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2-Samuel 24
[2-Samuel 24:1] AND AGAIN THE ANGER OF THE LORD WAS KINDLED AGAINST ISRAEL, AND HE MOVED DAVID AGAINST THEM TO SAY, GO, NUMBER ISRAEL AND JUDAH.
The previous chapter ended with the recollection of Uriah the Hittite where Uriah is listed at the end of the list of Warriors: URIAH THE HITTITE: THIRTY AND SEVEN IN ALL [2-Samuel 23:39].   Elsewhere (1-Chronicles 11) Uriah is listed in the middle of the list. The Sages suggested that Uriah was listed here at the end in order that his name should be adjoin the first verse in our chapter concerning the anger of the Almighty "again" being kindled against Israel.   The Sages said that Israel was liable for punishment as well as the King because they had not protested when the matter became public.
In the parallel account in Chronicles it says,
AND SATAN STOOD UP AGAINST ISRAEL, AND PROVOKED DAVID TO NUMBER ISRAEL  [1-Chronicles 21:1].
"Satan" in Hebrew connotes "Adversary". It can mean what we call the "Devil" or otherwise some element or cause that works to our detriment.       
The Commentary "Mishbatzot Zehav" (Moshe Yaacov Weiss, 5763)  suggests several possibilities (according to the sources) to explain the above passage.  Israel had sinned but the punishment had been suspended. Now temptation was being placed before them in order to settle accounts.
In our private lives when we look back we may find instances of a similar sequence. It may happen that we live ordinary lives and then suddenly encounter serious temptation. We either succumb or we overcome. Probably at some time or other both eventualities have played themselves out in our lives. When we look back we may realize that when we overcame we passed a test; a formative stage that helped us keep going well for a good long time. When we look back at the times we gave in we may realize that just before that time we had been on an upward path that afterwards we never really succeed in getting back on.
 FOR BY WISE COUNSEL THOU SHALT MAKE THY WAR [Proverbs 24:6] .
The word translated in the KJ as WISE COUNSEL in Hebrew is "tachbulot" connoting "tricks, strategies, devices"
The verse should be understood to say that a person should conduct his own personal war for spiritual (and other) survival by using whatever stratagem it takes. An analogy is a diet in which sometimes it may be advisable to "trick" the body (by drinking much water etc) into thinking it is satiated in order to avoid the crave for a large meal.
 
The message we should receive from the above is that every minute may be important and every temptation a turning point for better or for worse depending on whether we overcome or go under.
 
[2-Samuel 24:2] FOR THE KING SAID TO JOAB THE CAPTAIN OF THE HOST, WHICH WAS WITH HIM, GO NOW THROUGH ALL THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL, FROM DAN EVEN TO BEERSHEBA, AND NUMBER YE THE PEOPLE, THAT I MAY KNOW THE NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE.  
The Israelites had been commanded (Exodus 30:12-16) that each year every male from the age of 20 upward would give half-a-shekel to the Tabernacle Service. By counting the half-shekel pieces it would have been possible to deduce the number of adult males in Israel. From the commandment to take a half-shekel piece from each male we read also a warning that without payment of a sum of money for atonement a plague could come. The shekel had to be given that "THERE BE NO PLAGUE AMONG THEM" (Exodus 30:12).
 
WHEN THOU TAKEST THE SUM OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AFTER THEIR NUMBER, THEN SHALL THEY GIVE EVERY MAN A RANSOM FOR HIS SOUL UNTO THE LORD, WHEN THOU NUMBEREST THEM; THAT THERE BE NO PLAGUE AMONG THEM, WHEN THOU NUMBEREST THEM [Exodus 30:12].                     
 
THIS THEY SHALL GIVE, EVERY ONE THAT PASSETH AMONG THEM THAT ARE NUMBERED, HALF A SHEKEL AFTER THE SHEKEL OF THE SANCTUARY: (A SHEKEL IS TWENTY GERAHS:) AN  HALF SHEKEL SHALL BE THE OFFERING OF THE LORD [Exodus 30:13].                     
 
