Shmuel II Chapter 24 | The Plague and the Selection of Aravna’s Threshing Floor

This chapter stands as an independent narrative. It begins with God’s anger against Israel, leading Him to cause David to sin by conducting a counting of the people. Despite objections from Yoav, David persists in ordering the count. After recognizing his sin, David is given by the prophet Gad the choice of three punishments. He chooses a plague, saying, “Let us fall into the Hand of the Lord.” The story concludes with the plague being halted at the threshing floor (גורן) of Aravna the Jebusite, where David offers sacrifices.

In the parallel account in Divrei HaYamim, this event is described as a critical moment that leads to the selection of Jerusalem: “David built an altar there for the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the Lord commanded the angel, and he placed his sword back in its sheath. At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered ... ‘This is the House of the Lord God’, said David, ‘and this is the alter for Israel’s burnt offerings’” (Divrei HaYamim I 21:26–22, 22:1).

This story raises several questions: Why was God angry with Israel at the beginning, and why did His anger lead Him to incite David to sin? Why did David insist on counting the people despite Yoav’s protests? What is the significance of the unusual model where the prophet offers David a choice of three punishments? Finally, how does the resolution of the plague connect to the sin from the chapter’s start?

Harav Yaakov Medan and Rav Amnon Bazak (see shiurim below) each offer explanations for David’s sin in this story.

Harav Medan references Chazal’s interpretation that God was angry with Israel because they did not demand the construction of the Temple. What does this have to do with the counting for war? Harav Medan suggests that the sin lay not only in the method of the counting (conducted directly and not with half-shekels) but also in the very act of counting the army which shows that David was preparing his army. This preparation reflects a desire to conquer territory and to continue distant military campaigns. However, the time was not right! Before expanding his kingdom to far-off regions, David needed to establish the kingdom’s center of gravity in Jerusalem. Thus, the story’s conclusion — selecting Aravna’s threshing floor on Mount Moriah as the site of the divine presence — rectifies the original sin.

Rav Bazak focuses on the method of David’s counting, which ignored the Torah’s instruction to collect a half-shekel per person: “When you take the census of the Israelites, as you count, each must give ransom for his life to the Lord, so that no plague strikes them when you count them” (Shemot 30:12). In this story, the people were counted without giving the half-shekel, resulting in a plague. Why is this significant? A king counts his soldiers to recognize his military power, viewing them as a force that represents his might. The Torah requires a counting through the half-shekel to remind the king that the people do not belong to him but to God. Gad’s proposal for David to choose his punishment serves as a test: would David choose a punishment that affects only himself or one that impacts the entire nation? David’s ultimate response, “Look – I alone have sinned, and I alone offended. But this flock – what have they done? Please, let your Your hand move against me and against my father’s house,” expresses his realization that his role is to serve the people, not to use them for his own purposes. This acknowledgment is one of the factors that lead to the end of the plague.