Passage Analysis Essay: David takes a Census
Historical/Cultural
The Biblical passage found in 2 Samuel 24 tells the story of king David taking a census of Israel and Judah and in result of this, receiving punishment from God.The two books of Samuel were previously one book but were divided in the Hebrew Bible in the fifteenth century. The two books, along with I and II Kings make up a four part history of the kings of Israel. Seeing as the books of I and II Samuel cover a large span of time in Israel's history, no one man could have lived through the entire history and written the books by himself. Because of this, many scholars believe that there are multiple authors of the books in addition to multiple outside sources having been used to create this completion (NBD “Samuel, the book of” 1056).
The main focus of this story is on the census that David took of Israel and Judah. A census in the ancient near east, during the reign of David was much different than the censuses which are taken today. Today, a census is a numbering of all citizens, male and female which includes details such as age, sex, and race. During reign of David, censuses were taken primarily for specific purposes, such as the distribution of rations, fiscal revenues, or military levies (ABD “Census”). Concerning the census taken by David in 2 Samuel 24, it is a count of the number of men of military age from the the border of Dan, which is located in the north of Israel, just below Mt. Hermon and Beer-sheeba, which is a town located in the south Judean desert (ABD “Dan” and “ Beer-sheba” 641, 12).
The story of David being punished by God for taking a census takes place in the nation of Israel during the four hundred-year dynasty of king David. During h...
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...passage but at the root of it all is David's humanity. Though David was anointed and a “man after God's own heart”, he made many mistakes. This passage shows that David was not perfectly in tune with God's voice at all times. David did something God clearly did not want him to do, and did not realize the consequences until after the sin had already been committed. However, even though David did sin, and his sin was punished, he had a heart of repentance when he realized what he had done and was willing to make things right at all costs. Theologically, the lesson that should be drawn from this is that it was not David's actions which made him great, but his heart to please God, and even greater, God's heart of mercy towards him. If it had not been for God's intervention, David would have been nothing more but another man.
David was a young boy who got beaten everyday. He was very skinny, bony, and was beaten everyday. David wore threadbare clothing, he looked as if he hadn't changed or washed his clothes in months. This was the truth, his mother starved him and abused him. She never washed his clothes to embarrass him. This worked at first when people started making fun of him, but David got used to it. Bullies started beating the scrawny boy up everyday, it became a routine, but he was so frail and weak from being starved he couldn?t fight back. David looked muddled, he had a very terrible physical journey that made him mentally stronger.
After the passing of Solomon, Israel and Judah were partitioned into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms separately. The book was composed in the middle of the fifth year and twenty-seventh of the exile in Babylon.
A loss of David’s innocence appears during his killing of a magpie. This “it can be done in a flick of the finger”. The particular significance about this plays an important part in his as he considers that he also is capable of committing such unfortunate yet immoral things. “Looking in the dead bird’s eye, I realised that these strange, unthought of connections - sex and death, lust and violence, desire and degradation - are there, there, deep in even a good heart’s chambers”.
The theme of these three chapters is God’s modeling of King David. This theme develops throughout the three chapters with the disobedience and punishment of David.
Then, in 1738, David went to live with a man named Rev. Mr. Fiske. It was here that David kept a regular schedule of religious things. Here, he read the entire many times through in less than a year, and Rev. Fiske gave him the counsel, as he put it to: “wholly abandon young company, and associate myself with grave elderly people.”3 David took the advice to heart. Even after Mr. Fiske's death, David continued to be very religious.4
...hard to understand fully because of its comprehensive metaphoric language and the difference in culture from present day. It is also sometimes hard for us to understand God's actions because we think of him simply loving and caring rather than ruthless and violent. We need to understand that the creation of mankind is taking place in the recordings of these scriptures and so things may not be as customary as we would like to think. I believe that God has a plan for everyone. And, in the case of Saul, he had a plan to take away his kingdom in order to pass it on to David so the formation of history could continue. I also think this passage, like many other passages from the Bible, has a message linked to it, a lesson to the story if you will. The lesson is to prove that God's unlimited power must never be taken for granted or there surely will be hell to pay.
