Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.

1 CHRONICLES 27:24KJV
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1 Chronicles 27:24 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 27:24 mean?

1 Chronicles 27:24 explains that Joab, the son of Zeruiah, started to count the people of Israel but did not finish, because God’s anger came against Israel as a result. The final number was never recorded in the official records of King David.

This verse is part of a historical summary describing the organization of King David’s kingdom. It refers back to an incident when David ordered a census of Israel, which was seen as displeasing to God. Joab, David’s military commander, began the census but stopped before completing it, and the results were not included in the royal chronicles because of the divine wrath that followed.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 27:24

  • חֵמָה (ḥēmāh, “wrath”): This word for “wrath” emphasizes a strong, burning anger, showing that God’s response to the census was not mild but serious and consequential.
  • מִסְפָּר (mispar, “number”): Used twice in this verse, this word refers to the census count. Its repetition highlights that the actual total was never officially recognized or preserved.
  • דִּבְרֵי (divrei, “chronicles” or “records”): This word, from דָּבָר (davar, “word” or “matter”), is used here for the official royal records, stressing that the incomplete census was deliberately left out of the historical account.

Why 1 Chronicles 27:24 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the census was not just unfinished but was intentionally excluded from the official history because it was associated with God’s anger, marking it as a negative event in David’s reign.
  • It connects to the wider story found in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21, where David’s census leads to a plague, showing how this event had lasting consequences for Israel.
  • The verse highlights the seriousness with which ancient Israel viewed obedience to God’s commands, especially in matters of national pride or security, like counting the fighting men.

Where else these words appear

“Zeruiah” Hebrew H6870 · used in 25 verses

  • 1 Samuel 26:6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
  • 2 Samuel 17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother.
  • 1 Kings 2:5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

“number” Hebrew H4487 · used in 27 verses

  • Genesis 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
  • Isaiah 65:12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

“wrath” Hebrew H7110 · used in 29 verses

  • Numbers 1:53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.
  • 2 Chronicles 24:18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.
  • Isaiah 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

“it” Hebrew H2063 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
  • Leviticus 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
  • 2 Samuel 6:22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.