Глава 24

Census of Jews. Pestilence. Altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Orna. 2 Samuel 24:1. The wrath of the Lord again kindled against the Israelites, and he aroused David in them to say: Go, number Israel and Judah. “The wrath of the Lord was kindled again against the Israelites.” David’s idea of ​​enumerating the Jews and the subsequent general illness of the people are considered as God’s permission to punish the Israelis for their sins. One of the main sins of Israel at this time is (according to many ancient and modern commentators) its participation in rebellion against the anointed king and prophet David, the best of the kings of the Jews. “Israel and Judah”, i.e. all the Jewish tribes that later became part of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah. 2 Samuel 24:2. And the king said to Joab the captain of the army that was with him, Go through all the tribes of Israel [and Judah] from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know the number of the people. "Dan" is the northern point of Canaan, "Birsheba" is the southern point. “Number the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” What caused the people's census is unknown. But from the way the Lord reacted to this enterprise of David (2 Sam. 24:10-15), we can conclude that David was guided in this case not only by the desire to find out the actual situation of the Jewish people entrusted to him and the desire to provide this people with the required help, but also by motives of a different nature that had nothing to do with the good of the Jewish people or with the moral improvement of David himself. It is believed that among the motives that forced the king to enumerate the Jews, not the least was the ambitious pleasure of his domination over the Jewish people and the power-hungry desire to inappropriately strengthen this domination. 2 Samuel 24:3. And Joab said to the king: Let the Lord your God multiply as many people as there are, and a hundred times more, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king want this thing? Obviously, Joab feared that David’s enterprise, falsely interpreted by the people, could serve as a reason for new unrest in the state. 2 Samuel 24:5. And they crossed Jordan and stopped at Aroer, on the right side of the city, which is in the middle of the valley of Gad, towards Jazer; 2 Samuel 24:6. and they came to Gilead and to the land of Takhtim-Hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan and went around Sidon; 2 Samuel 24:7. and they came to the fortress of Tire and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and went out to the south of Judah to Beersheba; 2 Samuel 24:8. and they went around the whole earth and after nine months and twenty days came to Jerusalem. The tour of the country began with eastern Transjordan, which, as we have already noted (see note to (2 Samuel 17:27)), was distinguished by the most calm character and devotion to a given word or oath promise, compared to other areas, and therefore, without showing resistance, could show an example of obedience to others. From the southern border of eastern Transjordan, Joab passed through all of Gilead, to the base of Mount Hermon. From here he turned to western Transjordan, entered the cities that were in the possession of the Canaanites, walked along the very border of Phenicia and then descended south to Bathsheba. "Aroer" is a city between the Jordan River and Rabbah of the Ammonites. "Gilead" - the area on the left bank of the river. Jordan, between Lake Gennesaret and the Dead Sea. "Sidon" and "Tire" are the coastal cities of the Phoenicians. “Hivites” is the same as the Hivites, the Canaanite people descended from the grandson of Ham, through Canaan, the Hivites (Gen. 10:17). 2 Samuel 24:9. And Joab gave the list of the people's census to the king; and it turned out that the Israelites were eight hundred thousand strong men, capable of war, and the Jews were five hundred thousand. "Capable for War". Consequently, the calculation did not include those under maturity, the elderly and infirm, as well as the entire female half of the population. 2 Samuel 24:10. And David’s heart trembled after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in doing this; and now I pray to You, Lord, forgive the sin of Your servant, for I acted extremely unreasonably. “David’s heart trembled” - at the thought of what a great multitude of people God had entrusted to his care and how unworthily he had acted, in this case surrendering to motives of a predominantly ambitious and power-hungry nature (see note to v. 2). 2 Samuel 24:11. When David arose the next morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer: The "seer" of the time of David. 2 Samuel 24:14. And David said to Gad: It is very hard for me; but let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for great is His mercy; I just wish I didn’t fall into human hands. [And David chose for himself the pestilence during the wheat harvest.] “During the wheat harvest,” i.e. at the end of April and beginning of May. 2 Samuel 24:16. And the angel [of God] stretched out his hand against Jerusalem to lay waste it; but the Lord regretted the disaster and said to the Angel who was striking the people: enough, now lower your hand. The Angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Orna the Jebusite. "At the threshing floor of Orna the Jebusite." The Jebusites are a Canaanite people descended from the grandson of Ham, through Canaan, Jebus (Gen. 10:16). 2 Samuel 24:17. And David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel striking the people, saying: Behold, I have sinned, I [the shepherd] have acted lawlessly; and these sheep, what did they do? let Thy hand turn against me and against my father's house. “And these sheep, what did they do?” See note. to 1 tbsp. You might be interested in: