‏ 1 Chronicles 21:21

1Ch 21:20-23 ארנן ויּשׁב, “and Ornan turned him about,” is translated by Berth. incorrectly, “then Ornan turned back,” who then builds on this erroneous interpretation, which is contrary to the context, a whole nest of conjectures. ויּשׁב is said to have arisen out of ויּשׁקף, the succeeding המּלאך out of המּלך, עמּו בּניו ערבּעת out of עליו עברים עבדיו (2Sa 24:20), “by mistake and further alteration.” In saying this, however, he himself has not perceived that 2Sa 24:20 (Sam.) does not correspond to the 1Ch 21:20 of the Chronicle at all, but to the 1Ch 21:21, where the words, “and Araunah looked out (ישׁקף) and saw the king,” as parallel to the words, “and Ornan looked (יבּט) and saw David.” The 1Ch 21:20 of the Chronicle contains a statement which is not found in Samuel, that Ornan (Araunah), while threshing with his four sons, turned and saw the angel, and being terrified at the sight, hid himself with his sons. After that, David with his train came from Zion to the threshing-floor in Mouth Moriah, and Araunah looking out saw the king, and came out of the threshing-floor to meet him, with deep obeisance. This narrative contains nothing improbable, nothing to justify us in having recourse to critical conjecture.
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