So David paid Ornan
David's purchase from Ornan, also known as Araunah, is significant as it demonstrates his commitment to offering sacrifices to God that cost him personally, reflecting the principle that true worship involves sacrifice. This transaction occurs after David's sin of conducting a census, which led to a plague on Israel. The site belonged to Ornan, a Jebusite, indicating the peaceful integration of former Canaanite inhabitants into Israelite society. This act of purchasing the land rather than taking it by force underscores the importance of rightful ownership and integrity in worship.

six hundred shekels of gold
The amount paid, six hundred shekels of gold, is substantial, indicating the value David placed on the site. This sum reflects the importance of the location, which would later become the site of Solomon's Temple. The use of gold, a precious metal, highlights the significance of the transaction and the sacredness of the future temple site. In the broader biblical narrative, gold often symbolizes purity and divinity, pointing to the holiness of the place where God's presence would dwell.

for the site
The site in question is Mount Moriah, a location with deep biblical significance. It is traditionally identified as the place where Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, making it a place of profound faith and obedience. This site would later become the location of the Temple in Jerusalem, the central place of worship for Israel. Theologically, this site foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is often seen as the fulfillment of the sacrificial system established in the Temple. The purchase of this site by David sets the stage for the establishment of a permanent dwelling place for God's presence among His people.

1. David
The King of Israel, known for his heart after God, but also for his human failings. In this chapter, David is dealing with the consequences of his sin of conducting a census of Israel.

2. Araunah
A Jebusite who owned the threshing floor that David purchased. His willingness to give the site to David for free highlights his respect for the king and the God of Israel.

3. Threshing Floor
The site David purchased to build an altar to the Lord. It later becomes the location for Solomon's Temple, making it a significant place in Israel's history.

4. The Census
An event where David, against God's will, ordered a count of Israel's fighting men, leading to God's displeasure and a subsequent plague.

5. The Plague
A divine punishment for David's sin, which was halted when David built an altar and offered sacrifices on the threshing floor.Obedience and Repentance
David's willingness to pay for the site, despite Araunah's offer to give it for free, demonstrates the importance of obedience and genuine repentance. True repentance often requires a personal cost.

The Cost of Worship
Worship that costs us nothing is not true worship. David's insistence on paying for the site underscores the principle that our offerings to God should be meaningful and sacrificial.

God's Sovereignty and Mercy
Despite David's sin, God's mercy is evident in providing a way to stop the plague. This teaches us about God's sovereignty and His readiness to forgive when we turn back to Him.

The Significance of Place
The purchase of the threshing floor, which becomes the site of the Temple, shows how God can use our actions to fulfill His greater purposes. Our obedience can have far-reaching implications.(25) So David gave to Oman for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.--Literally, shekels of gold--a weight of six hundred. Samuel has, "And David purchased the threshingfloor and the oxen for silver, fifty shekels." The two estimates are obviously discordant. We have no means of calculating what would have been a fair price, for we know neither the extent of the purchase nor the value of the sums mentioned. But comparing Genesis 23:16, where four hundred shekels of silver are paid for the field and cave of Machpelah, fifty shekels of silver would seem to be too little. On the other hand, six hundred shekels of gold appears to be far too high a price for the threshingfloor. Perhaps for "gold" we should read "silver." It has, indeed, been suggested that "the authors were writing of two different things," and that Samuel assigns only the price of the threshingfloor and oxen; whereas the chronicler, when he speaks of "the place," means the entire Mount of the Temple (Moriah), on which the floor was situate. But a comparison of the two narratives seems to identify the things purchased--"the place" (1Chronicles 21:25) is "the place of the threshingfloor" (1Chronicles 21:22); and in both cases Samuel has "the threshingfloor." Tradition may have varied on the subject; and as "there is no positive mention of the use of gold money among the Hebrews" apart from this passage (Madden), ours is probably the later form of the story. However this may be, the chronicler has doubtless preserved for us what he found in his original. It is interesting to compare with this sale some of those the records of which are preserved in the Babylonian Contract Tablets. One of these relates how D?n-sum-iddin sold a house and grounds in Borsippa for eleven and a-half minae of silver, i.e., 690 shekels. This was in the second year of Nabonidus the last king of Babylon.

Verse 25. - Six hundred shekels of gold by weight. The only way to reconcile this statement with that of the parallel place, which (2 Samuel 24:24)speaks of "fifty shekels of silver" (i.e. taking the shekel at 2s. 8d., equal to about £6 13s. 4d.) as the price of "the threshing-floor and the oxen," is to suppose that the fifty shekels speak of the purchase money of the oxen indeed, but not of the floor itself, which was valuable, not only for size and situation, but also for its prepared construction; or again, keeping to the literal language of Samuel, that "the floor and the oxen" are intended, while our expression, "the place," may designate the whole hill. The value of gold as compared with silver was as sixteen to one. If this be the solution, we should have again an instance of the compiler of this book seizing for perpetuation the point of greatest and most permanent interest, i.e. the purchase of the whole place.

Parallel Commentaries ...


So David
דָּוִ֛יד (dā·wîḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

paid
וַיִּתֵּ֥ן (way·yit·tên)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

Ornan
לְאָרְנָ֖ן (lə·’ā·rə·nān)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 771: Ornan -- a Jebusite

six
שֵׁ֥שׁ (šêš)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 8337: Six (a cardinal number)

hundred
מֵאֽוֹת׃ (mê·’ō·wṯ)
Number - feminine plural
Strong's 3967: A hundred

shekels
שִׁקְלֵ֣י (šiq·lê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8255: A weight, a commercial standard

of gold
זָהָ֔ב (zā·hāḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2091: Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky

for the site.
בַּמָּק֑וֹם (bam·mā·qō·wm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a condition


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OT History: 1 Chronicles 21:25 So David gave to Ornan (1 Chron. 1Ch iCh i Ch 1 chr 1chr)