2 Samuel 24:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

NIV: After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

NASB: So when they had roamed about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

CSB: When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

NLT: Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem.

KJV: So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

NKJV: So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

For some unnamed but serious reason, God is angry with Israel (2 Samuel 24:1). As part of His plan to punish them, He incites David to take a census of all the men who are eligible and able to fight. He tells the commanders of the regular army to "go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba" (2 Samuel 24:2). Joab and the generals are strongly against this plan, but David prevails (2 Samuel 24:1–4).

The census-takers start in southern Reuben, across the Jordan, travel up to Dan, the city in the north of the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh, cross west to the Mediterranean port city Sidon, and make their way south again to Beersheba, just inside the Negev (2 Samuel 24:5–7). It takes them nearly ten months.

When they finish, they count more than a million men in the northern tribes and about half as many in Judah. Because Joab thinks the census is an abomination against God, he changes the numbers. He takes out all the Levites, which is standard (Numbers 1:49) and the Benjaminites (2 Samuel 24:9; 1 Chronicles 21:5–6). It seems he thinks the lower number will foil whatever reason David has for the census.

God very rarely called for a census. The main purpose of a census seems to have been to count the temple tax (Exodus 30:11–16). So, David may want to know how much he can tax the people for the supplies for the temple. In Numbers 1, He told Moses to count the number of fighting men from twenty years old and older; the Levites weren't included. This was supposed to be the army that invaded the Promised Land, but because of their cowardice, God kept them in the desert for another forty years (Numbers 13—14). God orders another census in Numbers 26 to help Joshua plan the attack. So, David may have wanted the census to feel good about his army. Either way, he wasn't trusting God to provide.

Second Samuel 24:1–9 (1 Chronicles 21:1–9) depicts a time when God was angry with Israel. He allows Satan to incite David to take a census. Though David may be trying to gauge taxes, it's more likely the census is a matter of national military pride. Joab takes nearly ten months to scour the nation. As a small rebellion, Joab's final report doesn't include the men from the tribes of Levi or Benjamin. David immediately realizes his mistake and accepts God's punishment: a plague that kills thousands (2 Samuel 24:10–15).

Second Samuel 24 (1 Chronicles 21) is the final story in the epilogue to 1 and 2 Samuel. God is angry with Israel and incites David to take a census. When it's finished, David accepts blame, and God punishes Israel with a plague. The plague's progress stops at a threshing floor just short of Jerusalem. David buys the land and offers a sacrifice. The land will later house the temple. In the chiasm—the mirror arrangement—epilogue of 1 and 2 Samuel, this story is partnered with God's punishment of Saul's family for their sin against the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1–14).

Second Samuel 24 (1 Chronicles 21) marks the end of the epilogue of 1 and 2 Samuel. Second Samuel 21—24 is a mirrored pattern showing how God's blessings on Israel are dependent on their obedience. Here, God is angry with Israel and incites David. The nation is disciplined by a deadly plague. In 2 Samuel 24, the story shows that God disciplines Israel's disobedience. In 1 Chronicles 21, the focus is on how David got the land for the temple.