2 Samuel 24

2 Samuel 24:1

• The reason for God's anger against Israel is unclear (but see Deuteronomy 4:25; 6:14–15; 29:22–28; 31:16–18).

• The phrase stirred up refers to a Hebrew verb (suth) that means enticing or inciting someone to do wrong (1 Samuel 26:19, stirred you up against me). People usually disliked census-taking because they saw it as an invasion of privacy. They thought it led to taxes or forced military service (see study note on 2 Samuel 24:9). If David acted out of pride or was planning an unjust war (as 2 Samuel 24:9 might suggest), this could explain why it was considered a sin for him (2 Samuel 24:10).

2 Samuel 24:2

Dan and Beersheba were the traditional northern and southern boundaries of Israel. This phrase meant the entire land of Israel.

2 Samuel 24:3

why does my lord … want to do such a thing?: Joab either realized that such a move would be unpopular among the people, or he believed that it was wrong before God.

2 Samuel 24:9

The phrase men of valor indicates that the census mainly counted those eligible for military service. The total for Judah here might be rounded up from the number in 1 Chronicles 21:5. The different number for Israel in 1 Chronicles 21:5 (1,100,000) might result from adding a regular standing army of 300,000 (not recorded elsewhere) to the 800,000 found through the census.

2 Samuel 24:10

I have sinned: See study note on 2 Samuel 24:1. David thought his sin caused the plague and that the removal of his sin would make things right (see also 2 Samuel 24:17). However, it is clear that Israel, not David, was the true object of God’s wrath (2 Samuel 24:1).

2 Samuel 24:11

Gad, David’s seer, is mentioned only here and in 1 Samuel 22:5. A seer is an early term for a prophet (1 Samuel 9:9, 19). Unlike pagan magicians or sorcerers, biblical seers had visions inspired by God (see also 2 Kings 17:13; Isaiah 29:10; 30:9–10; Amos 7:12; Micah 3:7) and served as God’s messengers.

2 Samuel 24:13

David had already experienced the first two options. He had fled from Saul and later from Absalom. He had also lived through a famine caused by Saul’s murder of the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1).

At first, three days of severe plague may have seemed less frightening. However, the plague caused the deaths of 70,000 people (2 Samuel 24:15).

2 Samuel 24:16

• the LORD relented: God might stop his judgment:

  • when someone else pleads for the person in trouble (Exodus 32:12–14),

  • when the sinful person turns away from their wrongdoing (Jeremiah 18:8), or

  • simply because God chooses to stop.

• the angel who was destroying the people: See Exodus 12:23.

• A threshing floor was an open area where people separated grain from the chaff. Gideon met God at a threshing floor (Judges 6:37). Araunah’s threshing floor later became the location of the Temple (1 Chronicles 21:18–22:1; 2 Chronicles 3:1).

• Araunah the Jebusite: Although David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6–9), he did not completely remove them or drive them away.

2 Samuel 24:17

• I, the shepherd, have sinned: Earlier, David confessed his sin only about his situation ("take away the iniquity of Your servant," 2 Samuel 24:10). Now, he prayed for those he thought were innocent (but see 2 Samuel 24:1) and offered to die for them.

• these sheep: David was the shepherd (a leader who guided, protected, and cared for the people) of Israel (see study note on 2 Samuel 7:8).

2 Samuel 24:21

so that the plague: David did not know that God had already told the angel the plague would end (2 Samuel 24:16).

2 Samuel 24:25

David acted like a priest when he built an altar, offered burnt and peace offerings, and prayed for his people. In response, the Lord answered his prayer (see 2 Samuel 21:14).

Aquifer Open Study Notes © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.