Joseph makes David explain what he said was wrong and then made the whole family pray. One small point that David made, made his father react in such a way shows how religious joseph stern is and how closely he follows the laws. When joseph reacts this way to one small thing a person says, it can indicate or hint at how he would react if he found out about the fact that Petra and David can think shape, and what the consequences would be if he ever found out their secret. This is why David and Petra must take precaution because of the fact that their father is set in stone with his beliefs and that religious fanaticism can influence a person and have no other sympathy for family or anyone if they are not the true image of
Zvi, Ehud Ben. "The Twelve." In The Jewish Study Bible, edited by Marc Zvi Brettler, Michael Fishbane and Adele Berlin, 1139-1142. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
The book of Judges is the sequel to Joshua. It is the seventh book of the Old Testament. It recounts stories and events from the death of the hebrew leader and prophet Joshua to the birth of the hebrew Samuel. That is roughly, from the end of the Israelite conquest of Canan in the 13th Century B.C to the begining of the monarchy in the 11 th century B.C. It tells about the hebrews from Joshua’s Death to the time of Samuel. It was written in about 550 BC, on tablets named the Ras Shamra tablets. The Ras Shamra tablets where later discovered in the early 20th Century, even though the stories and acountings of the judges where already known and written. The book of Judges belongs to a specific historical tradition which is called the Deuteronomic history. The author of the book of Judges, was in exile in Babylonia. While in exile he was deeply concerned with foreign domination. So he wrote many of his stories on the migration of the tribe of Dan to the North and the sins of the Benjamites. The author emphasized that Israel was being influenced by foreign powers and the loss of freedom and prosperity. Recurring throughout the book is the stereotyped formula: "The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the lord." Then after each period or subjection the author introduces another formula: " But when the people of Israel cried the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people. Through-out the book, the book of judges tells about prophets, rulers and influencial people such as: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tilian and Samson. There are also many more minor people.
The way we have been raised and the relationships we build towards our parents and other individuals have a huge impact on our entire life. Small situations that accour in or during our childhood, can have vital effects and consequences the rest of our life's. Neglection and age differents can be one of many reasons due to an unstable development. David was confronted with some of these things along with topics as death, already at an early age. This caused a deep depression and superficial relationship with his parents and others. Life is something extremely valuable and it is extremely important how we influence and effect others. We are all on the “same” journey.
Scholars also believe the text of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel were originally one manuscript. These scholars believe the book of Samuel was written as a part of a whole sequence beginning with Joshua and ending with Kings. Others believe two literary sources lay behind the present form of Samuel. Though differences have been noted, such as the story of David and Goliath being much shorter in the Septuagint, these scholars still have not determined the author, time of writing or the purpose of the text. I noted some minor textual differences in my research but the main theme and message remained the same in all sources that I verified.
The book of first and second Kings is a continuation of the cyclical cycle that Israel follows throughout the Old Testament. The Israelites are unfaithful in their relationship to God, they are consequently disciplined by God through oppression, consequently they petition God for divine assistance, and God then sends a deliverer. In II Kings 4, the current deliverer for God’s people is a man named Elisha. In this particular scene of the Old Testament, readers are able to see Elisha’s miraculous power given by God in a time of Israel’s disobedience and discipline. This exegesis will explore the social and historical surroundings of the story, the contextual meaning behind the text, and its purpose in the Bible.
I was relieved that the text explained what being a Judge back then entailed and meant verses what we are familiar with the meaning of Judge. I had a rough idea of the meaning once I started reading, however to me it sounds like a nicer way of labeling someone as a military leader. I understand that Samson was one of the most famous of the Judges since he was known for his incredible strength. I was trying to figure out why the text focused on his love a weakness of Philistine women other than it somehow being used as a lesson of sort. All that comes to mind is the typical stories that we are use to about how great leaders and warriors have fallen because of their weakness for women. The text mentions that the story of Samson could be used
Smith, D. (n.d.). Why did God punish King David for taking a Census? Retrieved May 17, 2011, from BibleSudy.org: http://www.biblestudy.org/question/why-did-god-punish-king-david-for-taking-a-census.html
The narrative of David and Bathsheba has been of interest to commentators from all periods. This narrative focuses on the sin of David and gives insight into man’s nature as sinful and fallen, and offers the reader the lesson that this is the nature we possess. The narrative focuses on literary elements including the development of characters, the plot, and setting the narrative. This essay will summarize the narrative of David and Bathsheba and expound on the literary techniques the narrator uses.