Poole on 2 Samuel 24:3-8: Joab's Numbering of the People

Verse 3:[1]  And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it:  but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?

[May the Lord add, etc.]  Joab perceived that this matter was going to be inconvenient.  Joab was sagacious, but in the matters of others rather than his own:  he was giving David good advice, but it accomplished nothing (Martyr).  He wants to deter the King; but, because it was difficult turn the man, powerful and old, from his opinion, he grasps at benevolence (Sanchez).  This speech carries emphasis; that is to say, the multiplication of the people to thee is so certain, as it it were already accomplished, if thou desist from this thy purpose (Malvenda).

[How great it now is, and let it be multiplied a hundredfold again,‎כָּהֵ֤ם׀ וְכָהֵם֙ מֵאָ֣ה פְעָמִ֔ים]  As those, and as those (or as these, etc., or those, etc. [Tigurinus Notes, certain interpreters in Malvenda], or as they are, etc. [Jonathan, Pagnine, Junius and Tremellius]) a hundred times (Septuagint, Montanus, Pagnine); however many there are a hundredfold (Junius and Tremellius); may He increase the people a hundredfold (Arabic, similarly the Syriac, Strigenlius).

[In the sight of my Lord the King]  Hebrew:  and the eyes of my Lord the King seeing[2] (Montanus, Septuagint), or let them see (Pagnine, Jonathan, Mariana, Tigurinus), they be seeing (Munster), or, they see this (Syriac); and with the eyes of the King seeing it (Junius and Tremellius).

[But what doth he want for himself, etc.?]  He asks concerning the reason; he know that he was not able to render it (Martyr).  It is an argument from inexpediency, or non-necessity:  Are they not all thy servants? 1 Chronicles 21:3 (Sanchez).

Why doth my lord the king delight in this thing:  What reason or necessity is there for this action?  It is to no purpose, and will be burdensome to thy people, and may offend God, and produce ill effects.

Verse 4:[3]  Notwithstanding the king’s word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host.  And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.

[But the speech of the King prevailed, etc.]  Joab obeyed without regard to the harm; because this was a matter indifferent in itself, and was able to be done to a good end (Menochius).  [Others otherwise:]  He sets himself in opposition to the King, but with a weak hand.  When the King was mourning Absalom, he acted more boldly.[4]  An order, which he knew to be contrary to the law, he ought not to have received against the dictates of his conscience.  But he was unwilling to lose the favor of his prince (Martyr).

[And the captains of the soldiers]  Joab appears to have led the soldiers, if any should perhaps resist, for the matter was odious (Martyr).

And Joab…went out, etc.:  Joab perceiving the king bent upon it, would not hazard the king's favour by further disputing or disobeying his command.

Verse 5:[5]  And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in (Deut. 2:36; Josh. 13:9, 16) Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river (or, valley[6]) of Gad, and toward (Num. 32:1, 3) Jazer…

They passed over Jordan; they began their computation in the eastern part of David’s dominions, which were beyond Jordan.  Pitched, or encamped:  For Joab carried with them divers of his commanders, and others; partly, for his honour, and, the credit of the work; partly, to assist him in that troublesome work; and partly, to overcome the people, in case they should oppose it as sinful or burdensome, or savouring of some evil design which David might have upon them.

[In Aroer]  Which was in the borders of Gad and Reuben; whence they appear to have traveled through the tribe of Reuben first; for here was the beginning of the possession of the Israelites on the other side of Jordan (Menochius).

Of the river of Gad, that is, of the river which lay in the tribe of Gad, or upon the borders of Gad and Reuben, which was called Arnon, Deuteronomy 2:36.

[And through Jazer]  For Jazer is, just as Aroer is also, near the river Arnon on the way to go through the whole region of Gilead, which is enclosed by the mountains of Gilead on the East, and pertains to the tribe of Gad (Menochius).  In the Hebrew it is ‎אֶל־יַעְזֵר.  To some it is one word, El-jaazer.  Others:  near Jazer, that is, not far from Jazer (Vatablus).

Toward Jazer, or, near Jazer, which also was upon the river Arnon.

Verse 6:[7]  Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi (or, nether land newly inhabited[8]); and they came to (Josh. 19:47; Judg. 18:29) Dan-jaan, and about to (Josh. 19:28; Judge. 18:28) Zidon…

To Gilead; to Mount Gilead, which lay northward from Arnon.

[Unto the lower land of Hodshi (thus Tigurinus, Pagnine), ‎תַּחְתִּ֖ים חָדְשִׁ֑י [9]]  Tahtim-hodshi (Montanus).  To the southern land Chodshi (Jonathan).  To the lower land recently gained (Junius and Tremellius) in the times of Saul, 1 Chronicles 5:10 (Junius, Piscator), with the Hagarites thence expelled (Malvenda).  The lower land where was a new habitation (Munster).

Tahtim-hodshi; a place so called.  Or, the lowland lately gained, that is, not given by Joshua, but taken lately from the Hagarites by Saul; which was near Gilead, 1 Chronicles 5:10.

[And they came to wooded[10] Dan]  Hebrew:  to Dan-jaan,[11] which is simply called Dan, Joshua 19:47, a famous city, the northern boundary of the promised land.  Our translator appears to have read Dan of the Forest, or the woodlands of Dan.  Dan is near the springs of Jordan close to mount Libanus (Malvenda).

