2 Samuel 24 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter concludes the supplemental information about David’s reign as king of Israel that the author provides at the end of the book. It presents the sixth and last part of that information, a description of how David counted the men in his kingdom who were able to serve as soldiers, how Yahweh punished Israel with a plague as a result, and how Yahweh mercifully ended the plague.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

“into the hand of man, do not let me fall”

Yahweh sends the prophet Gad to David to tell him that he must choose among three punishments for counting the fighting men of Israel. There could be famine in Israel for seven years, the Israelites could be defeated by their enemies for three months, or there could be a plague for three days. David chooses the plague, saying, “Please, let us fall into the hand of Yahweh, for his mercies are many, but into the hand of man, do not let me fall.” Gad understands from this that David is choosing the plague, and he returns that answer to Yahweh, since the plague is what happens. It is clear that having a plague would be to come under the power of Yahweh and that being defeated by enemies would be to come under the power of man. But how would a famine similarly constitute coming under the power of man? The explanation seems to be that if there were famine in Israel, the Israelites would be dependent on foreign nations for food, and those nations might take advantage of their helplessness to oppress them. Some Israelites might move to other countries in search of food, and they would be vulnerable there as foreigners. If it would be helpful to your readers, you might explain this in a footnote.