2 Samuel 24:22

24:18-25 God's encouraging us to offer to him spiritual sacrifices, is an evidence of his reconciling us to himself. David purchased the ground to build the altar. God hates robbery for burnt-offering. Those know not what religion is, who chiefly care to make it cheap and easy to themselves, and who are best pleased with that which costs them least pains or money. For what have we our substance, but to honour God with it; and how can it be better bestowed? See the building of the altar, and the offering proper sacrifices upon it. Burnt-offerings to the glory of God's justice; peace-offerings to the glory of his mercy. Christ is our Altar, our Sacrifice; in him alone we may expect to escape his wrath, and to find favour with God. Death is destroying all around, in so many forms, and so suddenly, that it is madness not to expect and prepare for the close of life.

And Araunah said unto David, let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him,.... Build an altar, offer sacrifices of whatsoever he found upon the premises fit for the same, and make use of whatever came to hand proper to perform such service with, as follows: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice: which were employed in treading the corn, hence the law in Deuteronomy 25:4, and threshing instruments; not flails, such as are used by us, but wooden sledges, drays or carts drawn on wheels, which were filled with stones, and the bottom of them stuck with iron teeth, and were drawn by oxen to and fro over the sheaves of corn; see Isaiah 28:27, and other instruments of the oxen for wood; as their yokes; these Araunah gave leave to take to burn the sacrifice with; and in 1 Chronicles 21:23, it is added, "and the wheat for the meat offering", which was upon the threshingfloor; and there always went a meat offering with a burnt offering.

22 . threshing instruments ] The threshing sledges , drawn by the oxen which Araunah offers for sacrifice. For a description of this implement see note on ch. 2 Samuel 12:31 . The word there is different, and that used here is found only in 1 Chronicles 21:23 and Isaiah 41:15 . Corn was either trampled out by oxen ( Deuteronomy 25:4 ), or beaten out by these machines. See Smith’s Dict. of Bible , Art. Agriculture . other instruments of the oxen ] Omit other . The instruments of the oxen were the wooden yokes. Cp. 1 Kings 19:21 ; 1 Samuel 6:14 . Chron. adds, “and the wheat for the meat offering.”

Verse 22. - Behold , here be oxen . Araunah was threshing out his wheat by dragging sledges or frames of wood without wheels over it. All these he at once gives to David, that the sacrifice may be offered without delay, as it would have cost much time and labour to bring wood up from the city. Instead of and other instruments of the oxen, the Hebrew has "the harness or furniture of the oxen," all of which was of wood. 2 Samuel 24:22

Here be oxen - Those, namely, which were at that very time threshing out the grain in Araunah's threshing-floor 1 Chronicles 21:20 ; Deuteronomy 25:4 . Threshing-instruments - This was a kind of sledge with iron teeth Isaiah 41:15. It was drawn by two or four oxen over the grain on the floor. Other instruments of the oxen - "i. e., the harness of the oxen," of which the yoke, and perhaps some other parts, would be made of wood (marginal references; 1 Samuel 6:14).

21. to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed—It is evident that the plague was not stayed till after the altar was built, and the sacrifice offered, so that what is related (2Sa 24:16) was by anticipation. Previous to the offering of this sacrifice, he had seen the destroying angel as well as offered the intercessory prayer (2Sa 24:17). This was a sacrifice of expiation; and the reason why he was allowed to offer it on Mount Moriah was partly in gracious consideration to his fear of repairing to Gibeon (1Ch 21:29, 30), and partly in anticipation of the removal of the tabernacle and the erection of the temple there (2Ch 3:1).

Aravnah replied, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold (i.e., there thou hast) the ox for the burnt-offering, and the threshing-machine, and the harness of the ox for wood" (i.e., for fuel). הבּקר, the pair of oxen yoked together in front of the threshing-machine. הבּקר כּלי, the wooden yokes. "All this giveth Aravnah, O king, to the king." המּלך is a vocative, and is simply omitted by the lxx, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, because the translators regarded it as a nominative, which is quite unsuitable, as Aravnah was not a king. When Thenius, on the other hand, objects to this, for the purpose of throwing suspicion upon the passage, that the sentence is thus stamped as part of Aravnah's address to the king, and that in that case the words that follow, "and Aravnah said," would be altogether superfluous; the former remark is correct enough, for the words "all this giveth Aravnah ... to the king" must form part of what Aravnah said, inasmuch as the remark, "all this gave Aravnah to the king," if taken as the historian's own words, would be in most glaring contradiction to what follows, where the king is said to have bought the floor and the oxen from Aravnah.

And the words that follow ("and Aravnah said") are not superfluous on that account, but simply indicate that Aravnah did not proceed to say the rest in the same breath, but added it after a short pause, as a word which did not directly bear upon the question put by the king. ויּאמר (and he said) is often repeated, where the same person continues speaking (see for example 2 Samuel 15:4 , 2 Samuel 15:25 , 2 Samuel 15:27 ). "Jehovah thy God accept thee graciously," i.e., fulfil the request thou presentest to Him with sacrifice and prayer.