Dan-jaan, that is, probably the famous city of Dan, as it is called, Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:7; for this was in the northern border of the land, and in the way from Gilead to Zidon.

[Hard by Zidon, ‎וְסָבִ֖יב אֶל־צִידֽוֹן׃]  And around Zidon (Vatablus, Junius and Tremellius), that is, near the places that were around Zidon (Vatablus).  The Israelites were holding the field, although the Canaanites were possessing the city:  just as it is also to be said concerning Tyre in the following verse (Malvenda out of Junius).

About to Zidon, that is, to the city and territory of Zidon; but not into it, because it was not in the power and possession of the Israelites:  and the like is to be thought concerning Tyre, and the cities which the Hivites and Canaanites yet possessed in the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon.

Verse 7:[12]  And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites:  and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beer-sheba.

[Near the bulwarks of Tyre[13]]  To the fortified city (or fortifications [Piscator]) of Tyre (Junius and Tremellius), namely, of Paleotyre, or Old Tyre; which was thirty stadia[14] removed from the new island of Tyre, as Strabo testifies in his Geography 16 (Malvenda).  The Greeks more correctly put the proper name of a place here, Μαψαρτύρου, Mapsaturos, which is to be restored in the Greek of Joshua 19:29, in which place the Greeks in the place of ‎עִיר/city appear to have read עַיִן/spring, and the copula in the Greek is superfluous[15] (Grotius).

[And they came, ‎וַיֵּצְאוּ [16]]  Whence they went forth (Pagnine), that is, whence they returned (Vatablus).

Verse 8:[17]  So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

[With the whole land surveyed]  Namely, of Israel, yet not numbered; for Levi and Benjamin were not numbered, 1 Chronicles 21:6, and Joab began to number, but finished not, etc.[18] (Menochius out of Sanchez).

[1] Hebrew: ‎וַיֹּ֙אמֶר יוֹאָ֜ב אֶל־הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וְיוֹסֵ֣ף יְהוָה֩ אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ אֶל־הָעָ֜ם כָּהֵ֤ם׀ וְכָהֵם֙ מֵאָ֣ה פְעָמִ֔ים וְעֵינֵ֥י אֲדֹנִֽי־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ רֹא֑וֹת וַאדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לָ֥מָּה חָפֵ֖ץ בַּדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃

[2] Hebrew:  ‎וְעֵינֵ֥י אֲדֹנִֽי־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ רֹא֑וֹת.

[3] Hebrew: ‎וַיֶּחֱזַ֤ק דְּבַר־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֶל־יוֹאָ֔ב וְעַ֖ל שָׂרֵ֣י הֶחָ֑יִל וַיֵּצֵ֙א יוֹאָ֜ב וְשָׂרֵ֤י הַחַ֙יִל֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִפְקֹ֥ד אֶת־הָעָ֖ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

[4] See 2 Samuel 19:1-8.

[5] Hebrew:  ‎וַיַּעַבְר֖וּ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן וַיַּחֲנ֣וּ בַעֲרוֹעֵ֗ר יְמִ֥ין הָעִ֛יר אֲשֶׁ֛ר בְּתוֹךְ־הַנַּ֥חַל הַגָּ֖ד וְאֶל־יַעְזֵֽר׃

[6] Hebrew:  ‎הַנַּחַל.

[7] Hebrew:  ‎וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ הַגִּלְעָ֔דָה וְאֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ תַּחְתִּ֖ים חָדְשִׁ֑י וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ דָּ֣נָה יַּ֔עַן וְסָבִ֖יב אֶל־צִידֽוֹן׃

[8] Hebrew:  ‎תַּחְתִּ֖ים חָדְשִׁ֑י.

[9] תַּחַת signifies the under part; חָדָשׁ, new.

[10] יַעַר signifies forest.

[11] Hebrew:  ‎דָּ֣נָה יַּ֔עַן.

[12] Hebrew:  ‎וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ מִבְצַר־צֹ֔ר וְכָל־עָרֵ֥י הַחִוִּ֖י וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑י וַיֵּֽצְא֛וּ אֶל־נֶ֥גֶב יְהוּדָ֖ה בְּאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃

[13] Hebrew:  ‎מִבְצַר־צֹר, Mibzar-tsor.

[14] That is, about three miles.

[15] Joshua 19:29:  “And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre (‎וְעַד־עִ֖יר מִבְצַר־צֹ֑ר; καὶ ἕως πηγῆς Μασφασσὰτ καὶ τῶν Τυρίων, and to the fountain of Masphassat and the Tyrians, in the Septuagint); and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib…”

[16] 2 Samuel 24:7:  “And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites:  and they went out (‎וַיֵּצְאוּ) to the south of Judah, even to Beer-sheba.”

[17] Hebrew:  ‎וַיָּשֻׁ֖טוּ בְּכָל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיָּבֹ֜אוּ מִקְצֵ֙ה תִשְׁעָ֧ה חֳדָשִׁ֛ים וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים י֖וֹם יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃

[18] 1 Chronicles 27:24.