Question 1

What does Gad tell David to do, and how specific is the instruction?

Accepted Answer

Gad’s message is very specific. He tells David to “go up” and “rear an altar to Yahweh” at a particular site: the threshing floor belonging to Araunah, identified further as “the Jebusite” (v. 18). This is not a general call to worship somewhere; it names the action (build an altar), the destination (a threshing floor), and the owner (Araunah). The level of detail makes the instruction testable and concrete within the story’s public setting.

Question 2

How does verse 19 describe the relationship between Gad’s words and Yahweh’s command?

Accepted Answer

Verse 19 links Gad’s “saying” and Yahweh’s command in a tight sequence: David goes up “according to the saying of Gad, as Yahweh commanded.” That wording presents David’s obedience to Gad as obedience to Yahweh, without explaining the mechanics of how Gad received the message. The text’s main point is the alignment: Gad’s instruction is treated as carrying Yahweh’s authority, and David’s response is framed as compliance with Yahweh’s will.

Question 3

What do Araunah’s actions in verse 20 communicate in the narrative?

Accepted Answer

Araunah’s actions show recognition and deference to royal authority in a public encounter. He sees “the king and his servants” approaching, then goes out to meet them rather than waiting for David to arrive (v. 20). He bows “with his face to the ground,” which signals formal respect and submission. Narratively, this sets a tone of cooperation and acknowledges David’s status, preparing for the conversation about why the king has come and what will happen at Araunah’s property.

Question 4

How does Araunah address David, and what does that reveal about their relationship?

Accepted Answer

Araunah speaks in a respectful, hierarchical way: “Why is my lord the king come to his servant?” (v. 21). The wording shows he views David as superior (“my lord the king”) and himself as subordinate (“his servant”). It also shows openness: he does not resist or challenge David’s arrival but asks for the purpose. The question creates space for David to state his intent plainly and publicly, which matters for understanding the following transaction and altar-building.

Question 5

According to David’s own words, why does he want the threshing floor?

Accepted Answer

David gives a three-part purpose statement in verse 21. First, he intends “to buy the threshing floor” from Araunah. Second, the reason for buying it is “to build an altar to Yahweh” on that site. Third, the stated goal is communal: “that the plague may be stayed from the people.” The verse connects the purchase to worship, and worship to the hoped-for end of the crisis. David does not describe it as a private memorial but as an act tied to public relief.

Question 6

What does the passage assume about the role of place and objects (an altar, a threshing floor) in responding to the plague?

Accepted Answer

The passage assumes that response to the plague involves a concrete action at a specific location. Gad does not tell David merely to pray; he directs an altar to be set up at a named threshing floor (v. 18). David then explains that he will purchase the site in order to build the altar there so the plague will stop (v. 21). Whatever else readers infer, the text itself presents the place, the altar, and the public act of worship as integral to the narrative’s movement toward the plague being “stayed.”},{

2 Samuel 24:18-21

Scripture