21:18 So the Lord’s messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build 2 an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
He gave him 8 the blueprint for the seat 9 of the gold cherubim that spread their wings 10 and provide shelter for the ark of the Lord’s covenant.
1 tn Heb “which he commanded Israel.”
2 tn Heb “that he should go up to raise up.”
3 tn Heb “the place of the threshing floor.”
4 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive here indicates the immediate purpose/result: “so I can build.”
5 tn Heb “For full silver sell to me.”
6 tn Following the imperative and first person prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive, this third person prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive introduces the ultimate purpose/result: “so the plague may be removed.” Another option is subordinate this form to the preceding imperative, but the latter may be taken as a parenthetical expansion of the initial request.
7 tn Or “high place.”
8 tn The words “he gave him” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
9 tc The Hebrew text reads מֶרְכָּבָה (merkavah, “chariot”), but the final he (ה) is probably dittographic – note the prefixed he (ה) on the immediately following word. It is preferable to read מֶרְכָּב (merkav, “seat”).
10 tc The Hebrew text does not have “their wings,” but the word כְּנָפַיִם (kÿnafayim, “wings”) has probably been accidentally omitted by homoioteleuton. Note that the immediately preceding לְפֹרְשִׂים (lÿforsim) also ends in mem (ם).