Araunah

Biblical character

Araunah (Hebrew: אֲרַוְנָה ʾǍrawnā) was a Jebusite mentioned in the Second Book of Samuel, who owned the threshing floor on Mount Moriah which David purchased and used as the site for assembling an altar to God. The First Book of Chronicles, a later text, renders his name as Ornan (אָרְנָן ʾOrnān).

In the Books of Samuel, the census is said to indicate that there were 1,300,000 men fit for military service. The Book of Chronicles states that the figure was 1,570,000 men fit for military service. Joab's reluctance to complete the census is thought by some scholars to have been due to a religious belief that the people belonged to God, and hence that only God should know how many there were. Some scholars believe the motive for the census was pride, that David's numbering of the people was to show his strength as a king; his sin in this was relying on human numbers instead of God. Other scholars believe that a more mundane motive is the reason – that the knowledge gained from a census would enable David to impose more accurate taxes and levies, and thus the census would be unpopular with the people who were at risk of higher taxes or levies.

The Bible identified Araunah as a Jebusite. Some biblical scholars believe that he may have simply been the Jebusite king of Jerusalem at the time. The word araunah is not a personal name but a title meaning "the lord" in Hurrian and other near eastern languages. In Samuel 24:23 (NIV), Araunah is referred to as a king: " Araunah the king gave to the king [i. e., David]".