Ornan אׇרְנָן
Jebusite, sold threshing floor to David
Who is Ornan in the Bible?
Ornan, also known as Araunah, was a Jebusite who owned a threshing floor in Jerusalem during King David's reign. After David's census of Israel brought divine judgment in the form of a plague, God commanded David to build an altar on Ornan's threshing floor to stop the destruction (1 Chronicles 21:15, 21:18). When David approached to purchase the land, Ornan initially offered it freely along with oxen for sacrifice, but David insisted on paying the full price, ultimately acquiring the threshing floor for 600 shekels of gold (1 Chronicles 21:22-25). This location became profoundly significant in biblical history, as it was later designated as the site where Solomon would construct the temple of the Lord (2 Chronicles 3:1). Ornan's willingness to sell this land to the king facilitated the establishment of Israel's most sacred religious structure.
Biography
Ornan, also known as Araunah, was a Jebusite who owned a threshing floor in Jerusalem during the reign of King David (2Sa.24.16; 1Ch.21.15). After David sinned by taking a census of Israel, God sent a plague that killed 70,000 people (2Sa.24.15; 1Ch.21.14). When the angel of the Lord was about to destroy Jerusalem, God commanded the angel to stop at Ornan's threshing floor (2Sa.24.16; 1Ch.21.15). David was instructed by the prophet Gad to build an altar to the Lord on Ornan's threshing floor (2Sa.24.18; 1Ch.21.18). Ornan offered to give David the threshing floor and the oxen for the sacrifice, but David insisted on paying the full price (2Sa.24.21-24; 1Ch.21.22-25). David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver (2Sa.24.24) or 600 shekels of gold (1Ch.21.25). The threshing floor became the site where David built an altar and offered sacrifices to the Lord (2Sa.24.25; 1Ch.21.26). This location later became the site of Solomon's temple (2Ch.3.1).
In Scripture
3 biblical books1 Chronicles 5 verses
- 1 Chronicles 21:15
"Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing..."
- 1 Chronicles 21:18
"Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite."
- 1 Chronicles 21:20
"Now Ornan was threshing wheat when he turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves."
- 1 Chronicles 21:21
"David came to Ornan, and when Ornan looked out and saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed facedown before David."
- 1 Chronicles 21:22
"Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD. Sell it to me for the full price, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”"
2 Chronicles 1 verse
- 2 Chronicles 3:1
"Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite."
2 Samuel 5 verses
- 2 Samuel 24:20
"When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king."
- 2 Samuel 24:21
"“Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said. “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”"
- 2 Samuel 24:22
"Araunah said to David, “May my lord the king take whatever seems good to him and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood."
- 2 Samuel 24:23
"O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”"
- 2 Samuel 24:24
"“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | אׇרְנָן |
| Named | Hebrew | אֲרַוְנָה |
| (same form as previous) | Hebrew | אֲרַוְנָה |
| (same form as previous) | Hebrew | אֲרַוְנָה |