Who authorized the census - God or Satan?
David and Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) One of the more vexing problems in the Old Testament is how to parse the parallel accounts of 1 Chronicles 21:1–17 and 2 Samuel 24:1–25. 1 Chronicles 21:1–2 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” 2 Samuel 24:1–2 Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” The two accounts are nearly identical, save for one glaring disparity: The Chronicler’s version has Satan as David’s instigator, while 2 Samuel names Yahweh , the God of Israel , as the provocateur. The Chronicler’s a