David's seer, who delivers God's word to David.
• Araunah: A Jebusite living in Jerusalem. He offers to give his threshing floor to David, but David insists on paying for it.
• Dan and Beersheba: An idiomatic expression for the northern and southern limits of Israel.

Points for Reflection

• 1 Chronicles 21, which records the same event, names Satan as the one who provoked David. Various explanations have been offered for this difference, including the view that God permitted Satan's activity.
• 1 Chronicles gives different figures for the census (1,100,000 in Israel and 470,000 in Judah), the length of the famine (three years), the price (600 shekels of gold), and a different name (Ornan). The Septuagint of 2 Samuel 24:13 also reads "three years."
• The text does not explain why the census was sinful. Interpretations include viewing it as pride that relied on military strength and connecting it with the ransom requirement in Exodus 30.
• 2 Chronicles 3:1 records that Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem on the site of this threshing floor and calls the place Mount Moriah. For this reason the chapter is sometimes read alongside the account of Isaac being offered on Mount Moriah.

In Korean Churches

Verse 24, "neither will I offer burnt offerings … of that which doth cost me nothing," is frequently quoted in sermons on giving and devotion.