So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

2 SAMUEL 24:8KJV
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2 Samuel 24:8 (KJV)

What does 2 Samuel 24:8 mean?

2 Samuel 24:8 reports that after traveling throughout the entire land, the group returned to Jerusalem, completing their task in nine months and twenty days. This verse marks the end of a lengthy census or survey carried out at King David’s command.

The verse is set during the time when King David ordered a census of Israel and Judah. The people sent out to count the population traveled across all the territory under David’s rule. Their return to Jerusalem signals the completion of this significant and controversial task, which sets up the events that follow in the chapter.

The Hebrew behind 2 Samuel 24:8

  • The word for “gone” is שׁוּט (shut), which often means to go about or traverse. This emphasizes that the officials did not just visit a few places but thoroughly traveled the whole land.
  • The term for “land” is אֶרֶץ (erets), meaning the whole territory or country, highlighting the comprehensive nature of the census.
  • “End” comes from קֵץ (qetz), which means the extremity or conclusion, stressing that the task was not partial but fully completed.
  • “Nine” (תֵּשַׁע, tesha), “months” (חֹדֶשׁ, chodesh), “twenty” (עֶשְׂרִים, esrim), and “days” (יוֹם, yom) are all straightforward, but together they show the census was a major undertaking, lasting almost ten months.

Why 2 Samuel 24:8 matters

  • This verse helps clarify just how extensive and time-consuming the census was, showing it was not a quick or casual count but a major national effort.
  • The detail about the time spent (nine months and twenty days) underlines the seriousness of David’s command and the thoroughness of the officials’ work.
  • Understanding the scale of this event helps explain why the census had such significant consequences in the story, as it was a major act that affected the entire nation.

Where else these words appear

“gone” Hebrew H7751 · used in 13 verses

  • Numbers 11:8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
  • Job 2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
  • Ezekiel 27:26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

“nine” Hebrew H8672 · used in 57 verses

  • Genesis 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
  • Numbers 34:13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:
  • 2 Kings 25:8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:

“end” Hebrew H7097 · used in 87 verses

  • Genesis 8:3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
  • Joshua 3:15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water,(for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
  • Psalms 46:9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.