A. In 2 Samuel 24:99And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. (2 Samuel 24:9), you have the “valiant men” — formed men of war, numbering 800,000. In 1 Chron. 21, you have the males generally, who were grown men, capable of drawing the sword; but not designated the “valiant” — that is, trained men of war.
In 2 Samuel 24 you find the males of Judah generally numbered at 500,000 men; but in 1 Chron. 21 470,000, they are specifically named, who “drew sword.”
Most probably the standing legions given in detail in 2 Chron. 27:1-15, were not mentioned in 2 Sam.; they were very well known. Of these, there were 24,000 for each month, with probably not less than 1,000 officers to every 24,000 men. If this 25,000 be multiplied by twelve, as each legion had to serve for a month, it will amount to exactly 300,000, and if this be added to the 800,000 mentioned in 2 Sam., it will be exactly the 1,100,000 mentioned in 1 Chron.
The census of Israel, if this proposition be true, is plain enough. That of Judah not so much on the surface, but in the text giving quite enough to show, that males capable of drawing sword are noted specially in contradistinction to “men of Judah” merely.