Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Samuel 20:24

"and Adoram was over the men subject to taskwork; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;" — 2 Samuel 20:24 (ASV)

Adoram was over the tribute. —The same office was held by Adoniram in Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:14), and by Adoram at the beginning of the reign of his successor (1 Kings 12:18). All those may have been the same person, or at least of the same family. “The tribute” should rather be the levy, the forced labor so largely employed by Solomon. It is remarkable that there is no trace of such an office in 2 Samuel 8:16–18, nor in the parallel (1 Chronicles 18:14–17). It was a feature of Oriental despotism only introduced towards the close of David’s reign, and carried to much greater length under Solomon.