1 Chronicles 27:23

When David told Joab to count the men of Israel, he did not tell him to count the men who were less then 20 years old, because Yahweh had promised many years previously that there would be as many people in Israel as there are stars in the sky.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.

In Context

22Azarel, the son of Jeroham, was the administrator of the tribe of Dan. Those were the leaders over the tribes of Israel.

24Joab and his helpers started to count the men of Israel, but they did not finish counting them because Joab knew that Yahweh was angry about their being counted. Yahweh punished [MTY] the people of Israel because of this counting, and as a result the total number of Israeli men able to serve in the army was not written on the scroll about King David’s rule.

Read all of 1 Chronicles 27

Cross References

Genesis 22:17that some day your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. And your descendants will defeat their enemies and capture their cities [SYN].’

2 Samuel 24:1Yahweh was angry with the Israeli people again, so he incited David to cause trouble for them. He said to David, “Send some men to count the people of Israel and Judah.”

Hebrews 11:12So, although Abraham was also too old to have children, so many people descended from that one man that they were as numerous as the stars in the sky and are as countless as the grains of sand along the seashore, just like God promised him.

Matthew Henry on 1 Chronicles 27:17-34

The Military Force. ( b. c. 1015.) 16 Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah: 17 Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok: 18 Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael: 19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel: 20 Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study 1 Chronicles 27:23