Then the angel of Yahweh commanded Gad to tell David, that David should go up, and raise an altar to Yahweh in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
"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.] 