Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 27 Feb. 2022
Our story in Second Samuel 6 picks up on the ark narrative from back in First Samuel, so let me begin by reviewing where 1 Samuel 6 & 7 left off, when the Philistines returned the ark of the covenant to the town of Beth Shemesh in Israel after having conquered Israel and stolen the ark:
1 Sam. 6:19-7:2 “Nevertheless, some of the men of Beth Shemesh [were] struck down because they looked into the ark of Yahweh; indeed He caused to strike down among the people seventy men, a fifth of a clan of men, and the people mourned because Yahweh had caused a great blow to be struck among the people. Then the men of Beth Shemesh said, ‘Who is able to stand before the face of Yahweh, this holy God, and to whom shall the {ark of Yahweh} go up from among us?’ So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, ‘The Philistines have returned the ark of Yahweh! Come down and bring it up to yourselves.’ So the men of Kiraith-Jearim came and took up the ark {of the covenant} of Yahweh, and they brought it to Abinadab's house on the hill, and they consecrated his son Eleazar1 to keep the ark {of the covenant} of Yahweh. And the days increased from the day the ark began to reside in Kiraith-Jearim 'til it had been twenty years…” (NAW)
So there were apparently 20 years between the incident with the Philistines until the writing of that account in 1 Samuel. Most commentators2 I read figured that an additional 20-30 years passed before the ark narrative picks up again in 2 Samuel 6.
Why such a long time? The best explanation I found was in the Jewish Soncino commentary, suggesting that it had to do with the Philistines having suzerainity over the area around Kiriath Jearim. It isn’t until David’s double-header repulsion of the Philistines in 2 Samuel 5 from this part of the country that suddenly it seems Kiriath-Jearim is again accessible for thousands of Israelites to gather.
Read my translation of the 2 Samuel 6 passage, starting at verse 1: “Presently, David again gathered together all the army-recruits {from} Israel – 30,000 there were, and David got up and went (with all the people who were with him from among the lords of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God who is called by {} the name of Yahweh of Armies, sitting with the cherubim on it. So they {loaded} the ark of {Yahweh onto} a new cart, and they carried it from the house of Abinidab which was at the hill, and Uzzah and Achio (the sons of Abinidab) led the {} cart away {} with the ark of God, and Achio walked in front of the ark. Meanwhile, David along with all the {children} of Israel were playing before the presence of Yahweh with all [their] {might, that is, with songs} and with guitars and with harps and with tamborines and with shakers and with {flutes}. And when they walked toward the threshing-floor of {Nodon}, Uzzah reached out {his hand} toward the ark of God {to} hold onto it because the oxen had come loose. Then the anger of Yahweh grew hot against Uzzah, and God struck him down there on the basis of his devience, and he died there beside the ark of God. Then it grew hot for David due to Yahweh bursting out with an outburst against Uzzah (and that place is called the Uzzah Outburst to this day), and David became afraid of Yahweh on that day, {saying}, ‘How can the ark of Yahweh come to me?’ So David was not willing to move the ark {of the covenant} of Yahweh away with him into the City of David. Instead, David diverted it {to} the house of Obed Edom the Gittite, and the ark of Yahweh sat at the house of Obed Edom the Gittite for three months. And Yahweh blessed Obed Edom and all his household.”
“After David had selected... Jerusalem, as the capital of the kingdom, he directed his attention to the organization and improvement of the... worship of the congregation, which had fallen grievously into decay since the death of Eli, in consequence of the separation of the ark from the tabernacle. He therefore resolved first of all to fetch out the ark of the covenant, as the true centre of the Mosaic sanctuary, from its obscurity and bring it up to Zion; and having deposited it in a tent previously prepared to receive it, to make this a place of worship where the regular worship of God might be carried on...” ~Keil & Delitzsch, 1891 AD
1 Chronicles 13:1-5 starts a little earlier in this story, adding a more context: “Presently, David took counsel with the officers of the thousands and of the hundreds – that is, every leader, then David said to all the assembly of Israel, ‘If, as far as y’all are concerned, it is good and it is from Yahweh our God, let us split up sending messages to our remaining brothers in all the lands of Israel (and the priests with them, and the Levites in the towns of their parishes), and let them be assembled to us, and let the ark of our God be brought round to us, for we did not seek it out in the days of Saul.’ And they said that all the assembly should do it that way, for the thing seemed right in the eyes of all the people. So David assembled all Israel – from Sihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath – to bring the ark of God from Kiraith Jearim...” (NAW)
This was a huge crowd of 30,000 people that David mobilized to parade the ark from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem.
For the first 1500 years of Christianity, the tradition was to translate the Hebrew word “Baal” in v.2 according to its literal meaning of “lords,” referring to the landowners in Judah in the crowd that went to fetch the ark,
but in the 1500’s, English Bibles started interpreting “Baal” as a place-name, referring to the same location as Kiraith Jearim, the town that the ark had been in for the last 40-plus years since the Philistines had captured and returned it.
This modern tradition of interpreting “Baal” as a place-name is supported by the fact that the oldest-known Hebrew manuscript of 2 Samuel, as well as the parallel passage of this verse in 1 Chronicles 13 both say “Kiraith Jearim” instead of “Baale-Judah,” indicating the place where they picked up the ark,
and the town is also called “Kiriath-baal” in Josh. 15:60 and “Baalath” in 1 Chr. 15:4.
Either way it is interpreted, it does not change the story; David led a crowd of Israelites to Kiraith Jearim to get the ark.
