2 Samuel 24:21 (KJV)

What does 2 Samuel 24:21 mean?

2 Samuel 24:21 describes David’s reason for approaching Araunah during a deadly plague among his people. David wants to purchase Araunah’s threshing floor and build an altar there to the LORD, with the aim of stopping the plague.

Araunah opens the conversation by addressing David respectfully as “my lord the king” and calling himself David’s “servant.” The threshing floor was a place where grain was separated from its stalks, usually on a hard, open surface. David’s answer gives that working place a different purpose.

The Hebrew behind 2 Samuel 24:21

• “threshingfloor” — גֹּרֶן (goren): A place where harvested grain was threshed. The word points to an ordinary agricultural site rather than a structure already used for worship.
• “stayed” — עָצַר (ʿatsar): To stop or restrain. David’s stated purpose is for the plague’s spread among the people to be halted.

Why 2 Samuel 24:21 matters

• David’s request follows a specific instruction, rather than a choice of location made on his own. In verse 18, Gad tells David to raise an altar to the LORD on Araunah’s threshing floor.
• The request concerns a purchase, not simply permission to use the land. Araunah offers the site and animals for the offering in verses 22–23, but David insists on paying in verse 24.
• David’s concern extends beyond the transaction with Araunah. The words “from the people” show that the desired end of the plague is for those suffering under it.