This is unbelievable. I was really within a day of actually getting caught up, but Chronicles is (so far, anyway) so abjectly uninspiring that it's very, very difficult to muster the motivation to post something, since I'm essentially (as I said before) trying to find something interesting to write about a boring recap of stuff that's already happened.
*sigh*
HOWEVER, there is something that shows up in the latter half of 1 Chronicles that hinges on the fact that this is a re-run.
Fair warning to readers here, I have absolutely no answers for this one (not that I ever do, but at least this time I'm admitting it up front...) I have many questions, but no answers, so if one of you does, please feel free to share.
The point that I'm interested in here shows up in chapter 21 - the story of David ordering the census of Israel. It also appears in 2 Samuel 24. Since I've got space, I'll just copy both versions here, so you don't have to do any clicking.
First, from Samuel:
1 Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah." 2 The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, "Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people." 3 But Joab said to the king, "Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see ; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing ?" 4 Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon, 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave the number of the registration of the people to the king ; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. 10 Now David's heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly." 11 When David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, 12 "Go and speak to David, 'Thus the LORD says, "I am offering you three things ; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.""' 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land ? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land ? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me." 14 Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."15 So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough ! Now relax your hand !" And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, "Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong ; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father's house."
And then from Chronicles:
1 Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, "Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number." 3 Joab said, "May the LORD add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants ? Why does my lord seek this thing ? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel ?" 4 Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed against Joab. Therefore, Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. 5 Joab gave the number of the census of all the people to David. And all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword ; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. 6 But he did not number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king's command was abhorrent to Joab. 7 God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel. 8 David said to God, "I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly." 9 The LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying, 10 "Go and speak to David, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "I offer you three things ; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.""' 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Take for yourself 12 either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the LORD, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.' Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me." 13 David said to Gad, "I am in great distress ; please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man." 14 So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel ; 70,000 men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the LORD saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, "It is enough ; now relax your hand." And the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father's household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."
Now, for the most part, these two versions are pretty spot-on as far as harmony goes. They've got the same people doing stuff, saying virtually word-for-word the same lines, and the same stuff happening.
Except, and this is a pretty big one, I feel, for the fact that in the Samuel version, David orders the census taken because "the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited" him to do it. In the Chronicles version, "Satan stood up against Israel and moved David" to order the census.
What?
This is not a small thing, I feel. The implications of this seem to be pretty daunting, and this remains one of the very few actual contradictions that I can think of in the Bible (most "contradictions" that people point to are actually fairly easily explained, but this one... not so much) which is unnerving to say the least.
Also, does anyone have any idea why this census-taking thing is so bad? They've taken censuses (censi? censes?) before, and it was no problem, so why's it so bad now? I find it weird that the text doesn't actually seem to contain any clue at all as to why this is a bad move on David's part. Even Joab, who apparently immediately recognizes it as such, doesn't actually say why he is worried/puzzled by David's decision.
Anyway, so Chronicles is, apparently, either boring or both unnerving and confusing.
I'm not a fan so far, if I'm honest. We'll see how the sequel does, but I'm not holding my breath...
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