2 Samuel 24

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:13

Shall seven years of famine - In 1 Chronicles 21:12 , the number is three, not seven; and here the Septuagint has three, the same as in Chronicles: this is no doubt the true reading, the letter ז zain , Seven, being mistaken for ג gimel , Three. A mistake of this kind might be easily made from the similarity of the letters. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:14

I am in a great strait : let us fall now into the hand of the Lord - David acted nobly in this business. Had he chosen war, his own personal safety was in no danger, because there was already an ordinance preventing him from going to battle. Had he chosen famine, his own wealth would have secured his and his own family's support. But he showed the greatness of his mind in choosing the pestilence, to the ravages of which himself and household were exposed equally... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:15

From the morning - to the time appointed - That is, from the morning of the day after David had made his election till the third day, according to the condition which God had proposed, and he had accepted: but it seems that the plague was terminated before the conclusion of the third day, for Jerusalem might have been destroyed, but it was not. Throughout the land, independently of the city, seventy thousand persons were slain! This was a terrible mortality in the space of less... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:16

The angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem - By what means this destruction took place, we know not: it appears that an angel was employed in it, and that this minister of Divine justice actually appeared as an object. of sight; for it is said, 2 Samuel 24:17 , When David saw the angel that smote the people, he said, etc.; and both Ornan and his four sons saw him and were affrighted, 1 Chronicles 21:20 . The threshing-place of Araunah - These... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:17

But these sheep , what have they done ? - It seems that in the order of Providence there is no way of punishing kings in their regal capacity, but by afflictions on their land, in which the people must necessarily suffer. If the king, therefore, by his own personal offenses, in which the people can have no part, bring down God's judgments upon his people, (though they suffer innocently), grievous will be the account that he must give to God. The people generally suffer for the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:18

Go up , rear an altar unto the Lord - This place is supposed to be Mount Moriah: on which, according to the rabbins, Cain and Abel offered their sacrifices; where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac, and where the temple of Solomon was afterwards built. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:22

Here be oxen for burnt-sacrifice - He felt for the king; and showed his loyalty to him by this offer. He felt for the people; and was willing to make any sacrifice to get the plague stayed. He felt for his own personal safety; and therefore was willing to give up all to save his life. He felt for the honor of God; and therefore was glad that he had a sacrifice to offer, so that God might magnify both his justice and mercy. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:23

As a king , give unto the king - Literally, All these did King Araunah give unto the king. That there could not be a king of the Jebusites on Mount Moriah, is sufficiently evident; and that there was no other king than David in the land, is equally so: the word המלך hammelech , "the king," given here to Araunah, is wanting in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic; in three of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in the parallel place in Chronicles: and, it is very probable,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:24

Neither will I offer burnt-offerings - It is a maxim from heaven, "Honour the Lord with thy substance." He who has a religion that costs him nothing, has a religion that is worth nothing: nor will any man esteem the ordinances of God, if those ordinances cost him nothing. Had Araunah's noble offer been accepted, it would have been Araunah's sacrifice, not David's; nor would it have answered the end of turning away the displeasure of the Most High. It was David that sinned, not... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:25

David - offered burnt-offerings - And that these sacrifices were pleasing to the Lord, is evident from a circumstance marked in the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 21:26 ; : David called upon the Lord, and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering. The plague was stalled - Jerusalem did not share in the common calamity, seventy thousand being the whole that were slain throughout the land. This book is unfinished, and requires 1 Chronicles 22, 23, 24,... read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:13

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:14

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:15

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:17

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:22

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:23

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:24

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:25

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