David’s Census, Plague, and Purchase of the Temple Site
1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1
1 C.21.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעמד: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- שטן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויסת: VERB,hifil,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למנות: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:1 (verbal): Direct parallel account of the same census episode; 2 Samuel attributes the incitement to Yahweh rather than to Satan, creating a theological contrast with Chronicles.
- Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7 (thematic): Depicts Satan as an adversarial figure who stands among the divine council and provokes or tests the righteous—paralleling Chronicles' presentation of Satan instigating David.
- Zechariah 3:1 (allusion): Shows Satan standing at the right hand to resist or accuse (here against Joshua the high priest), echoing the adversarial role attributed to Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1.
- Revelation 12:10 (thematic): Portrays Satan as the 'accuser of our brethren' who accuses before God, reflecting the broader biblical theme of Satan as the one who provokes, accuses, or instigates opposition.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
- Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
1 C.21.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- יואב: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- שרי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לכו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- ספרו: VERB,qal,impv,2,_,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבאר: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שבע: NUM,card
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- דן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והביאו: VERB,hiphil,imp,2,m,pl
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ואדעה: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מספרם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3mp
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:2 (verbal): Direct narrative parallel: David instructs Joab to number Israel 'from Beersheba to Dan'—Chronicles and Samuel recount the same command with closely related wording.
- 2 Samuel 24:1 (thematic): Contrasting theological framing of the same episode: 2 Samuel attributes the incitement to the LORD, providing the motive/background for the census that Chronicles places in the preceding verse.
- 2 Samuel 24:9 (structural): Narrative continuation in Samuel: Joab returns and reports the census totals to David, completing the action initiated by David’s command in 1 Chronicles 21:2.
- Numbers 1:2 (thematic): Census motif in Israelite tradition: God commands Moses to take a count of the people—parallels the institutional practice and theological questions surrounding numbering the population.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David said to Joab and to the commanders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the tale to me, that I may know the number of the people.”
- David said to Joab and to the commanders of the people, 'Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the count to me, that I may know their number.'
1 C.21.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יואב: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- יוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- עמו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- כהם: PREP+3mp
- מאה: NUM,f,sg,abs
- פעמים: NOUN,m,du,abs
- הלא: PART
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כלם: PRON,3,m,pl
- לאדני: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,m,poss1s
- לעבדים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- למה: ADV
- יבקש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- למה: ADV
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לאשמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לישראל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:3 (verbal): The same protest by Joab appears almost word for word in the parallel Samuel account; he objects that a census would bring guilt on Israel.
- 2 Samuel 24:1 (structural): The wider Samuel narrative parallels the chronicler’s account of the census (though the two books differ on who incites David), providing the immediate narrative context for Joab’s objection.
- 1 Chronicles 21:1 (structural): The preceding verse in Chronicles attributes the provocation to Satan; this structural neighbor explains why Joab perceives the census as dangerous and culpable for Israel.
- Exodus 30:12-16 (thematic): The Mosaic law requires a ransom when conducting a census to avert a plague (guilt/harm) — a legal-theological background to Joab’s fear that numbering the people would bring guilt on Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- But Joab said, “May the LORD add to his people a hundred times as many; my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord seek this thing? Why will it bring guilt upon Israel?”
- Joab said, 'May the LORD add to his people a hundred times as many. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why will it be a guilt to Israel?'
1 C.21.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ודבר: VERB,qal,fut,3,m,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- חזק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- יואב: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ויצא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- יואב: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ויתהלך: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Sam.24.3-4 (verbal): Almost identical wording: 'the king's word prevailed against Joab' and Joab's subsequent march through Israel and return to Jerusalem to carry out the numbering.
- 2 Sam.24.2 (thematic): Joab's initial protest ('Why does my lord the king do this?') parallels Chronicles' mention of Joab's reluctance before obeying the king's command.
- 1 Chr.21.1-3 (structural): Immediate chronicle context: the episode of the census and the narrative framing (Satan inciting David) that explains why the king issued the order Joab carried out.
- 2 Sam.24.9 (verbal): Outcome of Joab's action in Samuel: Joab reports the totals to the king, continuing the action begun when the king's command prevailed over him.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the king’s command prevailed against Joab, and Joab went out and walked through all Israel, and came back to Jerusalem.
- But the king's word prevailed against Joab, and Joab went out and walked through all Israel, and he came back to Jerusalem.
