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but Bochartus also here read three years, fol- | could there be originally a contradiction? lowing the LXX. who have erŋ τpía, whom Or, can we, with any appearance of sense, most of the ancients follow, as Bochartus assert that three is an historical epitome of observes in his Hierozoicon, par. i., lib. ii., seven? But yet we shall be told perhaps, cap. 38. Yet Josephus here hath seven that we had better adopt Buxtorf's maxim, years and many think that Gad at first Utrumque bonum, quia utrumque scriptum; propounded seven years: but afterward, at (page 420) especially, as there is great David's prayer, shortened them to three. weight in one of his canons of criticism, Other solutions are in every interpreter, who (page 414), Rei veritas non in verbis conadheres to this reading of seven years (see sistit, sed in sententia. A canon! the most Buxtorf's Vindic. Verit. Hebr. par. ii., wisely established because of its universal cap. 2 and cap. 8, p. 523). influence! A canon, that will excuse every Ken. We have here, delivered by the blundering assertion, not only of its author prophet Gad, a most solemn message; David but of all the fraternity of writers, provided is commanded to choose one of the three it be but true; which, I confess, if a senfollowing judgments, seven years' famine, tence be composed of words, I shrewdly three months' flight before the enemy, or suspect it is not. I shall only add, that the three days' pestilence. But in 1 Chron. contradiction here again seems to have been xxi. 12, the proposal runs more regularly, occasioned by the mistake of a numeral (not seven but) three years, three months, letter, , three, for 1, seven. So Dr. A. or three days. Can there be any doubt of Clarke. a mistake here? Did the prophet Gad Houb. Do you, anni septem. 1 Par. deliver this message twice? If only once, xxi. 12, who, tres anni, quam scripdid he propose both seven and three years turam habuere Græci Intt. Nos vero eam of famine? If three years, the number hic etiam sequimur, quia tres anni respondent seven is wrong; and if seven years, the tribus mensibus et tribus diebus. Nugantur number three is wrong: common sense seems hic rabbini Judæi, cum dicunt hæc accidisse fully sufficient to determine such a point as anno tertio famis ejus, quæ grassata est, this is. And yet we find some men, and propter Gabaonitas a Saüle interfectos, proeven Archbishop Usher in his Annals, plead- positumque Davidi fuisse, ut eligeret tres ing for the truth of these different readings! alteros annos famis, postea annum famis And this, notwithstanding that great man septimum fore annum Sabbaticum. Quos si has expressed himself so strongly as to the audiemus, jusserit David, fame grassante, fallibility of Jewish transcribers, Ad me quod populi censum fieri, quo nihil stolidius. attinet, sententia mea hæc perpetua fuit,...T, hostes tui. Grammatica ratio vult Hebræum Vet. Testamenti codicem scribarum, hoste tuo; nam sequitur,, et erroribus non minus esse obnoxium, quam ipse persequetur te. .....', qui misit me. novi codicem et libros omnes alios. De 1 Par. xxi. 12, ho na, ei qui misit me, ut LXX Versione Syntag., p. 219. If then et legendum; vel ', pro ; nam utrumone of the numbers be corrupted, the unique in usu est post 17, respondere. formity of the number three, still observed in two instances in Samuel and in all three Ver. 14, 15.

in Chronicles, will induce us to presume the TENT ON 14 three corrupted into seven; especially as

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דֶּבֶר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל מֵהַבֹּקֶר וְעַד־עֵת מוֹעֵד The advocates for the integrity of the וַיָּמָת מִן־הָעָם מִדָּן וְעַד־בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע Hebrew text may perhaps say with their

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רחמיו קרי

champion Buxtorf, as to the differences of Bible numbers, Satius est ignorantiam nostram agnoscere, et UTRUMQUE RECTUM ESSE PIE CREDERE. Historiæ enim illa non sunt 14 καὶ εἶπε Δαυίδ πρὸς Γάδ, στενά μοι ita accurate secundum omnes circumstantias conscripta, sed breves tantum epitoma. (Anticrit. page 401.) But, when the same circumstances are mentioned in two places,

