Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 21:9
And the LORD instructed Gad, David’s seer,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text states the LORD spoke to Gad, identified as David’s seer, immediately following David’s confession of foolishness in the census (1 Chronicles 21:8). This divine communication directly precedes the delivery of three judgment options in 1 Chronicles 21:10.
The words — The verb וַיְדַבֵּר (va/y.da.Ber) literally means "and he spoke," marking the LORD as the active initiator of the message. The noun חֹזֵה (cho.Zeh) translates to "seer," a functional title for Gad that the text explicitly ties to David.
The thread — The designation of a prophet as a seer reflects earlier Israelite practice, as recorded in 1 Samuel 9:9 where the title explains how people formerly inquired of God. The narrative function of Gad delivering a divine oracle appears in the parallel account of 2 Samuel 24:11.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to track the exact chain of command from Yahweh to Gad to David without skipping the prophetic mediation. It demands recognition that divine instruction follows human confession and immediately sets the stage for unavoidable consequence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying,
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 9:9 (Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)
- 2 Samuel 24:11 When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:
- 1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are indeed written in the Chronicles of Samuel the Seer, the Chronicles of Nathan the Prophet, and the Chronicles of Gad the Seer,