David's Sacrificial Act In 2 Samuel 23
The final chapter of 2 Samuel, chapter 24, describes David's sacrificial act following a census he conducted. The narrative begins with the Lord's anger being kindled against Israel, which prompts David to number the people [4]. This act is presented as a sin, though the text does not explicitly state why it was sinful.
After the census, David is given a choice of three punishments: seven years of famine, three months of fleeing from enemies, or three days of pestilence. David chooses the pestilence, stating, "Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man" (2 Samuel 24:14 ESV). The Lord sends a pestilence that kills seventy thousand men in Israel. When the angel of the Lord is about to destroy Jerusalem, God relents and instructs the angel to stop at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
David, seeing the angel, cries out to the Lord, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house" (2 Samuel 24:17 ESV). The prophet Gad then instructs David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah.
When David approaches Araunah, Araunah offers to give David the threshing floor, the oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing sledges and other equipment for the wood, all without cost [5]. However, David refuses, stating, "No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24 ESV). David then buys the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
On this site, David builds an altar to the Lord and offers burnt offerings and peace offerings. The text notes that "the Lord responded to entreaties for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel" (2 Samuel 24:25 ESV). This act of sacrifice is seen as expiatory, bringing an end to the pestilence [4]. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge cross-references this event with 1 Chronicles 21:26, which also describes David offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, and the Lord answering him by fire from heaven [1].
The significance of David's refusal to accept the offering for free highlights the principle that a sacrifice must involve personal cost and effort to be truly meaningful. Charles Hodge, in his Systematic Theology, discusses the nature of offerings, noting that the victim bore the sin of the offerer and died in their stead, effecting expiation through vicarious punishment [6]. While Hodge's discussion is broader, it provides a theological framework for understanding the expiatory nature of David's sacrifice.
The Targum Jonathan, a Jewish interpretive tradition, emphasizes the prophetic nature of David's words and actions. For instance, in 2 Samuel 23:1, it describes David's words as "prophetic words... which he prophesied for the end of the world, for the days of consolation which are to come" [3]. Similarly, in 2 Samuel 23:2, it states that David spoke "by a prophetic spirit from before the LORD" [2]. This tradition suggests that David's actions, including his sacrifices, carry a deeper, divinely inspired significance beyond their immediate historical context.
The narrative of 2 Samuel 24 concludes the book, emphasizing David's role as a leader who, despite his flaws, ultimately seeks to obey and honor God, even at personal cost. His sacrificial act brings reconciliation and deliverance to his people, underscoring the importance of atonement in the biblical understanding of God's relationship with humanity.
Sources
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “1 Chronicles 7:23 cross-references: 2 Samuel 23:5”
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on II Samuel 23:2: David said, “By a prophetic spirit from before the LORD I am speaking these things, and his holy words I am arranging in my mouth.””
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on II Samuel 23:1: And these are the prophetic words of David, which he prophesied for the end of the world, for the days of consolation which are to come: David the son of Jesse said, and the saying of the man dignified to the kingdom, anointed by the Speech of Jacob’s God, and right to convey with a sweet palate the praises of Israel.”
- 2 Samuel (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Samuel 24:25: David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings--There seem to have been two sacrifices; the first expiatory, the second a thanksgiving for the cessation of the pestilence (see on Ch1 21:26). Next: (1 Kings) Introduction”
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on II Samuel 24:22: Then Arvan said to David, “Let my lord the king take and sacrifice what seems right in his sight. See the oxen fit for the burnt offering, and the threshing sledges and the tools of the oxen for the wood.”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 103: the law. The victim bore the sin of the offerer, and died in his stead. An expiation was thereby effected by the suffering of a vicarious punishment. This also determines the nature of the work of Christ. If He was an offering for sin, if He saves us from the penalty of the law of God, in the same way in which the sin offering saved the Israelite from the penalty of the law of Moses, then He bore the guilt of our sins and endured the penalty in our stead. We may not approve of this method of salvation. The idea of the innocent bearing th”