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1 Chronicles 21:28-30
The closing verses explain why David continues sacrificing at this place, contrasting Gibeon’s altar with fear that limits further inquiry.
Meaning in context
David perceives that yahweh has “answered” him at Ornan’s threshing floor, and he responds by offering sacrifices there.
A background clarification: the tent made in the wilderness and the primary burnt-offering altar are, at that time, located at the high place in Gibeon.
Despite Gibeon’s standing facilities, David does not go there to inquire, because he is afraid on account of the angel’s sword.
Section 6 of 6
Worship shifts from Gibeon to Ornan
The closing verses explain why David continues sacrificing at this place, contrasting Gibeon’s altar with fear that limits further inquiry.
Movement
Remembering David after exile
Artifact
Genealogies and temple preparation
Biblical Timeline
Exile & Return
1 Chronicles context: 586 BC - 400 BC
Biblical Timeline
Exile & Return
1 Chronicles context
Exile & Return / 586 BC - 400 BC
1 Chronicles context is set in the exile and return, where Babylonian exile, return, rebuilding, and renewed covenant life under Persian rule.
Scripture Text
Thesis
The closing verses explain why David continues sacrificing at this place, contrasting Gibeon’s altar with fear that limits further inquiry.
Plain Meaning
David perceives that yahweh has “answered” him at Ornan’s threshing floor, and he responds by offering sacrifices there.
A background clarification: the tent made in the wilderness and the primary burnt-offering altar are, at that time, located at the high place in Gibeon.
Despite Gibeon’s standing facilities, David does not go there to inquire, because he is afraid on account of the angel’s sword.
Literary Context
These verses close the plague-and-altar sequence that follows David’s census in 1 Chronicles 21, moving from crisis to resolution and then to a practical note about worship location. The narrator contrasts the newly used site (Ornan’s threshing floor) with the continuing presence of the older tent-and-altar complex at Gibeon (see 1 Chronicles 21:28–30).
Historical Context
The scene presumes a transitional period in which older Israelite cultic infrastructure associated with the wilderness tabernacle is situated at Gibeon while royal activity is centered at Jerusalem. It also reflects ongoing interactions with non-Israelite residents (e.g., Jebusite landholders) as property and prominent sites near the capital change hands.
Theological Significance
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Keep Studying
afraid (niḇ·‘aṯ)