David's Counting of the Nation/1/en
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David's Counting of the Nation
Introduction
What is wrong with a census?
The final chapter of Sefer Shemuel tells of David's decision to count the nation and the consequent plague that killed 70,000 from Israel. Though the narrative implies that the census was the cause of the catastrophe, it is not clear what sin was transgressed that led to such a severe punishment. How was David's census different than the many others in Tanakh which were conducted without disastrous after effects? Did he go about it in a problematic manner? Were his motivations impure? The text shares no details about either factor, leaving the reader to wonder.
Must one count with a redemptive object?
Sefer Shemot records the first census of Tanakh, and is preceded by severalc ommands relating to it:
