The number 70,000 appears in the Bible in two main contexts: as a figure for God's large-scale judgment and as a number linked to the massive workforce during Solomon's temple construction.
The number 70,000 appears several times in the Old Testament. In 2 Samuel 24:15, God sends a plague that kills 70,000 people in Israel as punishment for King David's census—an event also recorded in 1 Chronicles 21:14. This double account underscores the seriousness of the incident and God's sovereignty over His people. In a completely different context, 1 Kings 5:29 and 2 Chronicles 2:1–17 describe how Solomon had 70,000 carriers in the workforce that built the temple in Jerusalem. Thus, the number 70,000 spans both judgment and construction in Scripture—from God's punishing hand to the building of His holy house. The number 70,000 can be understood as a combination of 70 (which symbolizes wholeness and completeness in Jewish tradition, cf. the 70 nations in Genesis 10 and the 70 elders in Numbers 11:16) and 1,000 (representing a large, complete quantity), which reinforces the impression of an extensive and total scale. In rabbinic tradition, there is discussion about why David's census was sinful. Several sources point out that counting the people of Israel implied a lack of trust in God's providence, and that the punishment of 70,000 deaths illustrates the collective responsibility the people bore under the king's decision. 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 offer different accounts of who incited David to conduct the census—namely, the Lord himself and Satan. This difference has been the subject of extensive theological discussion throughout history. The workforce of 70,000 carriers mentioned in connection with Solomon's temple construction consisted, according to 2 Chronicles 2:17, of foreigners (non-Israelites) living in the land, which demonstrates the international dimension of the temple building.*