I Chronicles 22:1 · Bible study
1 Chronicles 22:1 Commentary: David Declares the Temple Site
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
God chose Ornan's threshing floor as the site for His temple. Explore the divine revelation and significance of this sacred location.
Research Summary
- Meaning: David identifies the threshing floor of Ornan as the ordained site for the temple and altar, based on divine confirmation.
- Key words: ‘This’ (zeh, repeated for emphasis); ‘house’ (beit, meaning temple); ‘altar for burnt offering’ (mizbeach le'olah, the main place of sacrifice).
- Main debate: Whether David knew this by direct divine revelation (Wesley, Henry) or through inference from the miraculous fire (Gill, JFB).
- Theological theme: God sovereignly chooses a dwelling place, often in unexpected locations, and confirms it through sacrifice.
- Best use: Teaching on God’s guidance, the sacred significance of place, and how one generation prepares for what the next will build.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the LORD God, as well as the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
Then David said, “This is the house of Yahweh God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
KJV King James Version 1769
Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Then David said, This is the house of Jehovah God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And David saith, `This is the house of Jehovah God, and this the altar for burnt-offering for Israel.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And David said, This is the house of Jehovah Elohim, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Then David said: This is the house of God, And this is the altar for the holocaust of Israel.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y DIJO David: Esta es la casa de Jehová Dios, y este es el altar del holocausto para Israel.
E disse Davi: Esta é a casa do SENHOR Deus, e este é o altar do holocausto para Israel.
Et David dit: Ici sera la maison de l’ Éternel Dieu, et ici sera l’ autel des holocaustes pour Israël.
Und David sprach: Hier soll das Haus Gottes des HERRN sein und dies ist der Altar zum Brandopfer Israels.
En David zeide: Hier zal het huis Gods des HEEREN zijn, en hier zal het altaar des brandoffers voor Israel zijn.
E Davide disse: “Qui sarà la casa di Dio, dell’Eterno, e qui sarà l’altare degli olocausti per Israele”.
I rzekł Dawid: Toć jest miejsce domu Pana Boga, i to ołtarz na całopalenie Izraelowi.
И сказал Давид: вот дом Господа Бога и вот жертвенник для всесожжений Израиля.
大衛 說：「這 就是 耶和華 神 的殿，為以色列人 獻燔祭的 壇。」
Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for Israel's burned offerings.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · I Chronicles 22:1
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators agree that David is not guessing. Barnes notes that the double miracle, the angelic appearance and the fire from heaven, had convinced him this was the destined site. Gill explains that David spoke ‘by a divine impulse upon his mind’ or concluded it from the acceptance of his sacrifice, when fire came down and consumed it. Matthew Henry adds that David declared this ‘by inspiration of God’ as the place God chose for His temple and altar. The Cambridge Bible connects it directly to the law in Deuteronomy 12:5, where Yahweh would choose a place to put His name. Across the traditions, then, this verse is read as God’s Sovereign selection of the threshing floor of Ornan as the one place for Israel’s worship, confirmed by miraculous signs and now publicly announced by the king.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: David designates the threshing floor of Ornan as the site for the temple and altar, based on God's miraculous confirmation, and this site becomes the centre of Israel's worship.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| How David knew the site was chosen | All commentators affirm that God supernaturally revealed the location, through the angel, the plague stopping, and the fire on the sacrifice. | Wesley and Matthew Henry stress direct inspiration by the Spirit; Gill and Jamieson-Fausset-Brown emphasize that David concluded it from the acceptance of his sacrifice. The two are complementary rather than contradictory. |
| Significance of the threshing floor's prior history | Most note that the site is traditionally identified with Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered Isaac (2 Chr 3:1), linking the two great acts of faith. | Some commentators (e.g., Matthew Henry) see a typological connection to the Gentile inclusion, the Jebusite Ornan points to the church being gathered from outside Israel. Others focus solely on the historical continuity of the location. |
| Timing of the declaration relative to the narrative | The verse follows directly from 1 Chronicles 21:28, ‘At that time’, placing it immediately after the plague ended. | There is no debate about the chronology itself, but some (Keil & Delitzsch) treat 22:1 as the conclusion of the preceding episode, while others see it as the opening of David’s temple preparations. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse lands at a turning point in David’s reign. The narrative of 1 Chronicles 21 describes a devastating plague sent after David’s census, stopped only when an altar was built on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. According to I Chronicles 21:18, Yahweh’s angel commanded Gad to tell David to raise an altar there. David obeyed, and when he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, fire came down from heaven, a sign of acceptance (see 1 Chr 21:26). At that moment the plague ended.
That threshing floor sat on Mount Moriah, the same mountain where Abraham once bound Isaac (2 Chr 3:1). The purchase of the site cost David six hundred shekels of gold (1 Chr 21:25). Now, in chapter 22, David makes a public declaration: this threshing floor is not a temporary altar, it is the permanent house of God and the altar for Israel.
The setting is deeply pastoral. A place of judgment becomes a place of mercy. A Jebusite’s threshing floor becomes the temple. David’s words echo Deuteronomy 12:5: ‘But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation.’ What Israel had only been promised is now pinned to a specific plot of ground. The king who was forbidden to build the house does the next best thing: he prepares for it, having been shown the exact spot.
In ancient near east culture, threshing floors were exposed, elevated locations, ideal for separating grain, but also places where God could be seen. They were not typically sacred sites. David’s decision to fix the worship of Israel there was a radical break with the old high places. From now on, worship would be centralized at one address, chosen by God Himself.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the verse reads consistently in the ancient versions (Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac).