EVERY ONE THAT PASSETH AMONG THEM THAT ARE NUMBERED, FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD AND ABOVE, SHALL GIVE AN OFFERING UNTO THE LORD [Exodus 30:14].                     
 
THE RICH SHALL NOT GIVE MORE, AND THE POOR SHALL NOT GIVE LESS THAN HALF A SHEKEL, WHEN THEY GIVE AN OFFERING UNTO THE LORD, TO MAKE AN ATONEMENT FOR YOUR SOULS [Exodus 30:15].                     
 
AND THOU SHALT TAKE THE ATONEMENT MONEY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND SHALT APPOINT IT FOR THE SERVICE OF THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION; THAT IT MAY BE A  MEMORIAL UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BEFORE THE LORD, TO MAKE AN ATONEMENT FOR YOUR   SOULS [Exodus 30:16].                     
 
The commandment of the half-shekel was first given when the Israelites were in the Wilderness. The half-shekel was made out of silver. The first time it was given the silver was used (Exodus 38:26-28) for sockets for the pillars surrounding the Tabernacle, for hooks, and for some of the overlayments.
The Commentary "Mishbatzot Zehav" suggests that in the time of David it may not have been realized that the commandment for every male to give a half-shekel piece needed to be applied every year.  It may have been assumed that it was a one-time only event connected to the initial construction of the Tabernacle. This explanation is one of several offered by the different Commentaries. To our mind it fits the verses best of all. After the Israelites entered the Land of Canaan they moved about, were conquered by others and intermixed with them, freed themselves and conquered others. This was the Period of the Judges. After that came Saul the first king and some degree of stability was achieved.  The reign of David further allowed matters to settle down. In several fields the Law had been forgotten or had become uncertain. There may have existed conflicting traditions. Eventually through collecting the different traditions, holding consultations, and the intervention of the Prophets a stable interpretation of the Law was achieved. This process was repeated much later in the Talmudic Era which in effect merely continued the Evolutionary Expounding of the Law according to set rules laid down in the Bible or derived from the Prophets. 
 
[2-Samuel 24:3] AND JOAB SAID UNTO THE KING, NOW THE LORD THY GOD ADD UNTO THE PEOPLE, HOW MANY SOEVER THEY BE, AN HUNDREDFOLD, AND THAT THE EYES OF MY LORD THE KING MAY SEE IT: BUT WHY DOTH MY LORD THE KING DELIGHT IN THIS THING?             
 
[2-Samuel 24:4] NOTWITHSTANDING THE KING'S WORD PREVAILED AGAINST JOAB, AND AGAINST THE CAPTAINS OF THE HOST. AND JOAB AND THE CAPTAINS OF THE HOST WENT OUT FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE KING, TO NUMBER THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.
We see here that not only Joab but also other high ranking officials were against numbering the people.
We were asked why David did not learn from the half-shekel warning and extrapolate from that?  The question is: Even if David thought the half-shekel commandment was not applicable in his time why did he not learn from it? Why did he not ask that all the people make some kind of offering to the Divine service and then count what was offered?
The answer may be that David for all his supreme spirituality approaching that of a Prophet or in some ways even exceeding it David was a rationalist. Very often they who take a rationalist approach surpass in understanding of the Divine they who approach it through blind faith. David might therefore have considered the fears of Joab and the others to be irrational and what we would call Superstitious.
 
[2-Samuel 24:5] AND THEY PASSED OVER JORDAN, AND PITCHED IN AROER, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CITY THAT LIETH IN THE MIDST OF THE RIVER OF GAD, AND TOWARD JAZER:
 
[2-Samuel 24:6] THEN THEY CAME TO GILEAD, AND TO THE LAND OF TAHTIMHODSHI; AND THEY CAME TO DANJAAN, AND ABOUT TO ZIDON,
TAHTIMHODSHI: Not certain where this was though a location on the Orontes River in Northern Syria  has been suggested (Yehudah Kiel, "Daat Mikra", n.22).
DANJAAN. Hebrew "Danah Yaan" where the expression "Danah" can be understood to mean "To Dan", i.e. the name of the place was Dan Yaan. This was apparently north of  Zidon (in our time usually spelt  "Sidon").
 
