Ornan said to David, Take it to you, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: behold, I give [you] the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all.
"The major reason for taking a census in Israel was to lay the basis for levying taxes (Exodus 30:12; Numbers 3:40-51) or registering men for military service (Numbers 26:1-4)." [Note: Thompson, p. 160. Cf. 21:4-7.] 