The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 583

is, ho1'·e~er, quite possible that the additional Ver. 11.-For. when, etc.; BebNw and thrcc hundred thousl!.nd men were made up Damd ttroBt in the morning, and a ~rd of of 1lie thirly-eight thoul!Rnd Levites, as Jehouah came unto Gad, a ,ee,o of I1mn'd numhere<l on a later oocaeion by David, of saying. The visit of the seer wne the result the Deu_jarnites, and of the nliorigincs, who or David's repl'ntance, and not its co.use. belonged to the northern part of the ldngdom, And he V.'llS sent iu mercy, that., o.fter suoh and might be includod among "all they of punishment llS would cure both king and IBrncl" (I Chron. xxi. 5). The numbers people of their folly, there might be for both arc further nttaoked on the ground of cx- forgiveness. The ueme for seer is not rol!h, nggeration. A million and a half of fighting the old word used in 1 Sam. ix. 9, and w•bioh men means a gen,,ra.l population of six or simply m,eans "one who sees;" but choteh a 11•,ven millions. Now, Palestine at most gazer, one who loolcs with fixed eyes, th'at docs not contain more than ele,·en thousand penetrate into the hidden world. squ:.re miles, and a population of six millions Ver. 18.-Seven yea.re of famine. In l means five hundred and forty-five persons Cbron. :ui. 12 and here in the Septuegint we to every sque.re mile, or one to every acre. find "three years." This is probably right The country was undoubtedly very fertile as being in harmony with the rest. Three in ancient times, and the ruins of populous years of famine, tbrne months of defeat, or cities are found where now there is a waste. three days of pestilenco. In Ezek. xiv. 21 D11l there were vast forests and pasture- famine, pestilence, e.ud the sword are meri.- lands and downs, where there were the tioued as three of God's four sore judgments. means of subsistence for only a few. But But a fourth judgment is there enumerated, we must remember that the enumerators namely, that of the increase of wild beasts, went ns far north as Tne, and counted the in- and Joshua the Stylite says that in Meso- habitnnts, therefore, of the sea.board between potamia, ns o. rcsul t of the desolating war it and Sidon. Probably they also acted in between the Romans and Persians, about the same way in the south, where the limits A.D. 505, beasts of prey had become fio of Simeon were very uncertain. Besides numerous that they entered the villages a.nd this, there is a very remarkable undesigned carried off the children from the streets; and coincidence. '\\' e read in 1 Chron. xxvii. were so bold and ferocious that even the that David had a force of two hundred and men scarcely dared go about their labours eighty-eight thousand men, who formed his in the fields (Jos. Sty!., edit. Ur., chap. 85). regular army, and of whom twenty-four Now advise, and see; Hebrew, now know, thousand were called up for training every and see. The phrase is common in the month. But there e.re reasons for believing historical books (see 1 SRm. xii. 17 ;' xiv. 38; that David took for this purpose each fifth xxiii. 22; xxiv. 11; xxv. 17, etc.). Our man of those of the military age (see Sime, translators render the phrase in a multitude • Kingdom of All Isrnel,' p. 389); and thus of WRys without greatly improving it. the whole number of snch men would be Ver. 14.-Let us fall now into the hand one million four bnndi·ed and forty thousand. of J'ehove.h. David bad sinned against God, Ti,is, as Mr. Sime has shown (ibid., p. 378), and to God be humbly submitted himself. bolus a middle place between the one million There would thus be nothing to come be- three huudred thousand of the Book of tween the soul and God, and prevent tbo Samuel, and the one million five hundred ohestisement from having its due effect and seventy thousand of Chronicles, and upon the heart. A· famme would indeed shows that these numbers are not to be equally como from God, but would neces, rejected on the score of exaggeration. site.te effort and exertion on mo.n's po.rt. In Ver. 10.-De.vid's heart smote him. It the pestilence be would we.it patiently, nor appears fro,n 1 Ohron. xxvii 24 that the look to anything but prayer for averting ecnsus was not completed, e.nd, though Joe.b God's ju<lgment. In Ps. li. 1 Dnvid refers had visited Judah, be had not even begun to God's mercies, in much the same way as to eurol the names of the men of the tribe here, as being a motive to repentance. of Benjamin (I Obron. xxi. 6). It appears Ver. 15.-Even to the time appointed. nlso that the diepleBBUre of God was mani- This rendering, though very uncei-te.in, is festing itself before De.vid:repented (I Obron. retained in the Revised Version. It would xxi. 7; xxvii 24). Some sign of this, either mean; of course, the end of the third day, e.s in public trouble, or in the brooding of the the pestilence was to lo.et for that time.. The pestilential miasma over the land, brought objections to it are that there is no article home to David's mind the conviction of sin; in the Hebrew, so that literally it would be and be at once bumbled himself before God, "unto a time appoiu•,ed." Secondly, the for tl ,e vanity of mind which bad engendered ;pestilence did not continue unto the time in him a wicked lw,t; after martial glory and appointed, but WW! mercifully stayed. And thirst for bloodshed. I 1lave done very fool- thirdly, these words are o. literal translation, wuy{comp. I Sam. xiii. 13; 2 Chron. xvi. 9). indeed, of the Vulgate, but a violation of itd OH, XXIV, 1-25,] THE SIWOND 'BOOK OF SAMUEL. 599