2 Samuel 24:5
in 2 Samuel 24They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and unto Jazer:
KJV
And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
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This verse in 2 Samuel 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Aroer - Aroer on the Arnon (Deu 2:36 note). Aroer itself stood on the very edge of the precipitous cliff of the valley; and in the valley beneath, possibly in an island in the stream, stood another city which is here alluded to. River - Rather, “the valley” (margin). They passed from Aroer, northward to Gad, and so pitched at Jazer (see the marginal references), which is on the frontier of Gad and Reuben.
This site's exposition
they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer
on 2 Samuel 24:5-9
The counters cross Jordan at Aroer and range north through Gilead toward Dan, then west toward Tyre and the Hivite cities, before circling south to Beersheba, tracing the whole land in nine months and twenty days. Joab returns a sum of eight hundred thousand swordsmen in Israel and five hundred thousand in Judah, and Albert Barnes reads the figures as partial, since Chronicles gives different totals and states plainly that Joab left Levi and Benjamin out of the count. John Gill takes the circuit itself as a mark of diligence, a task finished in ten months lacking ten days.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they passed over Jordan,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they passed over Jordan--This census was taken first in the eastern parts of the Hebrew kingdom; and it would seem that Joab was accompanied by a military force, either to aid in this troublesome work, or to overawe the people who might display reluctance or opposition. the river of Gad--"Wady" would be a better term.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And pitched in Aroer - This was beyond Jordan, on the river Arnon, in the tribe of Gad: hence it appears, says Calmet, that they began their census with the most eastern parts of the country beyond Jordan.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעַבְר֖וּ | vaiyaavru | and they passed over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| וַיַּחֲנ֣וּ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| בַעֲרוֹעֵ֗ר | vaaroer | at Aroer | H6177 → | |
| יְמִ֥ין | yemin | [the] south of | H3225 → | 140 times |
| הָעִ֛יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּתוֹךְ־ | betokh- | [is] in [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַנַּ֥חַל | hanachal | the wadi | H5158 → | 141 times |
| הַגָּ֖ד | hagad | <the> Gad | H1410 → | 72 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יַעְזֵֽר׃ | ya'zer | Jazer | H3270 → |
וַיַּעַבְר֖וּand they passed over
vaiyaavruH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
וַיַּחֲנ֣וּand they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
בַעֲרוֹעֵ֗רat Aroer
vaaroerH6177 →
יְמִ֥ין[the] south of
yeminH3225 →140 times
הָעִ֛ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּתוֹךְ־[is] in [the] middle of
betokh-H8432 →418 times
הַנַּ֥חַלthe wadi
hanachalH5158 →141 times
הַגָּ֖ד<the> Gad
hagadH1410 →72 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
יַעְזֵֽר׃Jazer
ya'zerH3270 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Deuteronomy 2:36From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God…
it leads to
- Joshua 13:9
The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 3:12
So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with…
- Deuteronomy 4:48
extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),
- Psalms 44:3
For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because…
- Joshua 13:9
Through
Joshua 13:16The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba,
it leads to
- Joshua 12:2
Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 12:2
Through
Numbers 32:1Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.
it leads to
- Numbers 32:3
“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 21:32
After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
- Numbers 32:3
Through
Joshua 13:9The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,
it leads to
- Joshua 13:16
The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba,
- Joshua 13:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).