πάντοθεν σφόδρα ἐστίν· ἐμπεσοῦμαι δὴ εἰς χεῖρας κυρίου, ὅτι πολλοὶ οἱ οἰκτιρμοὶ αὐτοῦ opódpa, eis dè xeîpas ȧv¤рúñοv où μǹ éμñèow. 15 καὶ ἐξελέξατο ἑαυτῷ Δαυὶδ τὸν θάνατον,

καὶ ἡμέραι θερισμοῦ πυρῶν· καὶ ἔδωκε κύριος | Ansu. This he did in the beginning of the θάνατον ἐν Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν ἕως ὥρας third day, whereas otherwise it should have ἀρίστου, καὶ ἤρξατο ἡ θραῦσις ἐν τῷ λαῷ· gone on to the end of the day. Or it may καὶ ἀπέθανεν ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ ἀπὸ Δὲν καὶ ἕως Βηρσαβεέ, ἑβδομήκοντα χιλιάδες ἀνδρῶν.

Au. Ver.-14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great [or, many]: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

15 So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

14, 15, Man, &c. Ged., Booth.-14 into the hand of man. the pestilence.

But let me not fall
Thus David chose

signify no more but this, At the end of the third day God gave over smiting; for then is God said (after the manner of men) to repent, when he ceaseth to proceed as before he had done.

Bp. Patrick. From the morning.] From that time when Gad delivered the message, and David made his choice; which was in the morning, as we read before (ver. 11).

Even to the time appointed.] There are those who by "the time appointed," understand to the end of three days, mentioned by Gad, as the time appointed by the Lord for the continuance of this plague. But this is quite contrary to what follows, that 15 It was now the time of wheat harvest God repented him of the evil; and com[LXX]; and Jehovah sent a pestilence manded the angel that smote the people to upon Israel from the morning until mid- stay his hand. Therefore the LXX translate day; and there died of the people, from it better, ews &pas ȧpíorov, "until dinnerDan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men.

Until mid-day.] I have followed Syr. and Arab. who have both until the sixth hour. So equivalently Sep., until dinnertime. And so Josephus. Others render: until the appointed time.-Ged.

ing to the evening. For moed properly signifies an assembly and therefore the time moed he thinks is the time when the people met for evening prayer; about the ninth hour of the day. Which prayer, before the building of the temple, was made at the tabernacle, or in their synagogues. And therefore the tabernacle is frequently called ohel moed: and the synagogues are called in Psalm lxxiv. 18, moade el. So that he makes account this pestilence lasted no more than nine hours: which was the eighth part of three days.

time:" and so Procopius Gazæus. Certain it is, that moed signifies some part of that day when the plague began: and that must be either noon, or the evening. But, as Bochartus hath observed, the morning and evening are the parts of the day most Pool.-15 To the time appointed; either, opposite in Scripture (of which he gives 1 From morning to evening, which is here many instances), and therefore so he here called the time appointed; or, the time of understands it, that it continued from mornthe convention, or, public meeting, as this Hebrew word oft signifies, i. e., till the time of the evening prayer and sacrifice, when the people used more solemnly to meet together. See Psalm cxli. 2; Acts iii. 1. Thus God mitigated his sentence, and turned three days into one; it being a thing not unusual with God to qualify his threatenings, and to take off the evil threatened sometimes wholly, as in Nineveh's case, and sometimes in part. And this God might do here upon the speedy and serious repentance of David, and of his people. Or rather, 2. From the morning, (or rather, from that morning; for the article seems to be em- Dr. A. Clarke.-The threshing-place of phatical, and to denote that very morning Araunah.] In the parallel place, 1 Chron. in which Gad came to David, ver. 11, and xxi. 15, 20, &c., this person is called Ornan. that the plague did immediately ensue after The word that we render Araunah is written Gad's offer, and David's choice,) even to the in this very chapter 7, Avarnah, ver. 16, time appointed, to wit, by God, i. e., for three, Araniah, ver. 18, , Araunah or days, as God had set the time, ver. 13. Aravnah, ver. 20, and the following: but in Object. If it continued three days, how is it every place in 1 Chron. xxi. where it occurs said that God repented him of the evil, and it is written p, Ornan. It is likely he stopped the angel in his course? ver. 16. had both names, Araunah and Ornan: but

Ver. 16.

