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1 Chronicles 21:2

in 1 Chronicles 21

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan and bring me a report, so that I may know their number.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them.

KJV

And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer–sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

This verse in 1 Chronicles 21

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

Satan rose up against Israel

on 1 Chronicles 21:1-2

Chronicles says Satan “rose up against Israel and incited David”, where 2 Samuel 24:1 says the anger of the LORD burned against Israel. This is the first occurrence of Satan as a proper name in the canon's order. David sends Joab to count the tribes “from Beersheba to Dan”.

This site's exposition

from Beersheba to Dan

David gives the order to Joab and the army commanders. Beersheba in the south and Dan in the north mark the land from end to end, so the order covers every tribe. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, on verse 6, allow that the count may have been made to raise taxes.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Now Satan arose upon Israel Although this chapter is not complimentary to David, it was written here because it says at the end of the chapter that he built an altar and the Lord answered him from heaven. This is complimentary to David.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Chronicles 21:1:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • דָּוִ֤ידDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • יוֹאָב֙Joab

    yoavH3097 →144 times

  • וְאֶל־and to

    veel-H413 →5510 times

  • שָׂרֵ֣י[the] leaders of

    sareiH8269 →421 times

  • הָעָ֔םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • לְכ֗וּgo

    lekhuH1980 →1546 times

  • סִפְרוּ֙count

    sifruH5608 →159 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • מִבְּאֵ֥רfrom Beer

    mibeerH884 →68 times

  • שֶׁ֖בַעSheba

    sheva'H884 →68 times

  • וְעַד־and to

    vead-H5704 →1261 times

  • דָּ֑ןDan

    danH1835 →70 times

  • וְהָבִ֣יאוּand bring [it]

    vehaviuH935 →2568 times

  • אֵלַ֔יto me

    ʾelaiH413 →5510 times

  • וְאֵדְעָ֖הso let me know

    veedeahH3045 →945 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • מִסְפָּרָֽם׃number their

    misparamH4557 →134 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 3:20

    So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

    it leads to

    • Judges 20:1

      Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Samuel 3:10

      to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”

    • 1 Timothy 1:12

      I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service.

  • Through

    1 Kings 4:25

    Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.

    it leads to

    • Micah 4:4

      And each man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.

    • Zechariah 3:10

      On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.’”

    • Jeremiah 23:5–6

      Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

    • Jeremiah 33:15–16

      In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout for David a righteous Branch, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

    • 2 Kings 18:31

      Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Chronicles

This page draws on Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.