The change from “YHWH” in Samuel
to “a military opponent” in Chronicles solved the theological discrepancy in
the source text, in which YHWH incites David but then punishes him for the very
deed of the census. By involving another subject, the discrepancy is avoided,
but even more is thereby achieved, Throughout his work the Chronicler supports
the ideology that the king should rely on YHWH and not on his own military
power or any other human means. The punishment that follows later in the
narrative is thus a punishment not for the census that was held, but for the
fact that David let his people be counted to determine his military strength
against an opponent instead of relying on YHWH. (Louis C. Jonker, I & II
Chronicles: A Commentary [The Old Testament Library; Louisville, Ky.:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2026], 257; Jonker translates the noun שָׂטָן as “a
military opponent” [ibid., 251])