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was

taking of Jerusalem he was the king of the Jebusites; or, a man of the greatest authority among them, like a king; or descended from the blood royal of the Jebusites, as Dr. Lightfoot expresses it. But neither the Greek, nor the Syriac, nor the Arabic copies have the word king: nor was it in many of the Vulgar till Sixtus's correction; nor in the Chaldee paraphrast in the time of Kimchi [so Bp. Horsley], who cites it thus; "Araunah gave to the

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,king what the king asked of him. And אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ הַטְוֹב בְּעֵינָו וגו'

בעיניו ק'

καὶ εἶπεν Ορνὰ πρὸς Δαυίδ, λαβέτω καὶ ἀνενεγκάτω ὁ κύριός μου ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ κυρίῳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ· κ.τ.λ.

Au. Ver.-22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.

as Bochartus observes, Araunah (or Ornan) being mentioned fourteen times in the holy books, it is a wonder he should not be styled a king, but only here (Hieron., par. i., lib. i., cap. 38). rich man, as Josephus reports: whom the king spared when he took the fort of Zion; either because he was a lover of the Israelites, or had done some good office unto David.

But it is likely he was a very

Dr. A. Clarke.-23 As a king, give unto Houb.-22 Dixit Davidi Areuna; capiat the king.] Literally, all these did king vero Dominus meus rex, faciatque id quod | Araunah give unto the king. That there sibi videbitur, &c.

22, et ascendere faciat, seu offerat. Lege, w, et faciat, ut 1 Par. xxi. 23. Male Tò tuetur Buxtorfius, quasi in holocaustum mox offerendum conveniat, cum de holocausto nihil hactenus dictum fuerit. Præterea talem loquendi formam, ascendere faciat quod bonum erit in oculis ejus, pro victimam, quam volet, offerat, in codice Hebræo nusquam reperias, ut pote ab Hebr. sermone alienam. ..., Recte Masora, v, in oculis ejus.

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פסקא באמצע פסוק

τὰ πάντα ἔδωκεν ̓Ορνὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ. καὶ εἶπεν Ορνὰ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα. κύριος ὁ θεός σου εὐλογήσαι σε.

Au. Ver.-23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.

Bishop Patrick. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king.] The words in the Hebrew are, "these things gave Araunah the king unto the king." From whence some infer, that before the

could not be a king of the Jebusites on Mount Moriah, is sufficiently evident; and that there was no other king than David in the land, is equally so; the word, hammelech, “the king," given here to Araunah, is wanting in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic; in three of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in the parallel place in Chronicles; and, it is very probable, never made a part of the text. Perhaps it should be read, All these did Araunah give unto the king.

There is, however, a difficulty here. David had taken the fortress of the Jebusites many years before; yet it is evident that Araunah was proprietor of the soil at this time. It is not clear that he was a subject of David; but he paid him respect as a neighbour and a king. This is merely possible.

Ged.-23 All these Araunah proffered to the king, &c.

Booth. All these things Araunah offered to give to the king, &c.

Dathe. obtulit, &c. Houb.-23 Omnia hæc regi Areuna tradebat, &c.

