T<\/span>he thesis of John Wright\u2019s 1993 essay on the Chronicler\u2019s account of David\u2019s census (1 Chronicles 21) is implausible. Commentators, he says, have read the Chronicler\u2019s narrative through the lens of 2 Samuel 24, which recounts the same event. Wright argues that the Chronicler doesn\u2019t retell the story of Samuel, but subverts it.<\/p>\n For the Chronicler, the problem isn\u2019t the census but Joab\u2019s failure to complete the census. Joab should carry out the commands of the king, but he stops the census because of his own scruples. Wright points out that \u201cGod was displeased with this thing\u201d (v. 7) immediately follows the notice that \u201cJoab did not number Levi and Benjamin,\u201d suggesting that in this case post hoc<\/em> does mean propter hoc<\/em>: \u201cthis thing\u201d is Joab\u2019s cessation rather than David\u2019s original command.<\/p>\n But this requires Wright to argue that David is wrong to confess sin (v. 8); he confesses to a sin he didn\u2019t commit. And it requires Wright to say that Yahweh \u201cplays along\u201d with David\u2019s unnecessary confession by offering the king three judgments to choose from (vv. 9\u201312). The chapter idealizes David.\u00a0Faced with an ambiguous, impenetrable God, David takes responsibility even for sins he didn\u2019t commit. But it leaves Yahweh looking manipulative, a wanton god who treats people like flies, accusing for sport.<\/p>\n Further, Joab\u2019s question to David\u2014\u201cwhy does my Lord seek (Heb. baqash<\/em>) this thing?\u201d\u2014is a loaded one (as pointed out by David Gard in \u201cThe Chronicler\u2019s David: Saint and Sinner,\u201d Concordia Theological Quarterly 70 [2006]: 233\u201352). The verb has been used several times in the previous chapters of 1 Chronicles, most notably in the Psalm performed by the Levitical choir at the ark-tent in Jerusalem.\u00a0David should remember the song: \u201cLet the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. . . . Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually\u201d (1 Chronicles 16:10\u201311). David doesn\u2019t<\/em> seek the Lord\u2019s strength; he seeks strength in numbers. And he is not<\/em> glad.<\/p>\n Wright\u2019s thesis is, as I say, implausible. But along the way, Wright does offer some important insight into the chapter.\u00a0<\/p>\n 1 Chronicles 21 famously begins with \u201cThen Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.\u201d It\u2019s a curious statement, especially in the light of 2 Samuel 24, which attributes David\u2019s census to Yahweh\u2019s anger (2 Samuel 24:1). Wright points out that the Hebrew satan<\/em> means \u201cadversary,\u201d and could refer to a human adversary (as in 1 Kings 11, where several \u201csatans\u201d assail Solomon). The Hebrew text lacks the definite article; this is not \u201cthe<\/em> Satan\u201d but \u201ca satan.\u201d Wright argues that David musters the army because of an attack from a foreign power.<\/p>\n That makes sense of both 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. In the former, Yahweh\u2019s anger burns and he incites David to take a census.\u00a0That might mean that Yahweh implanted a desire in\u00a0David (Yahweh does \u201cstir the spirits\u201d of men).\u00a0But it might also mean that in His anger Yahweh sent a foreign power against David, a test of David\u2019s faith. David flunks; instead of pacifying the Lord\u2019s anger, David relies on military power. Similarly, in 1 Chronicles 21, David is moved to muster the troops because an adversary attacks.<\/p>\n Wright\u2019s point about David\u2019s responsibility can be rehabilitated. David is himself responsible for the plague.\u00a0He\u2019s not wrong to say \u201cI have sinned greatly\u201d (see my discussion here<\/a>). He is atoning for his own sin, but he also acts on behalf of the entire nation. He pays for the threshing floor, buys the wood and animals for sacrifice, and bears the cost of the sacrifice. As king, he knows he can\u2019t use someone else\u2019s property to offer atonement on Israel\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n Wright highlights the specific tribes that Joab leaves out of his census\u2014Benjamin and Levi (1 Chronicles 21:6). For Wright, this is Joab\u2019s sin, leaving out essential tribes in violation of David\u2019s command. But if we assume that Joab is acting righteously (and in the context of Chronicles, there\u2019s no reason to assume otherwise), we might speculate on why the mustering of these particular tribes makes David\u2019s command abhorrent to Joab.\u00a0<\/p>\n Benjamites risked everything to join David while Saul was king (1 Chronicles 11\u201312); they are Yahweh\u2019s gift to David, stirred up by the Spirit to join him instead of clinging to Saul (cf. 1 Chronicles 12:16\u201318). For David to lay hands on this tribe is a particular offense against Yahweh. Even more so the Levites, who belong to Yahweh in a unique way, His own special possession.\u00a0In seizing this tribe and deploying them for his own purposes,\u00a0David lays claim to Yahweh\u2019s prerogatives.<\/p>\n