And Satan stood up against
Israel. This episode replicates 2 Samuel 24, with certain changes,
additions, and omissions. That chapter, on the evidence of its style and
theology, is not by the same hand as that of the author of the David story,
although the Chronicler surely did not see any differentiation. In 2 Samuel 24
it is God Who incites David, but the Chronicler, not wanting to represent God
as perverse, makes Satan the agent. At this late period, it looks as if “The
Adversary” (hasatan) is moving into becoming a demonic figure, and he
appears here without the definite article ha, suggesting it has become a name,
not just a function. (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, 3 vols. [New York:
W. W. Norton & Company, 2019], 3:907)