1 C.21.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יואב: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- מפקד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלף: NUM,m,sg
- אלפים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ומאה: NUM,card,sg
- אלף: NUM,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלף: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויהודה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארבע: NUM,card,f
- מאות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ושבעים: CONJ+NUM,card,pl,abs
- אלף: NUM,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלף: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:9 (verbal): Gives the same census-of-war report (numbers of fighting men) but with different figures (2 Sam 24:9: Israel 800,000; Judah 500,000), showing a close verbal parallel and a numerical discrepancy.
- 2 Samuel 24:1-9 (structural): Parallel narrative of David's command to number Israel and Joab's registration; 1 Chron 21:5 corresponds to the report Joab brings in this Samuel passage.
- Numbers 1:2-3 (thematic): Early Israelite census instructions—'count all that are able to go forth to war'—provides the thematic background for royal/military musters like David's census.
- Numbers 26:2 (thematic): Later census also specified as a tally of men able to go to war; thematically parallels the purpose and formulation of the military census reported in 1 Chr 21:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joab gave the sum of the census of the people to David. And all Israel were a million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword; and Judah was four hundred seventy thousand men who drew the sword.
- Joab gave the tally of the numbering of the people to David: all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword.
1 C.21.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולוי: CONJ+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ובנימן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- פקד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בתוכם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- נתעב: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- יואב: NOUN,prop,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:6 (verbal): Direct parallel verse in Samuel: reports that Levi and Benjamin were not counted and links Joab's refusal to the matter — essentially the same report with minor wording differences.
- 2 Samuel 24:2-9 (structural): Narrative parallel describing Joab's carrying out of the census and his refusal to number Levi and Benjamin; provides the broader Samuel account of the same episode.
- 1 Chronicles 21:1 (allusion): Immediate contextual parallel within Chronicles: locates the census' provocation (here Satan) and frames the chapter in which Joab's actions, including refusing to count certain tribes, occur.
- Numbers 1:47-49 (thematic): Law/background parallel: Levites are regularly exempt from the tribal/military census because of their cultic service, which helps explain the non-counting of Levi in census traditions.
Alternative generated candidates
- But Levi and Benjamin he did not count among them, for the king’s word was abhorrent to Joab.
- The Levites and Benjamin were not counted among them, because the king's command was abominable to Joab.
1 C.21.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וירע: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ויך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:1 (verbal): Parallel narrative of the census episode; 2 Samuel states that the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel and moved David to act—closely related wording and plot element.
- 2 Samuel 24:15 (verbal): Continues the same episode: the LORD sends a pestilence (plague) on Israel as punishment—direct parallel to 'He smote Israel.'
- Exodus 32:35 (thematic): God punishes Israel with a plague after their sin (golden calf); thematically parallels divine retribution by plague for corporate sin.
- Psalm 78:21 (thematic): Recalls recurring motif that God's anger is kindled against Israel because of their sin; thematically links divine wrath and punishment in Israel's history.
Alternative generated candidates
- And this thing displeased God, and he struck Israel.
- This thing displeased God, and he struck Israel.
1 C.21.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- חטאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- מאד: ADV
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ועתה: CONJ
- העבר: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,sg,def
- נא: PART
- את: PRT,acc
- עוון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- כי: CONJ
- נסכלתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- מאד: ADV
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:10 (verbal): Direct narrative parallel describing the same event; David's words and confession ('I have sinned greatly...') are nearly identical to 1 Chronicles 21:8.
- 2 Samuel 12:13 (verbal): David's earlier confession to Nathan after the Bathsheba incident—'I have sinned against the LORD'—shows the same pattern of admission and appeal for God's forgiveness.
- Psalm 51:3-4 (thematic): A penitential psalm attributed to David that acknowledges great sin and appeals for God's mercy and forgiveness, echoing the confession and plea in 1 Chronicles 21:8.
- Psalm 32:5 (thematic): Confession of sin and receiving God's forgiveness ('I acknowledged my sin... and you forgave') parallels David's request that God take away his iniquity.
- Proverbs 28:13 (thematic): General wisdom principle that confession and turning from sin lead to mercy—supports the theological logic behind David's admission and plea for pardon in 1 Chronicles 21:8.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; now, I beg you, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
- David said to God, 'I have sinned greatly in what I have done; and now, I pray, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.'
1 C.21.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- גד: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- חזה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:1 (thematic): Both accounts introduce the divine activity that results in David's census and punishment; Chronicles and Samuel set the same scene of the LORD moving/inciting events leading to Gad's involvement.
- 2 Samuel 24:11 (verbal): Nearly identical wording — ‘the word of the LORD came unto Gad, David's seer’ — a direct verbal parallel to 1 Chronicles 21:9.
