1 Chronicles 21
1 Chronicles 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the Books of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Chronicles in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is compiled from older sources by an unknown person or group, designated by modern scholars as "the Chronicler", and had the final shape established in late fifth or fourth century BCE. This chapter records the account of David's census, its consequences and the purchase of a site for the temple. The whole chapter belongs to the section focusing on the kingship of David.
Text
This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 30 verses.Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.Extant manuscripts of a Koine Greek translation known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE, include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus.
Old Testament references
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David’s military census (21:1–6)
The Chronicler reinterprets and supplements the account in 2 Samuel 24, taking the perspective of Job chapter 1. Instead of "the anger of the ", the one who persuaded David to carry out a census is "Satan", a Hebrew word which should be translated as "an adversary" rather than a personal name, more likely is the same figure mentioned in ff and Zechariah 3:1ff.David's guilt is pronounced strongly by Joab as the word 'trespass' is used to emphasize David's responsibility. The Chronicler simply documents the result of the census, excluding the individual stages recorded in 2 Samuel 24.
Verse 5
- "1,100,000": the number of able men in the united kingdom of Israel and Judah, of whom 800,000 is reported in, with the addition of twelve special armies each consisting of 24,000 men, for a total of 288,000, and 12,000 horsemen in chariot cities as well as at Jerusalem.
- "470,000": the total of the Judeans. has 500,000; apparently including 30,000 David's chosen warriors in.
Verse 6
forbids to take a military census among the Levites, whereas the tribe of Benjamin was probably excluded because 'the tabernacle resided upon its territory'.Judgment for David’s sin (21:7–13)
The passage emphasizes on YHWH's disapproval, not David's remorse because David was persuaded by Satan, so it has the statement 'he struck Israel' forecasting the events reported in verse 14.A plague on Israel (21:14–17)
The sin of David resulted in the death of Israelites.Verse 14
This sentence is followed in by "from the morning even to the time appointed," so if "the time appointed" means 'the time of the evening sacrifice', then God shortened the three days to a short one day.Verse 16
The Chronicler describes the angel hanging in the air, recalling the descriptions in Numbers 22:31 and Joshua 5:13-15 ; furthermore cf. Daniel 8:15; 12:6.David builds an altar (21:18–30)
In verses 21–25, the purchase of Ornan's threshingfloor is patterned after Abraham's purchase of Machpelah's cave, including the insistence on paying the full price. The 600 silver shekels David pays is more than Abraham's 400 silver shekels for Machpelah's cave, alluding the higher value of temple site than Sarah's burial site.Verses 29–30 explain that because an angel obstructed his way, David had to make sacrifices on Ornan's threshing-floor, instead of at the high place at Gibeon.