2 Samuel 6:3
in 2 Samuel 6They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in the hill: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.
KJV
And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 6
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The house of Abinadab in Gibeah - . Rather, on the hill (as in margin and 1Sa 7:1). It does not at all follow that Abinadab was still alive, nor can we conclude from Uzzah and Ahio being called sons of Abinadab, that they were literally his children. They may well have been sons of Eleazar and grandsons of Abinadab, or yet more remote descendants; since there is no distinct evidence that Abinadab was alive even when the ark was brought to Kirjath-jearim. The house may have retained the name of “the house of Abinadab” long after his death.
This site's exposition
They set the ark of God on a new cart
on 2 Samuel 6:3-4
David's men set the ark “on a new cart”, the means the Philistines used to send it home at 1 Samuel 6:7. Numbers 4:15 and 7:9 gave the ark to the Kohathites to carry and warned they “must not touch the holy objects, or they will die”.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Philistines may cart the ark with impunity; but, if Israelites do so, they do it at their peril. And it mended the matter very little that it was a new cart; old or new, it was not what God had appointed. I wonder how so wise and good a man as David was, that conversed so much with the law of God, came to be guilty of such an oversight.
And they set the ark of God upon a new cart,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they set the ark of God upon a new cart--or a covered wagon (see on 1Sa 6:7). This was a hasty and inconsiderate procedure, in violation of an express statute (see on Nu 4:15 and see Nu 7:9;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A new cart - Every thing used in the worship of God was hallowed or set apart for that purpose: a new cart was used through respect, as that had never been applied to any profane or common purpose. But this was not sufficient, for the ark should have been carried on the shoulders of the priests; and the neglect of this ceremony was the cause of the death of Uzzah.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּרְכִּ֜בוּ | vaiyarkivu | and they made to ride | H7392 → | 78 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֤וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֲגָלָ֣ה | ʾagalah | a cart | H5699 → | |
| חֲדָשָׁ֔ה | chadashah | a new | H2319 → | 53 times |
| וַיִּשָּׂאֻ֔הוּ | vaiyisauhu | and they carried it | H5375 → | 656 times |
| מִבֵּ֥ית | mibeit | from [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֲבִינָדָ֖ב | ʾavinadav | Abinadab | H41 → | 12 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּגִּבְעָ֑ה | bagivah | [was] on the hill | H1389 → | 68 times |
| וְעֻזָּ֣א | veuza' | and Uzzah | H5798 → | 14 times |
| וְאַחְי֗וֹ | veachyo | and Ahio | H283 → | |
| בְּנֵי֙ | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲבִ֣ינָדָ֔ב | ʾavinadav | Abinadab | H41 → | 12 times |
| נֹהֲגִ֖ים | nohagim | [were] leading | H5090 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעֲגָלָ֥ה | haagalah | the cart | H5699 → | |
| חֲדָשָֽׁה׃ | chadashah | new | H2319 → | 53 times |
וַיַּרְכִּ֜בוּand they made to ride
vaiyarkivuH7392 →78 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲר֤וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֲגָלָ֣הa cart
ʾagalahH5699 →
חֲדָשָׁ֔הa new
chadashahH2319 →53 times
וַיִּשָּׂאֻ֔הוּand they carried it
vaiyisauhuH5375 →656 times
מִבֵּ֥יתfrom [the] house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
אֲבִינָדָ֖בAbinadab
ʾavinadavH41 →12 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בַּגִּבְעָ֑ה[was] on the hill
bagivahH1389 →68 times
וְעֻזָּ֣אand Uzzah
veuza'H5798 →14 times
וְאַחְי֗וֹand Ahio
veachyoH283 →
בְּנֵי֙[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
אֲבִ֣ינָדָ֔בAbinadab
ʾavinadavH41 →12 times
נֹהֲגִ֖ים[were] leading
nohagimH5090 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעֲגָלָ֥הthe cart
haagalahH5699 →
חֲדָשָֽׁה׃new
chadashahH2319 →53 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
2 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 6:7Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
it leads to
- Numbers 19:2
“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.
- 1 Chronicles 13:7
So they carried the ark of God from the house of Abinadab on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding the cart.
- Numbers 19:2
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The Second Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).