1sn The parallel text in 1 Chr 21:1 says, “An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.” The Samuel version gives an underlying theological perspective, while the Chronicler simply describes what happened from a human perspective. The adversary in 1 Chr 21:1 is likely a human enemy, probably a nearby nation whose hostility against Israel pressured David into numbering the people so he could assess his military strength. See the note at 1 Chr 21:1.
2tnHeb “and the word of the king was stronger than.”
3tnHeb “in the middle of.”
4map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
5map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
6map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7tnHeb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.”
8tnHeb “and the heart of David struck him.”
9tnHeb “and the word of the Lord came.”
10tc The LXX has here “three” rather than “seven,” and is followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT. See 1 Chr 21:12.
11tnHeb “now know and see.”
12tnHeb “There is great distress to me. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for great is his mercy, but into the hand of man let me not fall.”
13tnHeb “messenger.”
14tnHeb “concerning the calamity.”
15tnHeb “Now, drop your hand.”
16tnHeb “let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.”
17tnHeb “Araunah.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
18tnHeb “nostrils.”
19tnHeb “what is good in his eyes.”
20snThreshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey.
21tnHeb “the equipment of the oxen.”
22tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation reads עֶבֶד אֲדֹנָי (’eved ’adoni, “the servant of my lord”) rather than the MT’s אֲרַוְנָה (’Aravnah). In normal court etiquette a subject would not use his own name in this way, but would more likely refer to himself in the third person. The MT probably first sustained loss of עֶבֶד (’eved, “servant”), leading to confusion of the word for “my lord” with the name of the Jebusite referred to here.
23tnHeb “fifty shekels of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.