2 Samuel 24

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 24

The last words of David, which we read in the chapter before, were admirably good, but in this chapter we read of some of his last works, which were none of the best; yet he repented, and did his first works again, and so he finished well. We have here, I. His sin, which was numbering the people in the pride of his heart, 2 Sam. 24:1-9. II. His conviction of the sin, and repentance for it, 2 Sam. 24:10. III. The judgment inflicted upon him for it, 2 Sam. 24:11-15. IV. The staying of the... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:1-9

Here we have, I. The orders which David gave to Joab to number the people of Israel and Judah, 2 Sam. 24:1, 2. Two things here seem strange:?1. The sinfulness of this. What harm was there in it? Did not Moses twice number the people without any crime? Does not political arithmetic come in among the other policies of a prince? Should not the shepherd know the number of his sheep? Does not the Son of David know all his own by name? Might not he make good use of this calculation? What evil has he... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:10-17

We have here David repenting of the sin and yet punished for it, God repenting of the judgment and David thereby made more penitent. I. Here is David's penitent reflection upon and confession of his sin in numbering the people. While the thing was in doing, during all those nine months, we do not find that David was sensible of his sin, for had he been so he would have countermanded the orders he had given; but, when the account was finished and laid before him, that very night his conscience... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:18-25

Here is, I. A command sent to David to erect an altar in the place where he saw the angel, 2 Sam. 24:18. This was to intimate to David, 1. That, upon his repeated submission and humiliation, God was now thoroughly reconciled to him; for, if the Lord had been pleased to kill him, he would not have accepted an offering, and therefore would not have ordered him to build an altar. God's encouraging us to offer to him spiritual sacrifices is a comfortable evidence of his reconciling us to himself.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 24 In this chapter an account is given of David's numbering of the people, 2 Samuel 24:1 ; of the sense he had of his sin, and of his acknowledgment of it; and of the Lord's displeasure at it, who sent the prophet Gad to him, to propose three things to him, one of which he was to choose as a punishment for it, 2 Samuel 24:10 ; when he chose the pestilence, which carried off a great number of the people, 2 Samuel 24:14 ; and David was directed to build an... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:1

And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel ,.... It had been kindled, and appeared before in sending a three years' famine among them for Saul's ill usage of the Gibeonites, 2 Samuel 21:1 ; and now it broke forth again, either for some secret sins committed, as Kimchi suggests, or for the rebellion of Absalom, and the insurrection of Sheba, in which multitudes of them joined; so Abarbinel; no doubt there was cause for it, though it is not expressed: and he moved David... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:2

For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him ,.... Or who was with him, even Joab, who was now at court, and was a counsellor of David, as well as his general; or which army was with Joab, a standing army he had the command of: go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba ; from the northern part of the land of Israel to the southern part of it, and this course was accordingly steered, 2 Samuel 24:6 , and number ye the people, that I... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:3

And Joab said unto the king ,.... Not so rudely and insolently as he did on account of his mourning for Absalom, but in a more modest, decent, and polite manner: now the Lord thy God add unto the people (how many soever they be) an hundredfold ; he wished his subjects were an hundred times more numerous than they were: and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it ; that he might live to see with his own eyes so great an increase: but why doth my lord the king delight in this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:4

Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host ,.... Who it seems were of the same mind with Joab, and were against numbering the people, yet their arguments and remonstrances were of no avail with the king; he was determined it should be done, and laid his commands upon them to do it, which they were obliged to comply with: and Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel ; seeing... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:5

And they passed over Jordan ,.... To take the number of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh first: and pitched in Aroer ; for it seems that Joab and the captains had the army with them, and the several captains under their command, partly to assist in numbering the people, and partly to keep them in awe, lest they should oppose them, not knowing what was the design of all this Aroer was a city given to the tribe of Gad, and rebuilt by them, Numbers 32:34 , on... read more

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