Reception History
In Jewish tradition, this site was recognised as the temple mount, the single place for sacrifice ordained by God. The declaration was seen as the fulfilment of Deuteronomy 12's promise that God would choose a place for His name. Early Christian interpreters (e.g., Jerome) connected the threshing floor to the cross, reading David's altar as a type of Christ's one sacrifice. Through the centuries, pilgrims to Jerusalem have treated the site with reverence, and the verse has been used liturgically in prayers for the dedication of church buildings, as a reminder that God personally selects where He will dwell among His people.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God chooses the unexpected place. A threshing floor owned by a Jebusite becomes the national sanctuary. No one would have predicted it.
- Sacrifice reveals the chosen site. The fire that fell on David’s offering confirmed the location. God’s presence is linked to atoning sacrifice, not human planning.
- One generation prepares for the next. David saw the site, declared it, but he would not build the house. He spent his final years gathering materials so Solomon could finish the work.
Five-point outline
- Divine judgment cleared the land, the plague stopped at Ornan’s floor.
- God accepted David’s sacrifice with fire from heaven.
- David publicly designates the site: “This is the house of Yahweh God.”
- The king acts in faith, buying the land and beginning preparations.
- The site ties back to Abraham’s offering on Moriah, a thread of redemptive history.
Illustration hooks
- A family prays desperately over a medical diagnosis; in that moment of prayer they sense God’s peace, and later that spot in the room becomes sacred to them.
- A school is allowed to use a local church’s hall for a community meal. Years later, the congregation buys the hall. What began as a borrowed space becomes a permanent home.
- A couple loses their home in a fire and meets a neighbour who offers them a flat. That flat becomes the place where they begin attending a Bible study and their faith is reborn.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does the location of our worship matter to God, or is any place acceptable?
- How do we know when God has chosen a particular path, place, or calling for us?
- What do we do with a promise we believe but know we will not see fulfilled in our lifetime?
Leading a Discussion
This verse appears at the end of a painful story, a plague, a king’s repentance, an altar built in haste, and then fire from heaven. David does not walk away from that moment. He names the ground as the house of God and the altar for Israel. This is a declaration of faith, not a description of a building that already exists. The group can explore what makes a place sacred and how God leads His people to the places He has chosen.
Discussion questions
- Read 1 Chronicles 21:18, 28. What happened at the threshing floor of Ornan before David made his declaration in chapter 22?
- David says, ‘This is the house of Yahweh God’ at a time when no house exists. What does that tell you about the kind of faith David is exercising?
- Compare David’s declaration with Deuteronomy 12:5. How does this verse help Israel recognise the place God has chosen?
- God chose a threshing floor, a place of daily labour, for His temple. What might that say about how God values ordinary places and work?
- David bought the land rather than taking it as a gift (1 Chr 21:24). Why was it important that he paid for it? What kinds of sacrifices might God ask of us before granting a special place or calling?
- How do you discern where God is leading your family or your church community? What ‘signs’ do you look for, and how do you test them against Scripture?
- Think of a place or season where you met God in an unexpected way. How did you respond? Did you name it as holy?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 28:17 | He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.” |
| Deuteronomy 12:5 | But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you shall come there. |
| Deuteronomy 12:7 | There you shall eat before Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which Yahweh your God has blessed you. |
| Deuteronomy 12:11 | then it shall happen that to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to Yahweh. |
| II Samuel 24:18 | Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, build an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” |
| II Kings 18:22 | But if you tell me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ isn’t that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? |
| I Chronicles 21:18 | Then Yahweh’s angel commanded Gad to tell David that David should go up and raise an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. |
| I Chronicles 21:28 | At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights that David declared the threshing-floor site as the Lord's house even before any building existed, making it the immediate center of worship instead of Gibeon. David likely believed God intended this exact spot for the temple, which is why he may have purchased additional land around it.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes explains that the double miracle—the angelic appearance and the fire from heaven—convinced David he had found the exact place for the temple. This revelation filled a narrative gap and prompted David’s public announcement that here the Lord’s house would be built by his son.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible notes that the opening word “Then” ties David’s declaration directly back to his sacrifice on the threshing floor in the previous chapter. David is acting in full conformity with the law in Deuteronomy, which required sacrifices to be brought only to the place the Lord would choose.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
And Dauid saide, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for the burnt offring of Israel.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill's emphasis falls on David's declaration as a divine identification of the precise location for the temple and altar, not a reference to any existing structure. He connects this to the fire from heaven that consumed David's sacrifice at the threshing floor, and he sees the Jebusite site as a type of the Gent
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that David's declaration was based on direct divine confirmation, specifically the sign of fire from heaven, which showed God's chosen location for the temple. This miraculous sign, along with other indications, prompted David to immediately begin preparing materials for building on that exact spot.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch sees this chapter as the start of David's final work: preparing the kingdom to endure through his successor. David was not permitted to build the temple himself, so he gathered materials and labor to ensure Solomon could complete it. The heart of every preparation was the public worship of the Lord, on which Israel's covenant faithfulness and blessing depended.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange defends the enormous sums David gathered for the temple against charges of exaggeration. He suggests that using a lighter civil shekel rather than the sacred one reduces the total by half, and he cites vast treasures amassed by Persian and Syrian kings as historical parallels. For Lange, the numbers reflect David's deliberate plan to establish a lasting temple treasury.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry highlights that God himself chose the temple site, a threshing floor that belonged to a Jebusite. This was a sign that the gospel would later reach the Gentiles. Henry also notes David could not build the temple, so he did everything he could in preparation, setting an example of faithful service within limits.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley emphasises that the speaker identified the temple site through the direct instinct and direction of God's Spirit. Just as David received the temple's pattern from God, so this location was divinely appointed, not chosen by human reasoning. The place itself was set apart by God for His house and altar.