13And David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even with every leader. 2And David said unto all the assembly of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and if it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad every where unto our brethren that are left in all the [1]land of Israel, [2]with whom the priests and Levites are in their cities that have [3]suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us: 3and let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we sought not unto it in the days of Saul. 4And all the assembly said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. 5So David assembled
onwards. Doubtless David's ecclesiastical arrangements were regarded as temporary, pending the building of the Temple, but surely the Mishkān could have been removed to Jerusalem almost as easily as the Ark. Why then does the perfect king fail in this duty? The Chronicler ignores the difficulty completely, probably because he was unable to see or conjecture any adequate explanation of David's conduct. It goes without saying that in reality the Deuteronomic law of the one sanctuary was of much later origin than the time of David, and the difficulty is an unreal one.
1. David consulted with the captains, etc.] The Chronicler is fond of associating the people with the king in religious measures so as to minimise the appearance of arbitrary power which is suggested by the language of the books of Samuel and of Kings; cp. ver. 4 (the assembly said that they would do so), also 2 Chr. xxx. 2, 4. Similarly in xxviii. 2 the king addresses the elders as My brethren. Doubtless the Chronicler had in mind Deut. xvii. 20.
2. let us send abroad every where] The Heb. phrase is peculiar; let us spread, let us send, i.e. let the invitation be sent far and wide throughout the land and not limited to the southern tribes.
the priests and Levites] In Sam. no mention of the Levites is made in the account of the removal of the Ark. The Chronicler retells the story in accordance with the conviction that the complete Levitical ceremonial with which he was familiar was actually in operation in the days of David.
in their cities that have suburbs] or, as mg., . . . that have pasture lands; i.e. following the provision that cities are to be assigned to the Levites with "suburbs for their cattle and for their substance, and for all their beasts" (Num. xxxv. 2—7; cp. Josh. xiv. 4, xxi. 2).
3. we sought not unto it] The meaning is to seek with care, to care for. Cp. xv. 13.
