Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 21

Verses 1-30

1 Chronicles 21:1 to 1 Chronicles 22:1— The Numbering of the Hosts; the Punishment (see notes on 2 Samuel 24:1-25).— There are many variations from the corresponding passage in 2 S., and it is uncertain whether the Chronicler used any other source or not.

1 Chronicles 21:1. And Satan stood up: in 2 Samuel 24:1 the temptation comes from Yahweh; the Chronicler altered this as unfitting in view of the developed doctrine of God which had supervened. In the earlier literature the term “ Satan” means “ adversary” ( Numbers 22:22; Numbers 22:32); its use here as a proper name is a development due to the influence of Persian demonology on Jewish belief; cf. Job 1:6 *, Job 2:2, Zechariah 3:1 f.

1 Chronicles 21:6 . Probably added because, according to Numbers 1:49, the Levites might not be numbered for military purposes; he mentions Benjamin as not being counted because of Jerusalem, the Holy City, lying on his borders.

1 Chronicles 21:9 . God: cf. 1 Chronicles 29:29, 2 Chronicles 29:25.

1 Chronicles 21:15 . the threshing-floor of Ornan: this was on the top of Mount Zion where the Temple was built ( cf. 1 Chronicles 22:1). In 2 Samuel 24:16 and elsewhere Ornan occurs in the form Araunah.

1 Chronicles 21:16 . Not in 2 Samuel 24.— between the heaven and the earth: the Hebrew way of expressing “ in mid-air.” The description of the angel is a development due to the influence of Persian angelology; the earlier Hebrew conception pictured angels as men.

1 Chronicles 21:18 . The reference to the angel here and in 1 Chronicles 21:20 is added by the Chronicler for the purpose of enhancing the supernaturalness of the episode; in 2 Samuel 24:18 ff. there is no mention of the angel.

1 Chronicles 21:23 . wheat for the meal-offering: a characteristic addition by the Chronicler ( cf. Leviticus 2:1 ff.).

1 Chronicles 21:25 . six hundred shekels of gold: this, too, is characteristic of the Chronicler, who desires to emphasize the value of everything connected with the Temple, even down to its very site. In 2 Samuel 24:24 the price is fifty shekels of silver, including the oxen.

1 Chronicles 21:26 . from heaven by fire: another addition by the Chronicler ( cf. Leviticus 9:24).

1 Chronicles 21:28 to 1 Chronicles 22:1 . 1 Chronicles 21:29 f. forms a parenthesis; 1 Chronicles 21:28; 1 Chronicles 22:1 describe the definite choice of Oman’ s threshing-floor as the site of the Temple.

1 Chronicles 21:29 . the high place at Gibeon: cf. 1 Chronicles 16:39.