Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 27:24

Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.

24. he finished not ] Cp. 1Ch 21:6.

because there fell wrath for it against Israel ] R.V. and there came wrath for this upon Israel.

in the account of ] R.V. into the account in. A summary of the numbers of David’s census is given in 1Ch 21:5 and also (with divergences) in 2Sa 24:9. The Chronicler probably means in the present passage that the details of the census were not entered in the official records.

the chronicles ] Lit. the acts of the days; cp. Introduction, 1.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Because there fell wrath – literally, And there fell wrath. The falling of Gods wrath was not the cause of Joabs ceasing. His motive is clearly stated in 1Ch 21:6. See also the marginal references.

Neither was the number … – The meaning is, that in the portion of the chronicles of King David which treated of numbers – the number of the standing army, of the Levitical and priestly courses, the singers, etc. – the return of the number of the people made by Joab was not entered. The disastrous circumstances which followed on the taking of the census perhaps produced a feeling that God might he further provoked by its being put on record in the state archives. The numbers which have come down to us must therefore have been derived from private sources.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 24. Neither was the number put in the account] Joab did not return the whole number; probably the plague began before he had finished: or, he did not choose to give it in, as he had entered on this work with extreme reluctance; and he did not choose to tell the king how numerous they were.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Began to number, to wit, all from twenty years old and upward, as David commanded him.

He finished not; for Levi and Benjamin he counted not, 1Ch 21:6. Because there fell wrath for it against Israel, whilst he was doing the work; which was one reason which made him to cease. Heb. And there fell, &c. Though David numbered them with caution and limitation, as was noted before, yet this did not hinder Gods wrath from falling upon Israel for this sin.

Neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David: the sense is either,

1. That the full number was not registered, because Levi and Benjamin were not counted by Joab. Or rather,

2. That David being sensible of and smarting for his sin, would not have the number brought in by Joab to him put into the public register, though God would have it recorded in Scripture for the instruction of succeeding ages. For he speaks not here of the account given in to the king, which was done, and was Joabs act; but of the putting of the account into the public records, which was not done, and which could not be done but by Davids command or permission.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

24. neither was the number put inthe account of the chronicles of King Davideither because theundertaking was not completed, Levi and Benjamin not having beennumbered (1Ch 21:6), or thefull details in the hands of the enumerating officers were notreported to David, and, consequently, not registered in the publicarchives.

the chronicleswere thedaily records or annals of the king’s reign. No notice was taken ofthis census in the historical register, as from the public calamitywith which it was associated it would have stood as a painful recordof the divine judgment against the king and the nation.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number,…. By the order of David, but entirely against his own will, see 1Ch 21:2,

but he finished not; the two tribes of Benjamin and Levi not being counted by him, 1Ch 21:6

because there fell wrath for it against Israel; the plague being broke forth before he had done numbering, which put a stop to it, 1Ch 21:14

neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of David; that which was brought in by Joab, though imperfect, was not entered into the diary, journal, or annals which David ordered to be written of all memorable events and transactions in his reign; and which were afterwards carried on by the kings of Judah, often referred to in the preceding books; and this was done, not because of the imperfection of the account, but because David did not choose this sin of his should be transmitted to posterity, though it has been, notwithstanding this precaution of his.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(24) Joab the son of Zeruiah began.Or, had begun. This clearly refers to 1Ch. 21:6. Joab omitted to number Levi and Benjamin.

Because there fell wrath for it.The same phrase recurs in 2Ch. 19:10; 2Ch. 24:18. (Comp. for the fact, 1Ch. 21:7, seq.) The sense of the Hebrew may be brought out better thus: Joab son of Zeruiah had begun to number, without finishing; and there fell, &c.

Neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.Literally, and the number came not up (lh), was not entered. (Comp. 1Ki. 9:21; 2Ch. 20:34.) The number which Joab ascertained was not recorded, as might have been expected, in the official annals of the reign, here designated as the account of the chronicles of king David (mispar dibr ha-ymm). It is implied that the chronicler had these annals before him in some form or other, probably as a section of the History of the Kings of Judah and Israel, and that he found the lists of this chapter in that source. Those of 1 Chronicles 23-26 may have been derived from the same authority. In 2Ki. 12:20; 2Ki. 13:8; 2Ki. 13:12, and all similar instances, the phrase for book of the Chronicles is not mispar, but spher dibr ha-ymm. Some suppose that the text here should be altered accordingly; others would render mispar dibr ha-ymm, the statistical section of the annals. But mispar in Jdg. 7:15 means the telling or relation of a dream, and the transition from such a sense to that of written relation is easy. The phrase rendered Chronicles is the same as the Hebrew title of these books.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

24. Began to number, but he finished not Here we find that the census was interrupted by the pestilence. Comp. note on chap. 1Ch 21:6.

Neither was the number put in the account of the Chronicles of king David “We can easily understand that the disastrous circumstances which followed on the taking of the census produced a feeling that God might be further provoked by its being put on record in the state archives. It was consequently omitted; and the accounts of the numbers which have come down to us must have been derived from some comparatively private sources.” Rawlinson.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments