1 Chronicles 21:6 BSB

1 Chronicles 21:6

But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count, because the king’s command was detestable to him.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them; for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.

KJV

But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.

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Commentary

2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Levi and Benjamin counted he not - The rabbins give the following reason for this: Joab, seeing that this would bring down destruction upon the people, purposed to save two tribes. Should David ask, Why have you not numbered the Levites? Joab purposed to say, Because the Levites are not reckoned among the children of Israel. Should he ask, Why have you not numbered Benjamin? he would answer, Benjamin has been already sufficiently punished, on account of the treatment of the woman at Gibeah: if, therefore, this tribe were to be again punished, who would remain?

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Levi and Benjamin counted he not--If this census was ordered with a view to the imposition of taxes, this alone would account for Levi, who were not warriors (1Ch 21:5), not being numbered (see on Nu 1:47-54).

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וְלֵוִי֙	ve.le.Vi	and Levi	H3878 →
וּבִנְיָמִ֔ן	u.vin.ya.Min	and Benjamin	H1144 →
לֹ֥א	lo'	not	H3808 →
פָקַ֖ד	fa.Kad	he enrolled	H6485 →
בְּתוֹכָ֑ם	be.to.Kham	in midst of them	H8432 →
כִּֽי־	ki-	for	H3588 →
נִתְעַ֥ב	nit.'Av	it was abhorred	H8581 →
דְּבַר־	de.var-	[the] word of	H1697 →
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ	ha.Me.lekh	the king	H4428 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H854 →
יוֹאָֽב׃	yo.'Av	Joab	H3097 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk7

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
2 Samuel 3:27
When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the…
leads to
- 2 Samuel 20:9–10
  “Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
- 1 Kings 2:5
  Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them…
- Deuteronomy 27:24
  ‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- 1 Kings 2:32
  The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to…
- 2 Samuel 2:19–23
  and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit.
Through
1 Chronicles 27:24
Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. For because of this census wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not entered in the Book of the Chronicles…
leads to
- 2 Samuel 24:1–15
  Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
- 1 Chronicles 21:1–17
  Then Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through 1 Chronicles 21

Satan Across the Testaments

The enemy arrives first as a function — the accuser — and only later wears a name; trace the unveiling from Job's courtroom to Revelation's dragon.

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About 1 Chronicles

Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

1 Chronicles: the study guide →Read chapter 21 →The featured study →

Continue: 1 Chronicles 21 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Chronicles

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Chronicles