1 Chronicles 21:20
in 1 Chronicles 21Now Ornan was threshing wheat when he turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons that were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
KJV
And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseOrnan turned back, and saw the angel - The Septuagint say, And Orna turned, και ειδε τον βασιλεα, and saw the King. The Syriac and Arabic say, David saw the angel; and do not mention Ornan in this place. Houbigant translates the same reading המלך hammalech, the king, for המלעך hammalach, the angel, and vindicates his version from the parallel place, 2Sa 24:20, where it is said, he saw David: but there is no word of his seeing the angel.
This site's exposition
his four sons with him hid themselves
on 1 Chronicles 21:20-21
Ornan sees what his sons cannot bear to look at and turns back from threshing his wheat while his four sons hide themselves, the ordinary work of a Jebusite farmer interrupted by the angel David has just seen. John Wesley reads the hiding as plain fear before a glory human nature cannot carry, joined to dread that judgment was now falling on their own household. When David himself approaches, Ornan leaves the threshingfloor and bows with his face to the ground, the Jebusite native of the land bowing to Israel's king on the exact spot the temple will stand. Some Greek manuscripts read that Ornan saw the king rather than the angel at this moment, a variant Adam Clarke records without adopting, alongside the parallel at 2 Samuel 24:20 where Araunah looked and saw David.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But God sees not as man sees. It is plain it was wrong in David to do it, and a great provocation to God, because he did it in the pride of his heart; and there is no sin that has in it more of contradiction and therefore more of offence to God than pride. The sin was David's; he alone must bear the blame of it.
), which so terrified him that he and his four sons hid themselves, as unable to bear the brightness of his glory and afraid of his drawn sword. Under these apprehensions he was willing to do anything towards making the atonement.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Hid themselves - Because of the glory and majesty in which the angel appeared, which mens weak natures are not able to bear; and from the fear of God's vengeance which now seemed to be coming to their family.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֣שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he turned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אָרְנָ֗ן | ʾarenan | Ornan | H771 → | 12 times |
| וַיַּרְא֙ | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמַּלְאָ֔ךְ | hamalakh | the angel | H4397 → | 213 times |
| וְאַרְבַּ֧עַת | vearbaat | and [the] four | H702 → | 318 times |
| בָּנָ֛יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עִמּ֖וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| מִֽתְחַבְּאִ֑ים | mitchabeim | [were] hiding themselves | H2244 → | |
| וְאָרְנָ֖ן | vearenan | and Ornan | H771 → | 12 times |
| דָּ֥שׁ | dash | he threshed | H1758 → | |
| חִטִּֽים׃ | chitim | wheat<s> | H2406 → |
וַיָּ֣שָׁבand he turned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
אָרְנָ֗ןOrnan
ʾarenanH771 →12 times
וַיַּרְא֙and he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמַּלְאָ֔ךְthe angel
hamalakhH4397 →213 times
וְאַרְבַּ֧עַתand [the] four
vearbaatH702 →318 times
בָּנָ֛יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
עִמּ֖וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
מִֽתְחַבְּאִ֑ים[were] hiding themselves
mitchabeimH2244 →
וְאָרְנָ֖ןand Ornan
vearenanH771 →12 times
דָּ֥שׁhe threshed
dashH1758 →
חִטִּֽים׃wheat<s>
chitimH2406 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach 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
Judges 6:11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it…
it leads to
- Joshua 17:2
So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of…
- Hebrews 11:32
And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,
- Judges 13:3
The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
- Judges 8:2
But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
- Isaiah 63:9
In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days…
- Joshua 17:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.