2 Samuel Chapter 24 — David’s Census and the Altar at Araunah
King David conducts a census of Israel and Judah, leading to divine judgment and the eventual construction of an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah.
1Again the LORD’s anger burned against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, “Go, count Israel and Judah.”
2The king said to Joab the captain of the army, who was with him, “Now go back and forth through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the sum of the people.”
3Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God add to the people, however many they may be, one hundred times; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”
4Notwithstanding, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
5They passed over the Jordan and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and to Jazer;
6then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; and they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon,
7and came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the south of Judah, at Beersheba.
8So when they had gone back and forth through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9Joab gave up the sum of the counting of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10David’s heart struck him after he had counted the people. David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in that which I have done. But now, the LORD, put away, I beg you, the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.”
11When David rose up in the morning, the LORD’s word came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
12“Go and speak to David, ‘The LORD says, “I offer you three things. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”
13So Gad came to David, and told him, saying, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now answer, and consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.”
14David said to Gad, “I am in distress. Let us fall now into the LORD’s hand, for his mercies are great. Let me not fall into man’s hand.”
15So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning even to the appointed time; and seventy thousand men died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba.
16When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough. Now withdraw your hand.” The LORD’s angel was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who struck the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done perversely; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me, and against my father’s house.”
18Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19David went up according to the saying of Gad, as the LORD commanded.
20Araunah looked out, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. Then Araunah went out and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
21Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
22Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Behold, the cattle for the burnt offering, and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
23All this, O king, does Araunah give to the king.” Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”
24The king said to Araunah, “No, but I will most certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels*A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 50 shekels is about 0.5 kilograms or 1.1 pounds. of silver.
25David built an altar to the LORD there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
2 Samuel 24:14
“David said to Gad, “I am in distress. Let us fall now into the LORD’s hand, for his mercies are great. Let me not fall into man’s hand.””
This verse illustrates David's profound trust in God's compassion even when facing necessary discipline.
2 Samuel 24:24
“The king said to Araunah, “No, but I will most certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.””
This statement establishes the principle that true worship and devotion to God should involve genuine personal sacrifice.
Chapter Summary
2 Samuel 24 concludes the book with the account of a census ordered by King David. Though Joab, the army commander, questions the necessity of the count, David insists on numbering the people of Israel and Judah. After nine months and twenty days, the census reports 1.3 million valiant men. Immediately following the report, David is struck by a guilty conscience and confesses his sin to God. The prophet Gad provides David with a choice of three punishments: seven years of famine, three months of military defeat, or three days of pestilence. David chooses to rely on God's mercy rather than human hands, resulting in a plague that claims 70,000 lives. As the angel of destruction reaches Jerusalem, the Lord relents. David, seeing the angel at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, pleads for the people and is instructed to build an altar. David refuses to accept the land for free, purchasing the site and oxen for fifty shekels of silver. After he offers sacrifices, the plague is removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
While the text does not explicitly detail the motive, the narrative suggests it was an act of pride or reliance on military strength rather than God. Joab's protest and David's immediate remorse indicate the census was contrary to God's will.
Through the prophet Gad, God offered David three options: seven years of famine, three months of fleeing before his enemies, or three days of pestilence throughout the land.
Araunah was a Jebusite man who owned a threshing floor in Jerusalem. David purchased this land and his oxen to build an altar and offer sacrifices to stop the plague.
The text states that seventy thousand men died across Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, during the three-day pestilence sent by the Lord.
Study Note
The purchase of Araunah’s threshing floor marks a significant transition in biblical history, as this site on Mount Moriah became the permanent location for the Temple in Jerusalem.
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