Comentario citado sobre I Crónicas 21:5

TIPHKEDU OTHAM.’ The term p’kidah is an expression meaning remembrance of and attention to a certain matter, as in the phrase, And the Eternal ‘pakad’ (remembered) Sarah as He had said,³⁸Genesis 21:1. See Ramban there (Vol. I, p. 268). and this in my opinion is its interpretation in all places, without any exception. The expression pikadon [which means a bailment or deposit of goods] is also [from this root], because his guarding and supervision is on it [i.e., because the bailee must guard it]. And therefore when He commanded that Israel be counted He stated tiphkedu otham, in order to hint that he [Moses] was not to count them [by persons] but that they were each to give half a shekel as a ransom for their soul,³⁹Exodus 30:12-13. and he should supervise them [the half-shekels] and thereby know the number of the people. In the case of David Scripture states: the sum of ‘miphkad’ (the numbering) of the people⁴⁰II Samuel 24:9. because he knew their numbers through the counting of [the half-shekel] ransom [that each one gave]. For it appears to me unlikely that David should not be careful about that which Scripture states, that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.⁴¹Exodus 30:12. And even if David did perhaps make a mistake,⁴²In Exodus, at the beginning of Seder Ki Thisa, Ramban in fact does explain that David made a mistake and did indeed count them without half-shekels [a theory to which he reverts here briefly at the end of the verse]. For the reason for his mistake, see ibid., (Vol. II, p. 511). why did Joab [the captain of the host in charge of the census] not take [the census through] shekels, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab,⁴³I Chronicles 21:6. and Joab [in fact] said to the king, Why doth my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel?⁴⁴Ibid., Verse 3. So why did he [Joab] not count them through the shekels, so that he should not sin?
But in my opinion the [Divine] wrath was [aroused] against him [David] because he counted them unnecessarily, since he was not going forth to war, nor did he do anything with them [the men he counted, so that he would need to know their number] at that time, and [the census] was only to make him rejoice that he ruled over a large people. Therefore Joab said [to David], Now the Eternal thy G-d add unto the people, how many soever they may be, a hundredfold, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?⁴⁵II Samuel 24:3. And I have seen in Bamidbar Sinai Rabbah:⁴⁶Bamidbar Rabbah 2:17. “Rabbi Eliezer in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra said: Whenever Israel was counted for a purpose, their numbers did not diminish; but when they were counted for no purpose, they became diminished. When were they counted for a purpose? In the days of Moses, and⁴⁷In our Midrash Rabbah the word “and” is not found in the Hebrew text, so that it refers to only one, not two times: “When were they counted for a purpose? In the days of Moses for the [setting up of the] standards” as described here in Chapter 2. See, however, Rashi on Verse 1 above, who is of the opinion that the people were counted at the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:37), and again after the worship of the golden calf to ascertain the number of those left. In that case Ramban’s version in the text of Bamidbar Rabbah is fully understandable, for there were numberings in the days of Moses preceding the one at the time of setting up the standards. for the [setting up of the] standards and at the division of the Land.⁴⁸Further, Chapter 26; ibid., Verse 53. [When were they counted] for no purpose? In the days of David.”
It is also possible to say by way of explanation that David commanded that every “man” in Israel be counted, meaning thereby to include everyone above the age of thirteen years old, who is regarded as “a man” [and not from the age of twenty years upwards], since it is nowhere mentioned in [describing] his counting: “from twenty years old and upwards”, but instead David said, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan … that I may know the sum of them.⁴⁹I Chronicles 21:2. And this was [the reason for] his punishment, for Scripture only allowed counting to be done from twenty years old and upwards⁵⁰Exodus 30:14. by means of the shekels. It was because this is not clearly expressed in Scripture [that even by means of the half-shekels the people are only to be counted from the age of twenty years and over] that David made this mistake, for he thought that when Scripture says that there be no plague among them⁴¹Exodus 30:12. it is because of the shekels, which are a ransom [of the soul] for them [and therefore he thought that as long as he counted them by means of the shekels and not by direct census there would be no plague even if he counted them from above the age of thirteen years old, instead of twenty], but Joab applied his heart [to understand the matter] and was concerned because of it.
And Scripture [itself] stirs me to this thought by saying: But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under, because the Eternal had said He would increase Israel like to the stars of heaven. Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but finished not; and there came wrath for this upon Israel.⁵¹I Chronicles 27:23-24. It is apparent that Ramban interprets these verses as follows: But David took not the number of them from twenty years old ‘and under’ because Joab began … but finished not for the reason that he [Joab] applied his heart to understand the matter and was concerned about the breach of the law in taking the census from twenty years old and under. From this it appears that Joab’s census included those under twenty years old, and this was [the reason for] the “wrath”, because G-d does not want all Israel to be limited by numbers since He will multiply them like the stars of heaven, as He said [to Abraham], Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them.⁵²Genesis 15:5. And when the verse says concerning that census [of Joab], And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword,⁵³I Chronicles 21:5. it does not mean to say that they were all eligible for military service [since, as explained above, they included also thirteen-year olds who do not go to war], but its correct interpretation is that they were all sufficiently healthy and strong to be able to go to battle, thus stating that he did not count the sick, the weak, and the old, because the king’s word was abominable to him.⁴³I Chronicles 21:6. This interpretation is very appropriate.
But according to the opinion of the Midrash Agadah [a homiletic exposition⁵⁴Berachoth 62 b: “And when he [David] counted them he did not take from them the ransom of soul etc.” This would seem to indicate that David’s mistake was that he counted them by persons, [from twenty years old and upwards], and not, as Ramban suggested above, because he included in the count [which was done with shekels] people under twenty but over thirteen years old. from which it would appear] that there was an actual census [i.e., that the people were counted without the use of shekels, we must say that] they all erred. This is why David said [to Joab], Go, ‘number’ Israel,⁵⁵II Samuel 24:1. and it is further written, after that he had ‘numbered’ the people⁵⁶Ibid., Verse 10. [expressions which indicate that there was an actual counting of persons without using half-shekels], for in the Torah the term “numbering” of people is not mentioned at all, and the meaning of the expression according to the number of names¹⁶Verse 2. is that each one should tell his name when he is counted through bringing his ransom [of half a shekel].

Now David did not take their count from twenty years old and below The meaning is: We already stated that he counted Israel and divided them into divisions, and he also counted the Levites and appointed them upon their service; and all these that he counted he did not count any of them less than twenty years old.

and the number did not come up to The meaning is: Although I say, “commenced to count but did not finish,” he counted only a small segment, for the number of the counted ones in the Book of Samuel did not come up to the number in Chronicles, (21:5) for that number that he counted he did not write in Samuel, but a little of the number, and here, because of David’s honor, even if the number were more, he would have stated it, because it implies that not for nought was there wrath on Israel because he already counted many of Israel, and moreover, because of his honor, that they were all his servants, like one man.