[2-Samuel 24:7] AND CAME TO THE STRONG HOLD OF TYRE, AND TO ALL THE CITIES OF THE HIVITES, AND OF THE CANAANITES: AND THEY WENT OUT TO THE SOUTH OF JUDAH, EVEN TO BEERSHEBA.          
TO ALL THE CITIES OF THE HIVITES, AND OF THE CANAANITES.  Radak: "The Canaanites and Hivites dwelt in these cities alongside Israelites who had not driven them out but merely subjected them to pay tribute", cf. Judges 3:5. Yehudah Kiel seems to identify this region approximately with the present area of Lebanon.
 
[2-Samuel 24:8] SO WHEN THEY HAD GONE THROUGH ALL THE LAND, THEY CAME TO JERUSALEM AT THE END OF NINE MONTHS AND TWENTY DAYS.
 
[2-Samuel 24:9] AND JOAB GAVE UP THE SUM OF THE NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE UNTO THE KING: AND THERE WERE IN ISRAEL EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND VALIANT MEN THAT DREW THE SWORD; AND THE MEN OF JUDAH WERE FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND MEN.
Judah is counted separately from the rest of Israel.
By "Judah" the intention here is to the Tribe of Judah alone though at a later stage (after the Ten Tribes split away) the term "Judah" would include the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, along with most of the Levites, many from Simeon,  and a smattering of the other Tribes.
We see here that at the time of David the Tribe of Judah had come to number 30 per cent of the total Israelite population. Yehudah Kiel points out that when they came out of Egypt Judah had only numbered ca.13% of the population (Numbers 1:27).
 
[2-Samuel 24:10] AND DAVID'S HEART SMOTE HIM AFTER THAT HE HAD NUMBERED THE PEOPLE. AND DAVID SAID UNTO THE LORD, I HAVE SINNED GREATLY IN THAT I HAVE DONE: AND NOW, I BESEECH THEE, O LORD, TAKE AWAY THE INIQUITY OF THY SERVANT; FOR I HAVE DONE VERY FOOLISHLY.
 
[2-Samuel 24:11] FOR WHEN DAVID WAS UP IN THE MORNING, THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO THE PROPHET GAD, DAVID'S SEER, SAYING,   
 
[2-Samuel 24:12] GO AND SAY UNTO DAVID, THUS SAITH THE LORD, I OFFER THEE THREE THINGS; CHOOSE THEE ONE OF THEM, THAT I MAY DO IT UNTO THEE.
 
[2-Samuel 24:13] SO GAD CAME TO DAVID, AND TOLD HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, SHALL SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE COME UNTO THEE IN THY LAND? OR WILT THOU FLEE THREE MONTHS BEFORE THINE ENEMIES, WHILE  THEY PURSUE THEE? OR THAT THERE BE THREE DAYS' PESTILENCE IN THY LAND? NOW ADVISE, AND SEE WHAT  ANSWER I SHALL RETURN TO HIM THAT SENT ME.
 
[2-Samuel 24:14] AND DAVID SAID UNTO GAD, I AM IN A GREAT STRAIT: LET US FALL NOW INTO THE HAND OF THE LORD; FOR HIS MERCIES ARE GREAT: AND LET ME NOT FALL INTO THE HAND OF MAN. 
 
[2-Samuel 24:15] SO THE LORD SENT A PESTILENCE UPON ISRAEL FROM THE MORNING EVEN TO THE TIME APPOINTED: AND THERE DIED OF THE PEOPLE FROM DAN EVEN TO BEERSHEBA SEVENTY THOUSAND MEN.
 
