Pieter de Grebber ca. 1600 – 1653 King David in Prayeroil on canvas (94 × 85 cm) — c. 1637 Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht This work is linked to 2 Samuel 24:13 Please scroll down to read more information about this work. Rate this work of art: |
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The story of king David and the three plagues is told in 2 Samuel 24 and in 1 Chronicles 21. In the Chronicles it is Satan who pushes David to take a census. Joab, the captain of David's army, attempts to change his king's mind: why count people when the Lord adds a hundredfold? But David persists. When the census is done, David is overcome by remorse for his act of vanity. He asks God to forgive him. God sends a messenger, the prophet Gad, to have David choose from three plagues. In this painting by De Grebber, a painter from the Dutch town of Haarlem, Gad is not present. An angel holds the symbols of the plagues: a skull for three days of pestilence, a sword for three months of persecution by David's enemies, and empty ears of corn for three (or seven) years of famine. David picks the shortest punishment, one not by man: pestilence. 70,000 men died. Next to David are his attributes: a crown and a harp. |
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