2 Samuel 24:1

“And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, etc.] It had been kindled, and appeared before in sending a three years’ famine among them for Saul’s ill usage of the Gibeonites, (<102101>2 Samuel 21:1); and now it broke forth again, either for some secret sins committed, as Kimchi suggests, or for the rebellion of Absalom, and the insurrection of Sheba, in which multitudes of them joined; so Abarbinel; no doubt there was cause for it, though it is not expressed: and he moved David against them; not the Lord, but Satan, as may be supplied from (<132101>1 Chronicles 21:1); or “it moved him”; the anger of the Lord, as the last mentioned writer interprets it; or the heart of David,…”

“And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel - This sentence is the heading of the whole chapter, which goes on to describe the sin which kindled this anger, namely, the numbering of the people 1 Chronicles 21:7-8; 1 Chronicles 27:24. There is no note of time, except that the word “again” shows that these events happened “after” those of 2 Samuel 21:0. (Compare also 2Sa 24:25; 2 Samuel 21:14.) And he moved David - In 1 Chronicles 21:1 the statement is, “and an adversary” (not “Satan,” as the King James Version, since there is no article prefixed, as in Job 1:6; Job 2:1, etc.) “stood up against Israel and moved David,” just as 1Ki 11:14, 1 Kings 11:23, 1 Kings 11:25 first Hadad,…”

“24:1 The reason God’s anger . . . burned against Israel is unknown (but see Deut 4:25; 6:14-15; 29:22-28; 31:16-18). • Caused . . . to harm reflects a Hebrew verb (suth) used elsewhere in the sense of enticing or inciting someone to do wrong (1 Sam 26:19, “stirred you up against me”). Census-taking was usually unpopular with citizens, who resented it as an intrusion into their private affairs. They regarded it as a prelude to taxation or forced military service (see study note on 2 Sam 24:9). If David was motivated by pride or was preparing for an illegitimate war (as 24:9 might suggest), this might explain why it was a sin for him (24:10).”

“am 2987, bc 1017, An, Ex, Is, 474 again: Sa2 21:1-14 he: This verse, when read without reference to any other part of the word of God, is very difficult to understand, and has been used by those who desire to undermine the justice of God, to shew that he sought occasion to punish - that he incited David to sin; and when he had so incited him, gave to him the dreadful alternative of choosing one of three scourges by which his people were to be cut off. On the face of the passage these thoughts naturally arise, because "the Lord" is the antecedent to the pronoun "he," - He moved David. But to those who "search the Scriptures," this exceedingly difficult passage receives a wonderful…”

“"Again the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel; and He moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah." לחרות ... ויּסף points back to the manifestation of the wrath of God, which Israel had experienced in the three years' famine (2 Samuel 21). Just as that plague had burst upon the land on account of the guilt which rested upon the people, so the kindling of the wrath of God against Israel a second time also presupposes guilt on the part of the nation; and as this is not expressly pointed out, we may seek for it generally in the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba against the divinely established government of David. The subject to "moved" is Jehovah, and the words…”