[2-Samuel 24:16] AND WHEN THE ANGEL STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND UPON JERUSALEM TO DESTROY IT, THE LORD REPENTED HIM OF THE EVIL, AND SAID TO THE ANGEL THAT DESTROYED THE PEOPLE, IT IS ENOUGH: STAY NOW THINE HAND. AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD WAS BY THE THRESHINGPLACE OF ARAUNAH THE  JEBUSITE.        
 ARAUNAH. This name in the Horite language (possibly close to a Slavic dialect) says Yehudah Kiel is actually a title and connotes "ruler". David had conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites. Araunah was the last king of the Jebusites. After his defeat he came to acknowledge the God of Israel and was allowed to retain a holding in the city.
"Mishbatsot Zahav" quotes from the Talmud Yerushalmi (Peah 88:7) that the family of Antoboli in Jerusalem traced its lineage back to Araunah.
 
[2-Samuel 24:17] AND DAVID SPAKE UNTO THE LORD WHEN HE SAW THE ANGEL THAT SMOTE THE PEOPLE,  AND SAID, LO, I HAVE SINNED, AND I HAVE DONE WICKEDLY: BUT THESE SHEEP, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?    LET THINE HAND, I PRAY THEE, BE AGAINST ME, AND AGAINST MY FATHER'S HOUSE.
 
[2-Samuel 24:18] AND GAD CAME THAT DAY TO DAVID, AND SAID UNTO HIM, GO UP, REAR AN ALTAR UNTO THE LORD IN THE THRESHINGFLOOR OF ARAUNAH THE JEBUSITE.
 
[2-Samuel 24:19] AND DAVID, ACCORDING TO THE SAYING OF GAD, WENT UP AS THE LORD COMMANDED.
 
[2-Samuel 24:20] AND ARAUNAH LOOKED, AND SAW THE KING AND HIS SERVANTS COMING ON TOWARD HIM: AND ARAUNAH WENT OUT, AND BOWED HIMSELF BEFORE THE KING ON HIS FACE UPON THE GROUND.   
 
[2-Samuel 24:21] AND ARAUNAH SAID, WHEREFORE IS MY LORD THE KING COME TO HIS SERVANT? AND DAVID SAID, TO BUY THE THRESHINGFLOOR OF THEE, TO BUILD AN ALTAR UNTO THE LORD, THAT THE PLAGUE MAY BE STAYED FROM THE PEOPLE.         
 
[2-Samuel 24:2 AND ARAUNAH SAID UNTO DAVID, LET MY LORD THE KING TAKE AND OFFER UP WHAT SEEMETH GOOD UNTO HIM: BEHOLD, HERE BE OXEN FOR BURNT SACRIFICE, AND THRESHING INSTRUMENTS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS OF THE OXEN FOR WOOD.              
 
[2-Samuel 24:23] ALL THESE THINGS DID ARAUNAH, AS A KING, GIVE UNTO THE KING. AND ARAUNAH SAID UNTO THE KING, THE LORD THY GOD ACCEPT THEE.
 
[2-Samuel 24:24] AND THE KING SAID UNTO ARAUNAH, NAY; BUT I WILL SURELY BUY IT OF THEE AT A PRICE: NEITHER WILL I OFFER BURNT OFFERINGS UNTO THE LORD MY GOD OF THAT WHICH DOTH COST ME NOTHING. SO DAVID BOUGHT THE THRESHINGFLOOR AND THE OXEN FOR FIFTY SHEKELS OF SILVER.         
 
[2-Samuel 24:25] AND DAVID BUILT THERE AN ALTAR UNTO THE LORD, AND OFFERED BURNT OFFERINGS AND PEACE OFFERINGS. SO THE LORD WAS INTREATED FOR THE LAND, AND THE PLAGUE WAS STAYED FROM ISRAEL.
The threshingfloor of Araunah and the area round about later became the site of the Temple. It was as if the Almighty had indicated that that particular spot had a special, quality about it for the offering up of sacrifice and the atonement of sin.
 
This is the last chapter of the Book of Samuel. After this we have the Book of Kings the first portion of which deals at length with the Temple.
 

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four