The Meaning of 2 Samuel 24:15 Explained

2 Samuel 24:15

KJV: So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

YLT: And Jehovah giveth a pestilence on Israel from the morning even unto the time appointed, and there die of the people, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, seventy thousand men,

Darby: And Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the set time; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.

ASV: So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So the LORD  sent  a pestilence  upon Israel  from the morning  even to the time  appointed:  and there died  of the people  from Dan  even to Beersheba  seventy  thousand  men. 

What does 2 Samuel 24:15 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 24:15-25 - Judgment Stayed By Sacrifice
The pestilence swept through the land like cholera or the black death in modern times. At last it approached the Holy City. It seemed as if the angel of the Lord were hovering over it, sword in hand, awaiting the final order. All this is spoken after the manner of men. It is clear, however, that, in answer to David's penitent faith, a great change came over the scene. If the same faith had been exercised before the plague reached Jerusalem, may we not believe that an arrest would have come previously? As soon as David was prepared, as in 2 Samuel 24:17, to suffer instead of his people, his love and contrition and faith were accepted on their behalf.
Then, on Mount Moriah, where centuries before Abraham's uplifted knife was stayed, the angel now stayed his act of judgment. The threshing floor of Araunah became the site of an altar, while afterward on that spot stood the Temple, the center of national worship and the scene of the manifestation of the Son of man. The lesson for us is that, when we take the true attitude toward God, we can exercise, by our faith, prayer and self-sacrifice, a wonderful influence in behalf of cities and nations.
For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 24

1  David, tempted by Satan, forces Joab to number the people
5  The captains, in nine months and twenty days, gather 1,300,000 fighting men
10  David repents, and having three plagues proposed by God, chooses pestilence
15  After the death of 70,000, David by prayer prevents the destruction of Jerusalem
18  David, by God's direction, purchases Araunah's threshing floor;
25  and the plague stops

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 24:15 mean?

So sent Yahweh a plague upon Israel from the morning and till the time appointed and died of the people from Dan and to in Beersheba seventy thousand men
וַיִּתֵּ֨ן יְהוָ֥ה דֶּ֙בֶר֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מֵהַבֹּ֖קֶר וְעַד־ עֵ֣ת מוֹעֵ֑ד וַיָּ֣מָת מִן־ הָעָ֗ם מִדָּן֙ וְעַד־ בְּאֵ֣ר שֶׁ֔בַע שִׁבְעִ֥ים אֶ֖לֶף אִֽישׁ

וַיִּתֵּ֨ן  So  sent 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
דֶּ֙בֶר֙  a  plague 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דֶּבֶר 
Sense: pestilence, plague.
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  upon  Israel 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
מֵהַבֹּ֖קֶר  from  the  morning 
Parse: Preposition-m, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּקֶר 
Sense: morning, break of day.
וְעַד־  and  till 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
עֵ֣ת  the  time 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
מוֹעֵ֑ד  appointed 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹועֵד  
Sense: appointed place, appointed time, meeting.
וַיָּ֣מָת  and  died 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
הָעָ֗ם  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
מִדָּן֙  from  Dan 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּן 
Sense: the 5th son of Jacob, the st of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid.
וְעַד־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
שֶׁ֔בַע  Beersheba 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּאֵר 
Sense: a city at the south edge of Israel.
שִׁבְעִ֥ים  seventy 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: שִׁבְעִים  
Sense: seventy.
אֶ֖לֶף  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
אִֽישׁ  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.