- 2 Samuel 24:12-13 (structural): Gad brings God’s message to David and offers the threefold choice of punishments (seven years’ famine, three months’ flight, or three days’ pestilence), the same narrative sequence that follows Gad’s commission in Chronicles.
- 2 Samuel 24:16-17 (thematic): Shows the outcome of Gad’s message (the angel’s intervention and David’s repentance/intercession), linking the consequences and David’s response that stem from the word given to Gad.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying,
- And the LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying,
1 C.21.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ודברת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שלוש: NUM,f,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- נטה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- בחר: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- מהנה: PREP+PRON,3,f,pl
- ואעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:12 (quotation): Gad delivers the same divine offer to David—presenting three alternatives (famine, flight, or pestilence); wording and options closely parallel the Chronicler's account.
- 1 Chronicles 21:11-13 (structural): Immediate context in Chronicles that lists the three specific choices Gad was commanded to present to David, directly continuing the speech of v.10.
- 2 Samuel 24:14 (thematic): David's response to the choice—preferring to fall into the hand of the LORD—shows the practical outcome of the decision posed in v.10 and parallels the narrative outcome in Chronicles.
- Deuteronomy 30:19 (thematic): God sets before people decisive alternatives (life and death) and calls for a choice—themewise related to the motif of God offering options and requiring a human decision.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Three things I appoint over you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’”
- 'Go and tell David, Thus says the LORD: I offer three things to you; choose one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.'
1 C.21.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- גד: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- קבל: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Sam.24.11-12 (quotation): Gad comes to David with a direct message from the LORD offering David a choice of punishments — essentially the same speech preserved in Samuel.
- 2 Sam.24.13 (verbal): Continues Samuel’s rendering of Gad’s words, explicitly listing the three options (famine, flight, or pestilence) that David is asked to choose among, matching Chronicles’ account.
- 1 Chr.21.12 (structural): Immediate continuation in Chronicles showing David’s response to Gad’s command to choose; part of the same narrative unit and demonstrates the Chronicler’s arrangement of the dialogue.
- Deut.30.19 (thematic): Different context but shares the theological motif of God setting alternatives before a person and calling for a decisive choice (life/blessing vs. death/curse), echoing the idea of choosing between divine outcomes.
Alternative generated candidates
- So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Take for yourself.”
- So Gad came to David and told him, 'Thus says the LORD: Take for yourself.'
1 C.21.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- שלוש: NUM,f,sg,abs
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- רעב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואם: CONJ
- שלשה: NUM,m
- חדשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נספה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- מפני: PREP
- צריך: ADJ,m,sg
- וחרב: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אויבך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,ms
- למשגת: VERB,qal,inf
- ואם: CONJ
- שלשת: NUM,m,pl,abs
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ודבר: VERB,qal,fut,3,m,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- ומלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- משחית: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועתה: CONJ
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- אשיב: VERB,hiphil,impf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שלחי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Sam.24.13 (quotation): Direct parallel/near-duplicate wording in the Samuel account — Gad offers David the same three choices of punishment (three years' famine, three months fleeing before foes, or three days of the LORD's sword and pestilence).
- 2 Sam.24.14 (thematic): David's response to the options in Samuel (choosing to fall into the hand of the LORD) is the immediate thematic counterpart to the options presented in 1 Chronicles 21:12.
- 2 Sam.24.15 (verbal): Describes the plague sent by the LORD and the angel destroying in Israel — parallels the final option in 1 Chronicles 21:12 and the subsequent outbreak of pestilence in the narrative.
- 1 Chr.21.14 (structural): The next verse in Chronicles records the immediate aftermath (the LORD's wrath and the angel striking Israel), continuing the same scene introduced in 21:12 and mirroring Samuel's sequence.
- 2 Sam.24.1 (allusion): The Samuel account opens by locating the episode in the LORD's anger (contrast with Chronicles' attribution to Satan); this cross-reference highlights differing theological framing of the same event while relating to the punitive options offered in 21:12.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Whether three years’ famine, or three months to be ruined before your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days the sword of the LORD and pestilence in the land, with the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the borders of Israel—now therefore consider and see what answer I shall return to him who sent me.”
- 'Whether three years of famine, or three months to flee before your enemies, when the sword of your foes will overtake you, or three days the sword of the LORD, pestilence in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the borders of Israel—now therefore, see what answer I shall return to the one who sent me.'
1 C.21.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- גד: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מאד: ADV
- אפלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נא: PART
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- רחמיו: NOUN,m,pl,suff3ms
- מאד: ADV
- וביד: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- אפל: VERB,qal,juss,1,sg
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:14 (quotation): Direct parallel and near-duplicate of David’s words — he prefers to fall into the hand of the LORD because 'his mercies are great' and not into the hand of man.
