Text: 2 Samuel 24:1
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 30:11-16
Subject: census ransom and plague aversion
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: David's census in 2 Samuel 24:1 brought devastating plague upon Israel, which illuminates by contrast the provision in Exodus 30:11-16 for a census ransom. Exodus required that when Israel was numbered, each person must give a כֹּפֶר נַפְשׁוֹ (kopher nafsho, "ransom for his life") of a half-shekel "so that no plague will come on them when you number them." David's failure to implement this ransom protocol when counting the people may explain why the census provoked divine judgment. The connection suggests that David's sin was not merely pride in military numbers but a violation of the Torah's specific provision for numbering God's people — treating Israel as his own army rather than as the LORD's redeemed community requiring atonement.