📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 21:2
What does 1 Chronicles 21:2 mean?
"David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know how many there are.”"
— 1 Chronicles 21:2 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to take a census of Israel.
David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know how many there are.”
Joab said, “May Yahweh make his people a hundred times as many as they are. But, my lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?”
Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, then came to Jerusalem.
Joab gave up the sum of the census of the people to David. All those of Israel were one million one hundred thousand men who drew a sword; and in Judah were four hundred seventy thousand men who drew a sword.
Explanation
This verse opens the account of David's ill-fated census of Israel. In plain terms, David gives an order to Joab, his military commander, and to the other leaders of the people: travel throughout the entire land, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the far north, and count every eligible person so that David can know the total number. "From Beersheba to Dan" was a common expression in Israel's history for the full extent of the nation, so David is essentially commanding a nationwide census of his kingdom.
The immediate context is important. The verse before this (1 Ch
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