- Exodus 34:6 (verbal): God’s self-revelation as 'merciful and gracious' provides the theological basis for trusting God’s mercy rather than human hands.
- Lamentations 3:22-23 (verbal): Affirms the enduring and renewing character of the LORD’s mercies ('his compassions never fail'), echoing the reason to trust God’s hand.
- Jonah 4:2 (thematic): Jonah’s confession that God is gracious, compassionate and slow to anger parallels David’s appeal to divine mercy as grounds for preferring God’s judgment over human vengeance.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; let me fall now into the hand of the LORD, for his mercies are very great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”
- David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress; let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.'
1 C.21.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויפל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מישראל: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg
- שבעים: NUM,card,m,pl
- אלף: NUM,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:15 (quotation): The parallel account of the same event in Samuel; explicitly reports that the LORD sent a pestilence and seventy thousand men died (verbal and narrative agreement).
- 2 Samuel 24:1 (structural): Sets up the same narrative (David's census) but offers a different theological causation (the LORD/Satan incited David), framing the ensuing pestilence as the consequence of that act.
- Leviticus 26:25 (thematic): Law warning that God will send pestilence among the people as punishment for disobedience; provides the covenantal background for interpreting the Chronicles pestilence as divine judgment.
- Deuteronomy 28:21-22 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses promising diseases and pestilence for covenant violation; thematically parallels the depiction of plague as a divinely‑wrought punishment in 1 Chronicles 21:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel, and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
- So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.
1 C.21.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לירושלם: PREP+NOUN,prop,f,sg
- להשחיתה: VERB,hiphil,inf,3,f,sg
- וכהשחית: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וינחם: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- הרעה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- למלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המשחית: NOUN,m,sg,def
- רב: ADJ,m,sg
- עתה: ADV
- הרף: VERB,hif,imp,2,m,sg
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- ומלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עמד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עם: PREP
- גרן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היבוסי: ADJ,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:16 (verbal): Near-verbatim parallel: the angel of the LORD is about to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relents/says 'Enough; stay your hand,' and the angel stands by Araunah's threshing floor.
- Numbers 14:20 (quotation): God responds to Moses' intercession with an explicit formula of pardon ('I have forgiven, according to your word'), paralleling the motif of the LORD withholding planned judgment.
- Exodus 32:14 (thematic): After Moses' plea God 'relents' from the disaster he had threatened—shares the theme of divine repentance/relenting in response to intercession.
- Jonah 3:10 (thematic): God 'relented' and did not bring the disaster threatened against Nineveh when the city repented—another instance of God withholding judgment in response to human action.
Alternative generated candidates
- And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy; and as he was destroying, the LORD saw and relented from the evil, and said to the destroying angel, “Enough, stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing-floor of Arnan the Jebusite.
- And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; as he was destroying, the LORD saw and relented concerning the calamity and said to the destroying angel, 'Enough! Stay your hand.' And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Arnan the Jebusite.
1 C.21.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- עיניו: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עמד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בין: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וחרבו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+suff3,m,sg
- שלופה: ADJ,ptc,f,sg
- בידו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- נטויה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויפל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והזקנים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- מכסים: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- בשקים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- פניהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- 2 Sam.24.16 (verbal): Direct parallel/variant account of the same scene: David sees the angel of the LORD with a drawn sword over Jerusalem; David and the elders fall and cover their faces.
- 2 Kgs.19.35 (thematic): An angel of the LORD executes judgment on an enemy camp near Jerusalem, reflecting the motif of a heavenly warrior acting on behalf of the city.
- Judg.13.20-22 (thematic): Manoah and his wife fall on their faces when the angel of the LORD ascends in a flame, paralleling the human reaction of falling prostrate before an appearance of the divine messenger.
- Ezek.9.2-6 (thematic): A figure/angel with weapons is sent to bring judgment in Jerusalem; shares the imagery of an executioner-angel proceeding against the city.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem; and David and the elders clothed themselves in sackcloth and fell on their faces.
- David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders clothed themselves with sackcloth and fell on their faces.
1 C.21.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הלא: PART
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- למנות: VERB,qal,inf
- בעם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חטאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- והרע: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הרעותי: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def+PRON,1,sg
- ואלה: CONJ+DEM,pl,abs
- הצאן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מה: PRON,int
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- תהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,f,sg
- נא: PART
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ובבית: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ובעמך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- למגפה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:17 (quotation): Direct parallel account of the same episode: David admits he ordered the numbering, confesses his sin, and asks that the penalty fall on him and his house rather than on the people.
