Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.

1 CHRONICLES 21:22KJV
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1 Chronicles 21:22 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 21:22 mean?

1 Chronicles 21:22 describes King David asking Ornan to sell him the place where Ornan’s threshing floor is, so David can build an altar to the LORD there. David insists on paying the full price, hoping that by doing this, the plague affecting the people will stop.

In this scene, David is speaking directly to Ornan (also known as Araunah), during a crisis when a plague has struck Israel as a result of David’s earlier actions. David wants to buy the exact spot of Ornan’s threshing floor, not just borrow it, because he intends to build an altar to God there as a way to seek mercy for the people. David’s insistence on paying the full price shows his seriousness and respect for both Ornan and for God.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 21:22

  • "Place" (מָקוֹם, maqom): This word means a specific location or site. David is not asking for just any land, but for this exact spot, highlighting its importance.
  • "Threshingfloor" (גֹּרֶן, goren): A threshing floor was a flat area used to separate grain from chaff. In ancient Israel, such places were often on high ground, making them visible and significant.
  • "Full price" (מְלֵא, mele’ + כֶּסֶף, keseph): David asks to pay the complete, fair value, not accepting a gift or a discount. This emphasizes that sacrifices to God should cost the giver something.
  • "Plague" (מַגֵּפָה, maggefah): This word refers to a devastating disease or disaster. David’s goal is to stop the suffering of the people by making things right with God.

Why 1 Chronicles 21:22 matters

  • This verse clarifies that David wants to make a genuine, costly offering to God, not a token gesture or a sacrifice that costs him nothing.
  • It shows David’s sense of responsibility as king, as he seeks to end the plague affecting his people by acting quickly and decisively.
  • The location of Ornan’s threshing floor later becomes the site of the temple in Jerusalem, making this moment a turning point in Israel’s history.

Where else these words appear

“Ornan” Hebrew H771 · used in 10 verses

  • 1 Chronicles 21:15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:21 And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

“plague” Hebrew H4046 · used in 25 verses

  • Exodus 9:14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
  • Numbers 26:1 And it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,
  • 1 Chronicles 21:17 And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.

“threshingfloor” Hebrew H1637 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
  • Ruth 3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:21 And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

“stayed” Hebrew H6113 · used in 45 verses

  • Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
  • 1 Kings 8:35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
  • 2 Chronicles 20:37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.