Difficult texts: 2 Samuel 24.1 – Why did God incite David?

Abstract

An implausible sentence begins the narrative of David’s census in 2 Samuel 24.1–17. There is no information that indicates that David and Israel had made a fatal mistake, but God suddenly became angry with them. Moreover, consequences of God’s wrath even included three days of plague for the people of Israel. In sum, God was the one who incited David to record the number of fighting men of Israel, but the Israelites grievously bore the divine punishment. This passage seems hard to understand. In fact, one of the possible solutions comes from Joab’s response to David’s order, which David should have anticipated.