- 2 Samuel 24:10 (verbal): David's confession 'I have sinned greatly' and plea for God's mercy closely echo the admission of guilt and request found in 1 Chronicles 21:17.
- 1 Chronicles 21:8 (structural): Earlier verse in the same chapter where David confesses his wrongdoing and pleads for the removal of iniquity—part of the same narrative sequence and thematic confession.
- Exodus 32:31-32 (thematic): Moses offers himself to be blotted out for the people's sin, reflecting the theme of a leader offering to bear punishment on behalf of the community.
- Psalm 51:4 (thematic): Davidic confession that sin is ultimately against God ('against you, you only have I sinned') parallels the personal acceptance of responsibility and appeal for God's mercy.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the numbering of the people? It was I who sinned and did evil; but these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand be against me and against my father’s house, but not against your people, that there be no plague upon your people.”
- David said to God, 'Is it not I who commanded the counting of the people? It was I who sinned and did evil indeed. But these sheep—what have they done? LORD my God, let your hand be on me and on my father's house, but not on your people, that they be plagued.'
1 C.21.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ומלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- גד: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- לדויד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- יעלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להקים: VERB,qal,inf
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- בגרן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היבסי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:18 (verbal): Direct parallel in the Deuteronomistic account: God (through Gad) instructs David to build an altar on Ornan/Araunah’s threshing floor — essentially the same command as in 1 Chronicles.
- 2 Samuel 24:24–25 (verbal): Continues the Samuel narrative where David buys Araunah’s threshing floor and erects an altar and offers sacrifices — parallels the outcome presupposed by the command in 1 Chronicles 21:18.
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 (structural): Identifies Solomon’s Temple location as Mount Moriah on the threshing floor that David prepared (Ornan’s), showing the long-term cultic/architectural significance of the site named in 1 Chronicles 21:18.
- Genesis 22:2 (thematic): Earlier motif of a divine command to offer sacrifice on a specific hill (Moriah) — thematically connects the idea of a pivotal sacrificial site and divine testing with David’s altar on the threshing floor associated with Mount Moriah.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing-floor of Arnan the Jebusite.
- Then the angel of the LORD spoke to Gad, saying, 'Tell David that David shall go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Arnan the Jebusite.'
1 C.21.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גד: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:18 (verbal): Near-verbatim parallel in Samuel: David acts “according to the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the LORD.”
- 2 Samuel 24:11-13 (thematic): Gad the prophet delivers God's message and gives David alternative punishments; supplies the prophetic source and motivation for David’s action.
- 2 Samuel 24:24-25 (structural): Describes the outcome of obeying Gad’s word — David buys Araunah’s threshing floor and builds an altar, connecting the instruction to its fulfillment.
- 1 Chronicles 21:9-13 (structural): Immediate chronicler’s context recording Gad’s oracle to David and the options presented; provides the internal narrative setting for v.21:19.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the LORD.
- David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD.
1 C.21.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- המלאך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וארבעת: NUM,card,m,pl,construct
- בניו: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- עמו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- מתחבאים: VERB,hitpael,ptcp,m,pl
- וארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דש: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,sg
- חטים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- 2 Sam.24.18 (verbal): Direct narrative parallel: Araunah/Ornan sees the angel and his four sons threshing wheat; language and scene correspond closely to Chronicles.
- 2 Sam.24.24-25 (structural): Continuation of the Samuel account: David purchases Araunah’s threshing floor and builds an altar there—same episode that follows the angel’s appearance in Chronicles.
- 1 Chr.21.28-30 (structural): Internal parallel within Chronicles: the account proceeds to David’s acquisition of Ornan’s threshing floor and the erection of an altar, linking back to the angel scene.
- 2 Chr.3.1 (allusion): Identifies the temple’s site as Mount Moriah, the place of Ornan’s threshing floor; connects the angelic appearance to the later temple location.
- Gen.22.11 (thematic): An angel intervenes to halt a sacrificial/violent act; thematically parallels the angel’s intervention/restraint of divine judgment in David’s story.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now Arnan was threshing wheat, and Arnan and his four sons were with him, hiding.
- When Arnan looked and saw the angel, he and his four sons hid themselves; and Arnan was threshing wheat.
1 C.21.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויבט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויצא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מן: PREP
- הגרן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וישתחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לדויד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אפים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ארצה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Sam.24.21 (quotation): Direct parallel account in Samuel (name variant Araunah/Ornan). Says Araunah looked, saw David, went out of the threshing-floor and bowed with his face to the ground—same action and scene.