23 Quæ omnia Aravna regi

Tho Thon, rex regi. Tolle, rex, quod verbum non legunt nec Græci Intt. nec Syrus, nec Arabs, nec vero etiam Vul

gatus, apud quem rex non erat, antequam | render this place thus, agreeably enough to
esset Sixtina editio; nec denique ipse Chal- the words and the order of the Hebrew text,
dæus, ut quidem ætate Davidis Kimki lege- he bought them for silver (or, for money, as
batur. Absurdum est Areunam illum Jebu- the Hebrew word cheseph oft signifies, and
sæum nominari regem. Clericus sic inter-particularly in this very history in the
pretatur, Areuna, O rex, omnia dat regi; parallel place, 1 Chron. xxi. 24, where
quasi ipse Areuna loqueretur, et se se David desires to buy it for the full price,
Areunam nominaret. Sed vidimus in supe- or for full money, where in the Hebrew it is
rioribus Areunam neque se ipsum nominare, for full silver), even for fifty shekels, to wit
et regem his verbis compellare,, of gold, as it is expressed 1 Chron. xxi. 25;
Domine mi rex, non uno verbo, O rex. which place they render thus, and that con-
Et præterea quis non videt coactam esse sonantly to the Hebrew, he gave shekels of
Clericanam istam interpretationem?
gold of the value (for the Hebrew word
mishkal signifies value as well as weight, as
was before noted on 2 Sam. xii. 30) of six
hundred shekels, to wit, of silver. And this

Ver. 24.

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nicles, lest it should be thought that the fifty

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וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל־אֲרַוְנָה לֹא כִּי־ may seem added in the Book of the Chro קָנוֹ אֶקְנֶה מֵאוֹתְךָ בִּמְחִיר וְלָא אַעֲלֶה shekels here mentioned were but common לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵי עֹלוֹת חִנָּם וַיִּקְן דוד -and silver shekels. Thirdly, There is a con אֶת־הַגּרֶן וְאֶת־הַבָּקָר בְּכֶסֶף שְׁקָלִים siderable difference in the phrase in these חֲמִשִׁים :

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς ̓Ορνά, οὐχὶ, ὅτι ἀλλὰ κτώμενος κτήσομαι παρὰ σοῦ ἐν ἀναλλάγματι, καὶ οὐκ ἀνοίσω τῷ κυρίῳ μου θεῷ ὁλοκαύτωμα δωρεάν· καὶ ἐκτήσατο Δαυίδ τὸν ἅλωνα καὶ τοὺς βόας ἐν ἀργυρίῳ σίχλων πεντήκοντα.

Au. Ver.-24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

two places: here he mentions for what
David bought it, or what he was obliged to
give for it; and in Chronicles what he
actually gave for it, to wit, of his royal
bounty, over and besides the full price of
it; which was decent and convenient for so
great a king, and especially upon so great
an occasion, and to him who had given him
such a noble example.

Bp. Patrick.-For fifty shekels of silver.] In the Chronicles we read, according to our translation, that he gave him "six hundred shekels of gold by weight," which Bochartus thus reconciles; that in one place he speaks Pool.-For fifty shekels of silver. Object. of shekels of gold, and in the other of In 1 Chron. xxi. 25, he is said to give for the shekels of silver. Whose proportion is place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. twelvefold, so that fifty shekels of gold are Answ. These two places may be fairly recon- in value as much as six hundred shekels of ciled divers ways. First, Here he speaks of silver. He quotes a place out of Plato in the price paid for the threshing-floor, and his Hipparchus, which proves that gold and oxen, and instruments; and there for the silver held this proportion. And then he whole place adjoining, on which the temple thus translates this place in Samuel, He and its courts were built, which certainly bought the floor and the oxen beceseph, for was very much larger than this threshing-money; viz., for "fifty golden shekels." So floor, and probably had Araunah's house, the word ceseph often signifies money in if not some others, now built upon it. general, of whatsoever metal it be as apSecondly, The shekels here may be of gold, pears from this very history, wherein David and in 1 Chron. xxi. of silver; and so the tells Ornan that he will buy the field of him, proportion of gold to silver being that of beceseph malo, which we translate, "at its twelve to one, fifty shekels of gold make full price," 1 Chron. xxi. 24. And then it six hundred shekels of silver. And whereas follows, he gave Ornan shikle zahav, "shekels it may be objected, that on the contrary these of gold," mishkall shesh mooth, "in value fifty shekels are said to be of silver, and the six hundred vulgar, or silver, shekels." See six hundred of gold, this they answer by Hierozoic., par. i., lib. ii., cap. 38, where another translation of the words. For they the word mishkall he acknowledges com

