2 Samuel 24:24 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Of that which doth cost me nothing; for this would be both dishonourable to God, as if I thought him not worthy of a costly sacrifice; and a disparagement to myself, as if I were unable and unwilling to offer a sacrifice of my own goods; and unsatisfactory to the command of God, which obligeth all offenders, and me in a particular manner, to offer sacrifice of their own estate. For fifty shekels of silver. Object. In 1 Chronicles 21:25, he is said to give for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. Answ. These two places may be fairly reconciled divers ways. First, Here he speaks of the price paid for the threshing-floor, and oxen, and instruments; and there for the whole place adjoining, on which the temple and its courts were built, which certainly was very much larger than this threshing-floor, and probably had Araunah's house, if not some others, now built upon it. Secondly, The shekels here may be of gold, and in 1Ch 21 of silver; and so the proportion of gold to silver being that of twelve to one, fifty shekels of gold make six hundred shekels of silver. And whereas it may be objected, that on the contrary these fifty shekels are said to be of silver, and the six hundred of gold, this they answer by another translation of the words. For they render this place thus, agreeably enough to the words and the order of the Hebrew text, he bought them for silver, (or, for money, as the Hebrew word chesoph oft signifies, and particularly in this very history in the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 21:24, where David desires to buy it for the full price, or for full money, where in the Hebrew it is for full silver,) even for fifty shekels, to wit, of gold, as it is expressed 1 Chronicles 21:25; which place they render thus, and that consonantly to the Hebrew, he gave shekels of gold of the value (for the Hebrew word mishkal signifies value as well as weight, as was before noted on 2 Samuel 12:30) of six hundred shekels, to wit, of silver. And this may seem added in the Book of the Chronicles, lest it should be thought that the fifty shekels here mentioned were but common and silver shekels. Thirdly, There is a considerable difference in the phrase in these two places: here he mentions for what David bought it, or what he was obliged to give for it; and in Chronicles what he actually gave for it, to wit, of his royal bounty, over and besides the full price of it; which was decent and convenient for so great a king, and especially upon so great an occasion, and to him who had given him such a noble example.