2 Samuel 6:7
in 2 Samuel 6And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
KJV
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 6
Commentary
12 notes on this verseWhen the ark of the Lord was being transferred to Jerusalem, and the oxen kicked and made the wagon lean to one side, Uzzah, the Levite, reached out his hand to support the ark that had been tipped, and there follow immediately these words: "And the indignation of the Lord was enkindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his ignorance, and he died before the ark of God.
This site's exposition
Uzzah put forth his hand
on 2 Samuel 6:6-8
Uzzah reaches out to steady the ark when the oxen stumble at Nachon's threshingfloor, called Chidon in the parallel at 1 Chronicles 13:9, one of the small naming variants between the two histories. His hand breaks the very prohibition Numbers 4:15 had stated as a matter of life and death, and the anger of the Lord answers it there at the threshingfloor. David's own word for it, error, is left to the reader; the readings divide over whether the fault is Uzzah's presumption alone or David's failure to have the Levites carry the ark as commanded, and both stand in the commentators without one displacing the other. He names the place Perez-uzzah, the breach of Uzzah, a name that stayed on the map to the narrator's own day.
This site's exposition
God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence
Barnes notes that the Hebrew behind for his irreverence is difficult, and some prefer 1 Chronicles 13:10, where God struck Uzzah for putting his hand on the ark. Clarke holds that Uzzah took hold of the ark in haste and ignorance, and his soul still found mercy. Jerome renders the word ignorance.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
They [the Galatians] had, in fact, only introduced one or two commandments, circumcision and the observance of days, but he [Paul] says that the gospel was subverted, in order to show that a slight adulteration vitiates the whole. For as he who but partially pares away the image on a royal coin renders the whole spurious, so he who swerves ever so little from the pure faith soon proceeds from this to graver errors and becomes entirely corrupted. Where then are those who charge us with being contentious in separating from heretics and say that there is no real difference between us except what arises from our ambition? Let them hear Paul's assertion, that those who had but slightly innovated, subverted the gospel. … Don't you know that even under the old covenant, a man who gathered sticks on the sabbath, and transgressed a single commandment, and that not a great one, was punished with death? And that Uzzah, who supported the ark when on the point of being overturned, was struck suddenly dead, because he had intruded upon an office which did not pertain to him? Wherefore if to transgress the sabbath and to touch the falling ark drew down the wrath of God so signally as to deprive the offender of even a momentary respite, shall he who corrupts unutterably awe-inspiring doctrines find excuse and pardon? Assuredly not. A lack of zeal in small matters is the cause of all our calamities; and because slight errors escape fitting correction, great ones creep in. As in the body, a neglect of wounds generates fever, mortification and death; so in the soul, slight evils overlooked open the door to graver ones.
We read in the law that even those who seem to have acted lightly against the sacred commandments have, nevertheless, been punished most severely. This is that we might understand that nothing which pertains to God must be considered lightly, because even what seems to …
When the people of the Hebrews were bringing back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, Uzzah, from the house of Abinadab the Israelite, who had touched the side of the ark without having examined his conscience, was slain. And yet he had drawn near …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He will let us know that he can and will secure his ark, and needs not any man's sin to help him to do it. If it was so great a crime for one to lay hold on the ark of the covenant that had no right to do so, what is it for those to lay claim to the privileges of the covenant that come not up to the terms of it?
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The death of Uzzah was indeed an eclipse to the glory of a solemnity which David valued himself upon more than any thing else, and might give birth to some speculations among those that were disaffected to him, as if God were departing from him too; but he ought nevertheless to have subscribed to the righteousness and wisdom of God in it, and not to have been displeased at it.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For his error - The Hebrew is difficult, and some prefer the reading of the parallel passage, “because ... ask” 1Ch 13:10.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The severity of Uzzah's fate may seem to us too great for the nature and degree of the offense. But it does not become us to sit in judgment on the dispensations of God; and, besides, it is apparent that the divine purpose was to inspire awe of His majesty, a submission to His law, and a profound veneration for the symbols and ordinances of His worship.
Smote him there for his error - Uzzah sinned through ignorance and precipitancy; he had not time to reflect, the oxen suddenly stumbled; and, fearing lest the ark should fall, he suddenly stretched out his hand to prevent it. Had he touched the ark with impunity, the populace might have lost their respect for it and its sacred service, the example of Uzzah must have filled them with fear and sacred reverence; and, as to Uzzah, no man can doubt of his eternal safety. He committed a sin unto death, but doubtless the mercy of God was extended to his soul.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽחַר־ | vaiyichar- | and it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| אַ֤ף | ʾaf | [the] anger of | H639 → | 276 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּעֻזָּ֔ה | beuzah | on Uzzah | H5798 → | 14 times |
| וַיַּכֵּ֥הוּ | vaiyakehu | and he struck down him | H5221 → | 499 times |
| שָׁ֛ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַשַּׁ֑ל | hashal | the presumption | H7944 → | |
| וַיָּ֣מָת | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עִ֖ם | ʾim | beside | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֲר֥וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיִּֽחַר־and it burned
vaiyichar-H2734 →91 times
אַ֤ף[the] anger of
ʾafH639 →276 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּעֻזָּ֔הon Uzzah
beuzahH5798 →14 times
וַיַּכֵּ֥הוּand he struck down him
vaiyakehuH5221 →499 times
שָׁ֛םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַשַּׁ֑לthe presumption
hashalH7944 →
וַיָּ֣מָתand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
עִ֖םbeside
ʾimH5973 →1050 times
אֲר֥וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
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
1 Chronicles 15:2Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:8
At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in…
- 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.
- Numbers 18:1–8
So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.
- Deuteronomy 10:8
Through
1 Chronicles 15:13It was because you Levites were not with us the first time that the LORD our God burst forth in anger against us. For we did not consult Him about the proper order.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 6:3
They 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…
- 1 Corinthians 14:40
But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner.
- 1 Corinthians 11:2
Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.
- 2 Samuel 6:3
Through
1 Samuel 6:19But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them…
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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 4:20
But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”
- Numbers 4:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
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; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.33; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS 1; 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; Pacian of Barcelona, ON PENITENTS 6.3 and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 6.10.