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2 Samuel 24:13

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Samuel 24:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy foes while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days` pestilence in thy land? now advise thee, and consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy foes while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days` pestilence in thy land? now advise thee, and consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
2 Samuel 24:13 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Samuel 24

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10And David`s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in that which I have done: but now, O Jehovah, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
11And when David rose up in the morning, the word of Jehovah came unto the prophet Gad, David`s seer, saying,
12Go and speak unto David, Thus saith Jehovah, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
13So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy foes while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days` pestilence in thy land? now advise thee, and consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
14And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.
15So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.
16And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“So Gad came to David, and told him, etc.] Said nothing to him about his sin, but correction for it; which confirms it that David was made sensible of his sin before he came to him: and said unto him, shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? in (<132112>1 Chronicles 21:12), only “three years” are mentioned, and so the Septuagint version here; but Josephus f419, the Targum, the Syriac and Arabic versions, have the number “seven”; three seems to be more agreeable to the numbers after mentioned, and no more as to come were designed, though seven are here expressed; for the reconciling of which let it be observed, that there had been three years of famine already on account of the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Shall seven years of famine come unto thee--that is, in addition to the three that had been already, with the current year included (see on Ch1 21:11).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Compare Ezekiel 14:13-21. The “seven” years of famine correspond with the “seven” years of famine in Genesis 41:27, Genesis 41:30, and with the same number of years in 2 Kings 8:1. But in Chronicles, it is “three years,” which agrees better with the “three” months and “three” days. The whole passage is amplified in Chronicles, which has less the aspect of an original text than this. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“24:13 David had already experienced the first two options—fleeing from Saul and Absalom, and famine because Saul had murdered the Gibeonites (21:1). While three days of severe plague sounded less traumatic, 70,000 people perished (24:15).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“seven: Sa2 21:1; Lev 26:20; Kg1 17:1-7; Ch1 21:12; Eze 14:13, Eze 14:21; Luk 4:25 flee: Lev 26:17, Lev 26:36, Lev 26:37; Deu 28:25, Deu 28:52 three days': Lev 26:16, Lev 26:25; Deu 28:22, Deu 28:27, Deu 28:35; Psa 91:6; Eze 14:19-21 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 24:14”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification