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1 Chronicles 21:1–6, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Chronicles 21:1–6
An adversary provokes David's disputed census
An adversary stands up, and David orders a count
Satan stands up against Israel, and provokes David to number Israel. The unarticulated Hebrew may mean an adversary or the proper name Satan; the verse does not settle later demonology by itself. David says to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.
2 Samuel 24 says the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel and that he moved David to number them. Chronicles names an adversary who provokes. The difference is material. Do not hide Samuel to protect a theory of agency, and do not hide Chronicles to keep God as the only actor. David is not a passive victim in either telling: he gives the command.
Joab objects; Levi and Benjamin are left out
Joab answers, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? Why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? Nevertheless the king's word prevails against Joab.
Joab goes, comes again to Jerusalem, and gives the sum: a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword in Israel, and four hundred threescore and ten thousand in Judah. Levi and Benjamin he does not count among them, for the king's word was abominable to Joab. Totals differ from Samuel. Counting people is not always sinful in Scripture; this military census, pressed against objection, is the only major narrated Davidic sin in Chronicles. Numbers do not measure human worth, and they do not excuse the king.
How this should shape us
When two biblical books name different incitement, say both. Hold the leader who ordered the count responsible. Do not treat a demanded headcount as harmless curiosity when the officer already calls it trespass.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Chronicles 21:1–6 in your own words. Include its movement, placement in Chronicles, one Samuel-Kings comparison, one material uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one modern use the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: The unarticulated Hebrew satan may mean an adversary or the proper name Satan; 2 Samuel 24 attributes incitement differently, totals differ, and 4QSam-a and Greek evidence complicate the textual history.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
1 Chronicles 21:1–6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 21:1–6
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 21:1–6, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Supports: Complete thesis comparison of witnesses, narrative structure, census differences, Ornan's site, David's responsibility, and the episode's effect on Davidic memory.
Shaffo, The Purpose of the Census Narrative in Chronicles (2022), method pp. 1–11; 2 Samuel 24 pp. 12–31; 1 Chronicles 21–22:1 pp. 33–78; legacy pp. 110–126
Supports: Only the exposed late-Persian and alternative-history framing plus the fact of deliberate rewriting; not uninspected detailed claims.
Levin, 'The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?' (2020), pp. 173–188; official opening, XML metadata, and chapter record
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Supports: Complete Greek-witness translation comparison and introductory controls, used where the Septuagint materially differs without treating a translation as the underlying Greek text.
NETS, 1 Supplements (2009), translator introduction pp. 342–343 and 1 Supplements 21:1–6 within pp. 344–368
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 21:1–6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 21:1–6
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 21:1–6, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗open access masters thesis
The Purpose of the Census Narrative in Chronicles and Its Impact on David's Legacy
Peter Shaffo
Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University, 2022
Supports: Complete thesis comparison of witnesses, narrative structure, census differences, Ornan's site, David's responsibility, and the episode's effect on Davidic memory.
Exact location: Shaffo, The Purpose of the Census Narrative in Chronicles (2022), method pp. 1–11; 2 Samuel 24 pp. 12–31; 1 Chronicles 21–22:1 pp. 33–78; legacy pp. 110–126
Open source ↗peer reviewed scholarly book chapter limited access
The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?
Yigal Levin
Writing and Rewriting History in Ancient Israel and Near Eastern Cultures, Mohr Siebeck, 2020
Supports: Only the exposed late-Persian and alternative-history framing plus the fact of deliberate rewriting; not uninspected detailed claims.
Exact location: Levin, 'The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?' (2020), pp. 173–188; official opening, XML metadata, and chapter record
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility: Chronicles in Its Ancient Context
Isaac Kalimi
Poznan Theological Studies repository edition, pp. 7-25, 2019 repository edition
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Exact location: Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Open source ↗septuagint translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: 1 Supplements
C. E. V. Nixon
Oxford University Press; International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 2009
Supports: Complete Greek-witness translation comparison and introductory controls, used where the Septuagint materially differs without treating a translation as the underlying Greek text.
Exact location: NETS, 1 Supplements (2009), translator introduction pp. 342–343 and 1 Supplements 21:1–6 within pp. 344–368
Open source ↗