- 2 Sam.24.22-24 (quotation): Immediate continuation in Samuel: Araunah offers his threshing-floor and oxen to David and David insists on buying them—parallel sequence to the Chronicler's narrative.
- 1 Chr.21.22 (structural): The next verse in Chronicles continues the same episode (Ornan's offer and David's response), showing the immediate narrative parallel and development within the same chapter.
- 2 Chr.3.1 (thematic): The threshing-floor/Ornan site becomes the location for Solomon's temple (Mount Moriah) in Chronicles, linking David's action here to the temple's eventual placement and cultic significance.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David came to Arnan; and Arnan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor and bowed before David with his face to the ground.
- David came to Arnan; Arnan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground.
1 C.21.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תנה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגרן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואבנה: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- בכסף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלא: ADJ,m,sg
- תנהו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ותעצר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- המגפה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מעל: PREP
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:21-25 (verbal): Direct parallel account of David and Araunah/Ornan: Araunah offers the threshing floor and oxen, David insists on buying it for full price and builds an altar to stop the plague.
- 2 Samuel 24:24 (quotation): David's famous declaration — 'I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing' — mirrors Chronicles' insistence on paying full price.
- Genesis 23:9,16 (thematic): Abraham insists on paying full price for the cave and field of Machpelah — similar motif of purchasing land legitimately for sacred/ancestral purposes.
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 (structural): Identifies Mount Moriah/the site related to David's altar (Araunah's threshing floor) as the location where Solomon later builds the temple, linking David's purchase to the temple site's origins.
- Judges 6:25-26 (thematic): Gideon is instructed to tear down an altar and build an altar to the LORD on a threshing floor — parallels the motif of consecrating a threshing floor as a place of worship.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David said to Arnan, “Give me the place of the threshing-floor that I may build an altar to the LORD there; give it to me at full price, and I will offer burnt offerings and peace offerings; and the plague shall be stayed from the people.”
- David said to Arnan, 'Give me the place of the threshing floor that I may build there an altar to the LORD; give it to me at full price in silver, and let the plague be turned away from the people.'
1 C.21.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ויעש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הטוב: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיניו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- הבקר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לעלות: VERB,qal,inf
- והמורגים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- לעצים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- והחטים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- למנחה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:23 (quotation): Ornan/Ornan (Arunah) offers oxen, threshing instruments and wheat to David — a direct parallel/near-quotation of the same gift list and offer.
- 2 Samuel 24:24 (quotation): David refuses the free gift and insists on buying the threshing floor and oxen — the narrative counterpart to Arnan’s offer in Chronicles.
- 1 Chronicles 21:24 (structural): Immediate continuation in the same chapter: David rejects the free offering and insists on paying, shaping the theological point about sacrifice and purchase.
- Leviticus 1:3 (thematic): Prescribes a male animal for burnt offerings and, together with Lev. 2 (grain offerings), connects the substances Arnan offers (oxen, wood, wheat) to established sacrificial elements.
- Genesis 23:9-16 (thematic): Abraham’s purchase of the cave/field from Ephron highlights a parallel concern for formally buying and securing a sacred site rather than accepting it as a gratuitous gift.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Arnan said to David, “Take it, my lord the king; see, I give the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering—I give all.”
- Arnan said to David, 'Take it; let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. See, I give the oxen for burnt offering, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give all.'
1 C.21.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לארנן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,prop
- לא: PART_NEG
- כי: CONJ
- קנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אקנה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- בכסף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלא: ADJ,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- אשא: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- והעלות: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def
- עולה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חנם: ADV
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:24 (quotation): Direct parallel/variant wording of the same exchange between David and Araunah (Ornan): David insists on buying the threshing floor and oxen for the full price rather than accepting them as a free gift to offer to the LORD.
- 1 Chronicles 21:25 (structural): Immediate narrative follow-up in Chronicles describing David's purchase payment—confirms and completes the action David declares in 21:24.
- Genesis 23:9,16 (thematic): Abraham's insistence on paying full price for the cave and field of Machpelah parallels David's refusal to accept a free offering for sacred ground—both emphasize lawful, purchased ownership for sacred purposes.
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 (thematic): Solomon builds the temple on Mount Moriah ‘where David had prepared’—links David's purchase of the threshing floor (site for the altar) to the later establishment of the Temple, showing the lasting significance of David's paid acquisition.
Alternative generated candidates
- But King David said to Arnan, “No; but I will surely buy it from you for full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
- But the king David said to Arnan, 'No; I will surely buy it from you at full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.'