:

monly signifies weight; yet here denotes | verior videtur, pro toto illo Moriæ monte et value: as in 2 Sam. xii. 30. The design of ædificiis in eo constructis, quam hic minor Ezra being to show, that the fifty shekels he quinquaginta siclorum argenteorum; et tamen gave for the floor and oxen were not silver verss. antiquæ omnes in hac lectione con(which were most common), but shekels of sentiunt. gold: every one of which was worth twelve Houb.-24, emendo emam. Barof silver so that those fifty shekels were bare 17, pro : Duo codices orat., equivalent to six hundred silver ones. fuerat scribendum. ...' ', siclis quinBut there is a shorter way of solving this quaginta, 1 Par. xxi. 25, No vv, sexcentis difficulty by supposing, that for the thrash-(siclis) quas duas scripturas conciliare secum ing-floor and the oxen he gave only fifty frustra conantur interpretes quidam, seu shekels of silver: but all the ground about Judæi, seu Christiani. Clerico potius as

ut

it (out of which the court of God's house sentiendum sic observanti, “multo crediwere afterward made) cost him six hundred bilius est loginquitate ipsa temporis, aut shekels of gold. incuria librariorum, mendum in hunc locum Dathe.-1 Chron. xxi. 25, leguntur sex-irrepsisse, cum talia etiam alibi occurrant." centi sicli aurei, qui numerus major utique

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· καὶ περιέβαλλον αὐτὸν ἱματίοις, κ.τ.λ. Au. Ver. Now king David was old and stricken in years [Heb., entered into days]; and they covered him with clothes, and he gat no heat.

Clothes.

Houb., Booth.-Bedclothes.

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καὶ αὐτὸν ἔτεκεν ὀπίσω ̓Αβεσσαλώμ. Au. Ver.-6 And his father had not displeased him at any time [Heb., from his and he also was a very goodly man; and his days] in saying, Why hast thou done so? mother bear him after Absalom.

et ipsum,ואתו ילדה אחרי אבשלום 6-.Houb

peperit post Absalom. Est mendum manifestum, in quo pugnat sacra pagina ipsa secum. Etenim in hac serie orationis 1, et operiebant eum stragulis. non potest ad aliam matrem, quam ad Melius, plene, ut alibi sæpe ante Haggith, superiori versu memoratam, peraffixum hodierni ipsi codices. Interpre- tinere; itaque necesse erit sacram paginam tamur ', stragulis, non autem, ut multi, dicere, peperisse Haggith Adoniam, postvestibus. Nam aguntur operimenta hominis quam Absalom pepererat. Atqui Absalom in lecto decumbentis: id sequentia indicant. non habuit matrem Haggith, sed Macha, Si diurnæ vestes agerentur, poterat David filiam Tholmai, regis Gessur: vide 2 Sam. igne calefieri, quando vestes non depelle- iii. 3. Præterea nimis longo intervallo est bant frigus, nec conquisitum fuisset reme-, quam ut de Haggith efferatur, postdium illud insolitum, quod hic memoratur.

Ver. 3.

quam duæ periodi intercesserunt, in quibus aliæ personæ aguntur, nempe Adonias et Houb.-3, Et adduxerunt. Scriptio, genuit (David) Adoniam post Absalom, David. Vera scriptura est, vel, vel deficiens, pro ", quod quidem lego in in qua scriptura plana omnia sunt et cohæ

duobus codicibus orat.

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rentia. Declinavit a mendo Vulgatus, dum convertit, secundus natu post Absalom. Sed eodem mendo in errorem inductus est Arabs, ut crederet eadem matre fuisse natos Absa

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