Dating the Famine and Plague

Many have noted that chapters 21 - 24 of 2 Samuel are separated chronologically from the rest of David's story. Consequently, it is difficult to date the stories. The stories of military heoism and lists of special military forces undoubtedly occurred in the military conquests during the first half of David's reign. Dating of the famine and plague will be considered in the following paragraphs.

God brought a three-year famine on the land because Saul had killed some Gibeonites whom Israel had sworn to spare in the time of Joshua (2 Sam. 21:1-14). The famine must have ended after David became king over all Israel in his eighth year as king. The text also says that David spared Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, so the end of the famine occurred after David befriended Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was five years old when Saul was killed and David became king (2 Sam. 4:4), and eight additional years would make him thirteen if the famine ended during David's eighth year. However, it appears that the famine could not have ended that early in David's reign because 2 Sam. 9:12 appears to say that Mephibosheth had a young son when David befriended him. For that reason, the end of the famine should probably be placed closer to the sixteenth year of David's reign when Mephibosheth would have been twenty-one.

God sent a three-day plague on Israel after David numbered the people (2 Sam. 24, 1 Chron. 21). Chronicles omits all of David's troubles with regard to his sons Amnon and Absalom, and goes from the fall of the Ammonites to the census. Therefore, it is not clear whether the census occurred during or after David's troubles with his son. We have placed it during those troubles for three reasons. First, David spoke of making plans and assembling materials for the temple during his "affliction" (1 Chron. 22:14 ASV, Young's Literal Translation). If this is a reference to the troubles he experienced through his sons and as a consequence of his own sin, then the census and purchase of the temple site occurred before Absalom's rebellion. Second, David making preparations for the temple during the last half of his reign would explain his statement that he did so because Solomon was "young and inexperienced" (1 Chron. 22:5). Solomon would have been less than twenty years old during that time. (Solomon was born after the fall of Rabbah in the middle of David's 40-year reign.) Third, Chronicles does not make the transition to David being old until 1 Chron. 23:1. Although he does not appear as feeble as in 1 Kings 1, he is said to stand on only one occasion (1 Chron. 28:2) after he became old. Preparations were probably made when he was younger and more energetic. For these reasons, we place the census and plague a few years before Absalom's rebellion.

For a full chronology of David's reign, see the Index to Major Periods in David's Life.