1 Chronicles 27:23

23 David didn't count the men who were 20 years old or less. That's because the LORD had promised to make the people of Israel as many as the stars in the sky.

1 Chronicles 27:23 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 27:23

But David took not the number of them from twenty years old
and under
Only those that were twenty years and upwards; but, according to Cornelius Bertram ^F11, he numbered them that were under twenty, though but sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen years of age, provided they were of robust bodies, and of a tall stature, and able to bear arms; which he takes to be the sin of David, in numbering the people, being contrary to the law of God; yet though he had ordered them to be numbered, and they were, yet he would not take them and put them into the account of his chronicles, as in the next verse, that his sin might not be known, see ( 2 Samuel 24:9 )

because the Lord had said, he would increase Israel like to the stars
in the heavens;
which are not to be numbered, and therefore David sinned in attempting to number the people.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F11 Lucubrat. Franktall, c. 2.

1 Chronicles 27:23 In-Context

21 Over the half of the tribe of Manasseh in Gilead was Iddo, the son of Zechariah. Over Benjamin was Jaasiel, the son of Abner.

22 Over Dan was Azarel, the son of Jeroham. Those were the officers over the tribes of Israel.

23 David didn't count the men who were 20 years old or less. That's because the LORD had promised to make the people of Israel as many as the stars in the sky.

24 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, began to count the men. But he didn't finish. The LORD was angry with Israel because David had begun to count the men. So the number wasn't written down in the official records of King David.

25 Azmaveth was in charge of the royal storerooms. He was the son of Adiel. Jonathan was in charge of the storerooms in the fields, towns, villages and lookout towers. He was the son of Uzziah.