1 C.21.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לארנן: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg
- במקום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שקלי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- זהב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משקל: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- שש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מאות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:24-25 (verbal): Direct parallel narrative: both report David’s purchase of Araunah’s threshing‑floor and oxen for a sacrifice; the accounts are similar but give different purchase amounts (2 Sam: fifty shekels of silver; 1 Chr: six hundred shekels of gold).
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 (structural): Identifies the same site (Mount Moriah) as the location of Solomon’s temple—shows the long‑term cultic significance of the threshing‑floor David bought.
- Genesis 22:2 (allusion): Mount Moriah is earlier associated with Abraham’s intended sacrifice; 1 Chr.’s purchase of the threshing‑floor on Moriah resonates with this sacrificial/holy geography.
- Genesis 23:16 (thematic): Both passages depict a formal purchase of land with a stated weight of silver; parallels the legal/ceremonial practice of buying a sacred or burial site by specified shekels.
Alternative generated candidates
- So David gave Arnan six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
- So David weighed out to Arnan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
1 C.21.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויבן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עלות: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ושלמים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויקרא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויענהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מן: PREP
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- על: PREP
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs,def
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:25 (verbal): Direct parallel account of the same event: David builds an altar, offers burnt and peace offerings; God answers from heaven by fire. Chronicles retells/rewrites Samuel's narrative.
- Leviticus 9:24 (thematic): Priestly inauguration scene where fire comes out from before the LORD and consumes the burnt offering — a cultic precedent for divine acceptance of sacrifice by heavenly fire.
- 1 Kings 18:38 (thematic): Elijah's altar: fire from the LORD falls and consumes the burnt sacrifice, confirming divine approval. Echoes the motif of God answering by fire from heaven.
- 2 Chronicles 7:1 (thematic): At Solomon's dedication the LORD sends fire from heaven to consume the burnt offerings — a Chronicler motif of divine response to proper worship by consuming fire.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him by fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.
- David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings; he called on the LORD, and he answered him by fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.
1 C.21.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- למלאך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חרבו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m
- אל: NEG
- נדנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:16 (verbal): The parallel narrative in Samuel describes the same scene—God commands the destroying angel to stop and the angel sheaths his sword; the wording and action are essentially the same as in Chronicles.
- Genesis 22:11-12 (thematic): An angel intervenes to halt a divinely sanctioned act (Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac). The motif of an angelic command to stop parallels the angel putting up his sword in 1 Chronicles.
- Exodus 32:14 (thematic): God 'relents' or ceases from executing threatened judgment after intercession. This theme of divine withholding of disaster corresponds to God commanding the angel to desist.
- Jonah 3:10 (thematic): After Nineveh repents, God refrains from the calamity he had threatened. The cessation of impending punishment here parallels the angel’s sheathing of the sword in Chronicles.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.
- And the LORD commanded the angel, and he put back his sword into its sheath.
1 C.21.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- בראות: PREP
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- ענהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+PRON,3,m,sg(obj)
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בגרן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארנן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היבוסי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ויזבח: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:18-25 (verbal): Parallel narrative account of David at Araunah's threshing floor: purchase of the site and offering there; language and sequence closely mirror 1 Chr 21:28–30.
- 2 Samuel 24:25 (quotation): Specific verse stating David built an altar and offered burnt offerings because the LORD had answered him at Araunah's threshing floor—very similar wording to 1 Chr 21:28.
- 1 Chronicles 22:1-2 (structural): Continues the same tradition: David prepares the Araunah/Moriah site and materials for the house of the LORD, tying the sacrificial act to the future temple location.
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 (thematic): Solomon builds the temple on Mount Moriah, the place associated with David's purchase and sacrifice; connects the event in 1 Chr 21:28 to the temple's establishment.
- Genesis 22:14 (thematic): Theme of a divinely provided/place of sacrifice on a mountain ('the LORD will provide') resonates with the motif of God’s response at the sacrificial site in 1 Chr 21:28.
Alternative generated candidates
- At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him at the threshing-floor of Arnan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.
- At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him at the threshing floor of Arnan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.
1 C.21.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ומשכן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומזבח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העולה: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg,def
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- בבמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בגבעון: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Chron.1.3 (verbal): Nearly identical statement: the tabernacle that Moses made and the altar of burnt offering were at Gibeon — direct verbal parallel in the Chronicler's account of Solomon’s visit to Gibeon.
- 2 Sam.24.18-25 (structural): Parallel narrative to 1 Chronicles 21 (David's census and the purchase of Ornan/Ornan's threshing floor); Chronicles’ version adds the detail about the tabernacle being at Gibeon (v.29).
