2 Samuel 6:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Samuel 6:3
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.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Samuel 6:7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calv…
Numbers 7:4-9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 4:5-12 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimon…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 6:1-5
We have not heard a word of the ark since it was lodged in Kirjath-jearim, immediately after its return out of its captivity among the Philistines (Sa1 7:1, Sa1 7:2), except that, once, Saul called for it, Sa1 14:18. That which in former days had made so great a figure is now thrown aside, as a neglected thing, for many years. And, if now the ark was for so many years in a house, let it not seem strange that we find the church so long in the wilderness, Rev 12:14. Perpetual visibility is no mark of the true church. God is graciously present with the souls of his people even when they want the external tokens of his presence. But now that David is settled in the throne the honour of the ark b…
they set the ark of God upon a new cart--or a covered wagon (see on Sa1 6:7). This was a hasty and inconsiderate procedure, in violation of an express statute (see on Num 4:15 and see Num 7:9; Num 18:3).
Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 6:3
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.
John Gill on 2 Samuel 6:3
And they set the ark of God upon a new cart,.... Which was a great mistake, since it ought not to have been put upon a cart, old or new; it was to be borne upon men's shoulders, and carried by Levites only, and those of the family of Kohath, to whom no wagons were given, when others had them, for the above reason, Numbers 7:9; it is strange that so many priests and Levites, and of the people of Israel gathered together on that account, and David also, so well versed in the law of God, should not refer to it; perhaps they were led by the example of the Philistines, who put it in a new cart, and set it forward towards Bethshemesh, and were not punished for it; but it should have been considere…
Dictionary and topics
Ahio — Brotherly. (1.) One of the sons of Beriah (1 Chr. 8:14). (2.) One of the sons of Jehiel the Gibeonite (1 Chr. 8:31; 9:37). (3.) One of the sons of Abinadab the Levite. While Uzzah went by the side of…
Ark — Noah’s ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side…
Ark Of The Covenant — The first piece of the tabernacle’s furniture, for which precise directions were delivered. Exod 25. I. Description.— It appears to have been an oblong chest of shittim (acacia) wood, 2 1/2 cubits…
Cart — A vehicle moving on wheels, and usually drawn by oxen (2 Sam. 6:3). The Hebrew word thus rendered, ’agalah (1 Sam. 6:7, 8), is also rendered “wagon” (Gen. 45:19). It is used also to denote a…
Chidon — Dart, the name of the threshing-floor at which the death of Uzzah took place (1 Chr. 13:9). In the parallel passage in Samuel (2 Sam. 6:6) it is called “Nachon’s threshing-floor.” It was a place not…
Chronicles, Books of — The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew Dibre hayyamim, i.e., “Acts of the Days.” This title was rendered by Jerome in his Latin version “Chronicon,” and hence…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Ephratah — Fruitful. (1.) The second wife of Caleb, the son of Hezron, mother of Hur, and grandmother of Caleb, who was one of those that were sent to spy the land (1 Chr. 2:19, 50). (2.) The ancient name of…
Gibeah — A hill or hill-town, “of Benjamin” (1 Sam. 13:15), better known as “Gibeah of Saul” (11:4; Isa. 10:29). It was here that the terrible outrage was committed on the Levite’s concubine which led to the…
Kirjath-jearim — City of jaars; i.e., of woods or forests, a Gibeonite town (Josh. 9:17) on the border of Benjamin, to which tribe it was assigned (18:15, 28). The ark was brought to this place (1 Sam. 7:1, 2) from…
Sa2 6:1
The ark fetched from Kirjath-jearim. - Sa2 6:1. "David assembled together again all the chosen men in Israel, thirty thousand." יסף for יאסף is the Kal of אסף, as in Sa1 15:6; Psa 104:29. עוד, again, once more, points back to Sa2 5:1, Sa2 5:3, where all Israel is said to have assembled for the first time in Hebron to anoint David king. It is true that that assembly was not convened directly by David himself; but this was not the point in question, but merely their assembling a second time (see Bertheau on Ch1 13:5). בּחוּר does not mean "the young men" here (νεάνια, lxx), or "the fighting men," but, according to the etymology of the word, "the picked men." Instead of thirty thousand…
According to God’s instructions (Exod 25:14; 37:5; Num 4:6), the Ark was to be carried by Levites of the clan of Kohath, holding two poles slipped through four rings at the corners of the Ark. God’s instructions were ignored in this instance. • Uzzah and Ahio: In 1 Sam 7:1, Eleazar, another son of Abinadab, was put in charge of the Ark.
Rashi on 2 Samuel 6:3
On a new wagon. [Dovid] made a mistake about something that even children at their Rebbe's school know "Because the sacred work was [incumbent] upon them, which they had to carry on their shoulders" (Bamidbar 7:9). And because [Dovid] said, "Your statutes were songs for me in the house of my dwelling,"1Hashem said to Dovid, “The words of the Torah upon which it is written, ‘Blink your eyes [and be distracted] from it and it is gone’ (Mishlei 23:5), you are calling songs?” (Sotah 35a). A song is of only temporary interest and then forgotten (Maharsho, ibid). (Tehilim 119:54) he was punished to come to this,2Making the mistake of transporting the Ark by wagon. and [to have] Uzoh die through hi…
Obed-Edom — Servant of Edom. (1.) “The Gittite” (probably so called because he was a native of Gath-rimmon), a Levite of the family of the Korhites (1 Chr. 26:1, 4-8), to whom was specially intrusted the custody…
Uzzah — Strength, a son of Abinadab, in whose house the men of Kirjath-jearim placed the ark when it was brought back from the land of the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:1). He with his brother Ahio drove the cart on…
Abinadab · 1. A Levite, in whose house the ark of God rested twenty years — 1. A Levite, in whose house the ark of God rested twenty years
Ahio · 1. A Levite, who drove the — 1. A Levite, who drove the
Ark Of The Covenant · Removed from Kirjath-jearim to the house of Obed-edom — Removed from Kirjath-jearim to the house of Obed-edom
Bullock · .With wagons — .With wagons
Cart · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Gibeah · .The ark of the covenant conveyed to, by the Philistines — .The ark of the covenant conveyed to, by the Philistines
Kirjath-Jearim · David brings the ark of the covenant from — David brings the ark of the covenant from
Uzzah · .Driver of the — .Driver of the
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
