2 Samuel 6:13
in 2 Samuel 6When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so, that, when they that bare the ark of Jehovah had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
KJV
And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The meaning is, not that they sacrificed oxen and fatlings every six steps, which would have been impossible, but that when - after the arrangement made by David for the Levites to carry the ark 1Ch 15:2, 1Ch 15:12, 1Ch 15:15 they had borne it successfully and with visible tokens of God’s favor, out of the house of Obed-edom and six “steps” on the road to the city of David to the sound of the musical instruments - then they stopped and offered solemn sacrifices.
This site's exposition
into the city of David with gladness
on 2 Samuel 6:12-13
David goes up a second time with gladness rather than a cart; the parallel at 1 Chronicles 15:15 states what this chapter leaves the reader to infer, that the Levites now bear the ark on their own shoulders with the staves, as Moses had commanded. Six paces is a short first stage of the way home, and the ox and fatling offered there mark relief that the ark has moved at all without a second death. Blaikie and Keil and Delitzsch both read the change of method, not any change in the ark itself, as the real difference between this procession and the one that ended at Perez-uzzah.
This site's exposition
had advanced six paces
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown report a view that altars stood every six paces. Barnes reads one sacrifice of an ox and a fattened calf, offered once the Levites had carried the ark six paces unharmed. First Chronicles 15:26 records seven bulls and seven rams.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) and expressed 1 Chron. xv. Then we make a good use of the judgments of God on ourselves and others when we are awakened by them to reform and amend whatever has been amiss. At their first setting out he offered sacrifices to God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord,....
Then we are likely to speed in our enterprises when we begin with God and give diligence to make our peace with him, When we attend upon God in holy ordinances our eye must be to the great sacrifice, to which we owe it that we are taken into covenant and communion with God, Ps. l.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when they that bare the ark . . . had gone six paces--Some think that four altars were hastily raised for the offering of sacrifices at the distance of every six paces (but see on 1Ch 15:26).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּ֧י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| צָעֲד֛וּ | tzaadu | they had stepped | H6805 → | |
| נֹשְׂאֵ֥י | noseei | [the] bearers of | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֲרוֹן־ | ʾaron- | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שִׁשָּׁ֣ה | shishah | six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| צְעָדִ֑ים | tzeadim | steps | H6806 → | |
| וַיִּזְבַּ֥ח | vaiyizbach | and he sacrificed | H2076 → | |
| שׁ֖וֹר | shor | an ox | H7794 → | |
| וּמְרִֽיא׃ | umeri' | and a fatling | H4806 → |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּ֧יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
צָעֲד֛וּthey had stepped
tzaaduH6805 →
נֹשְׂאֵ֥י[the] bearers of
noseeiH5375 →656 times
אֲרוֹן־[the] ark of
ʾaron-H727 →202 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שִׁשָּׁ֣הsix
shishahH8337 →216 times
צְעָדִ֑יםsteps
tzeadimH6806 →
וַיִּזְבַּ֥חand he sacrificed
vaiyizbachH2076 →
שׁ֖וֹרan ox
shorH7794 →
וּמְרִֽיא׃and a fatling
umeri'H4806 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Numbers 4:15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they…
it leads to
- Numbers 7:9
But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 6:6–7
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled.
- 1 Chronicles 13:9–10
When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark, because the oxen had stumbled.
- Numbers 10:21
Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
- Numbers 7:9
Through
Joshua 3:3and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:9
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 10:33
So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a…
- Deuteronomy 31:25
he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD:
- Deuteronomy 31:9
Through
1 Chronicles 15:15And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.
it leads to
- Numbers 4:15
When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they…
- Numbers 4:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on 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).