- Exod.40.34-38 (thematic): Background description of the tabernacle as established by Moses in the wilderness — provides the origin for ‘the tabernacle of the LORD which Moses made in the wilderness.’
- 1 Kings 3.4-5 (verbal): Solomon goes to Gibeon to offer sacrifices because it was the great high place and the tabernacle was there — a parallel reference to the tabernacle and altar being located at Gibeon.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the tent of the LORD, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
- Now the tent of meeting that Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon.
1 C.21.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולא: CONJ
- יכל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ללכת: VERB,qal,inf
- לפניו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- לדרש: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- נבעת: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- מפני: PREP
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 24:16 (verbal): Same narrative episode: the angel of the LORD stretches out (is poised) over Jerusalem/the threshing‑floor; David is confronted with divine wrath and is struck with fear — closely parallels Chronicles' mention of fear of the angel's sword.
- 2 Samuel 24:18-25 (structural): Full parallel account of David's census, Gad's oracle, the angel's punishment, Araunah's threshing‑floor and David's altar — Chronicles 21 retells this same sequence with overlapping details (including inability to approach God because of fear).
- Exodus 20:18-19 (thematic): At Sinai the people are terrified at God's presence and ask Moses to speak for them rather than approach God directly — parallels the motif here of fear preventing direct approach/inquiry of the LORD.
- Judges 13:22-23 (thematic): After seeing the angel of the LORD Manoah and his wife fear they will die for having seen God; the episode echoes the common biblical theme that human beings are struck with awe/fear on encountering a divine messenger and are unable or reluctant to draw near.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David could not go before the LORD to seek him, for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
- But David could not go before God to seek him, for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
1 C.22.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וזה: CONJ+PRON,dem,m,sg,abs
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לעלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לישראל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 21:25-26 (verbal): Immediate parallel in Chronicles: David purchases/builds on the threshing floor and erects an altar there—background to his statement that this is the LORD's house and the altar for Israel.
- 2 Samuel 24:18-25 (structural): Parallel account in Samuel of David's acquisition of the threshing floor of Araunah and the building of an altar and offerings; Chronicles reworks this material and locates the temple site.
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 (thematic): Solomon begins building the house of the LORD on Mount Moriah—the site David prepared; continues the theme of identifying this place as the temple's location.
- Genesis 22:2,14 (allusion): Mount Moriah (the site later associated with the temple) is first introduced as the place of Abraham's sacrifice/‘provision’—an earlier sacred association picked up in the temple tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then David said, “This is the house of the LORD God—and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
- David said, 'This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.'
And Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the commanders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the tally to me, that I may know the number.” And Joab said, “May the LORD add to his people a hundred times over! My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this? Why will it be a cause of guilt to Israel?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab, and Joab went out and passed through all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. And Joab gave the sum of the enrollment of the people to David; and all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and Judah were 470,000 men who drew the sword.
Yet Levi and Benjamin he did not count among them, for the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab. And it displeased God concerning this thing, and he struck Israel. And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing; now, I beseech you, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have been very foolish.” And the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying,
“Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the LORD: I offer you three things; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do it to you.’” So Gad came to David and told him, “Thus says the LORD: Take for yourself.”
“If three years of famine, or three months to be routed before your enemies so that the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days of the sword of the LORD, pestilence in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel—now consider and see what I shall answer the one who sent me.”
Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall now into the hand of the LORD, for his mercies are great; and do not let me fall into the hand of man.” So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel, and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy; as he destroyed, the LORD saw and relented concerning the destruction, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his sword stretched out in his hand over Jerusalem; then David and the elders clothed themselves with sackcloth and fell on their faces. And David said to God, “Is it not I who ordered the numbering of the people? It was I who sinned and committed this evil. But these sheep—what have they done? Let your hand be upon me and upon my father’s house, but not upon your people, that the plague may be averted from them.”
Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. So David went up in the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD. Now Ornan was threshing wheat; and his four sons were with him, hiding. And Ornan looked up and saw the angel. And David came to Ornan; and Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing floor and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. And David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor, that I may build an altar there to the LORD; give it to me at full price, that the plague may be removed from the people.” And Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. Look, I give the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering—I give all.” But the king said to Ornan, “No; I will surely buy it from you for full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David weighed out to Ornan the price for the place: six hundred shekels of gold by the king’s weight. And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings; and he called to the LORD, and he answered him by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.
Then the LORD commanded the angel, and he put back his sword into its sheath.
At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered there. Now the tent of the LORD, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
David was not able to go before the LORD to inquire of God, for the fear of the sword of the angel of the LORD was upon him. And David said, “This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”