Another difficulty in translating v.2 is figuring out how to make sense of the last phrase, which, in Hebrew reads literally, “sitting those who are nearby upon him.”
It seems generally agreed that the Hebrew word hakeruvim, which means “those who are nearby” is referring to the angels called “Cherubim” which are associated with God’s heavenly presence.
But still, what does, “sitting the cherubim upon him” mean, and who is “him”? There are two masculine3 singular nouns which could be the antecedent for the singular masculine participle “sitting” and the singular masculine pronoun “him,” namely: Yahweh or the ark. Either word would work gramatically.
For most of Christian history, the tradition has been to interpret “him” as “Yahweh,” “Yahweh… enthroned,”
but to do so requires rearranging the order of the Hebrew words to move the preposition at the end of the phrase back between the word for “sitting” and the word for “Cherubim,” and then erasing the pronoun “him,” in order to arrive at, “Yahweh… who is sitting above the cherubim.”
This translation is, however, consistent with other passages of scripture. In the half-dozen other passages in the O.T. which mention “sitting” and “cherubim,” they all refer to God, although none of them have a preposition like we have here in 2 Samuel. The other six passages all literally read: “Yahweh sitting the cherubim4.”
Now, if you’re reading Matthew Henry’s or Keil & Deilitzch’s commentary, or the NIV, CEV, or NET Bible, they read the last masculine singular pronoun as referring to the ark: “...sitting, the cherubim above it/the ark.”
This makes good sense and doesn’t require changing the Hebrew words.
And it is not as different a translation as you might think, because the only things called “cherubim” in the Bible (besides the angels that drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden) are the two angel statues that were fastened to the top of the Ark of the Covenant. (The book of Revelation doesn’t actually mention “cherubim.” The only time in the New Testament that we read of “cherubim” is in Hebrews 9, also referring to the angel statues on the top of the ark5.) So whether you translate it “Yahweh sitting over the cherubim” or “the ark sitting with the cherubim on it,” the picture in the mind’s eye of the Israelites was the same, because, as far as they were concerned, the cherubim were the two angel statues on top of the ark, and God was invisible.
This “mercy seat” atop the ark of the covenant was the place of God’s special presence during the Mosaic covenant. God had told Moses in Exodus 25:22 “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”
It was this ark which David and the Israelites wanted to bring into their new capitol city of Jerusalem. And the reason they wanted it was because they wanted God’s special presence closer to them. Thus...
By the way, if you’re reading a King James or NAS version, your verse 4 will repeat a phrase from v.3 that is not in the NIV or ESV.
The oldest-known manuscripts don’t repeat the phrase in v.4, nor is it repeated in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles,
but it doesn’t change anything because, whether it says so once or twice, what they did was they picked up the ark at Abinidab’s house on the ridge there at Kiriath Jearim.
The Hebrew word for “hill/ridge” is gibea, so some versions transliterate it “Gibeah” and others translate it “hill,” but that’s not actually a difference in meaning.
Abinidab’s two sons6 were put in charge of managing the transportation of the ark, so they put it on a cart, and Achio walked in front of it, leading the oxen, and Uzzah walked behind it.
By the way, the Hebrew word achio means “his brother,” so some versions translate it “and his brother” and others transliterate it as a proper name “Achio,” but again, it amounts to the same thing, since Achio was the name of Uzzah’s brother – kinda like the name “Bubba” from back where I grew up in Alabama!
There is some question whether Uzzah and Achio were qualified to transport the ark. The law of Moses said that only descendents of Kohath from the tribe of Levi could carry the ark, but the Bible contains no genealogy that mentions who Abinidab and Uzzah and Achio were descended from. (Obed Edom, on the other hand, whom we meet at the end of the story, is mentioned in the geneaologies of 1 Chronicles 16 and 26 as being a Levite descended from Kohath, and therefore he was qualified to transport the ark. Obed-Edom is also called a “Gittite,” either because he had been with David when he was in exile in the city of Gath or because he was originally from the Levite town of Gath-Rimmon7. But I’m getting ahead of the story!)
Now, where have we heard of transporting the ark on a new cart? 1 Samuel 6:7 is the only other story in the Bible where this phrase “new cart” occurs, when the Philistines used an oxcart to return the ark to the Israelites. Uzzah and Achio were transporting the ark the way they had seen the Philistines do it, rather than carrying it the way God had said to carry it.
God had said in Numbers 4:5-14 “When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles... Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam...” (NKJV)
“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.” ~M. Henry
Remember how the introduction to this story in 1 Chronicles 13:2 & 4 says repeatedly that the Israelites “did what was right in their own eyes”?
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Prov. 14:12 & 16:25)
Whether Uzzah and Achio broke God’s commandment for transporting the ark through mere ignorance of God’s law or through neglect of studying it or through wilfull disobedience, God showed mercy to them, just as He had shown mercy to the Philistines who didn’t know any better and had transported the ark on an oxcart. Folks fixate on the severity of God’s judgement on Uzzah, but they miss how kind and merciful God was up to that point.
Now, while Uzzah and Achio were focused on transporting the ark, King David was focused on worshipping God.
Many Bible scholars believe that Psalm 24 and Psalm 68 were written for this occasion: “Who may ascend unto the hill of the Lord?” and “Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered!”
Verse 5 describes the band: can you imagine 30,000 people singing and playing instruments together – what an exciting time! “And David along with all the {children} of Israel were playing/celebrating/making merry before the presence of Yahweh.”
There are two slightly-different textual traditions describing the instruments:
One comes from the modern Hebrew text of 2 Samuel, also found in the Latin Vulgate and the King James and NASB versions, which reads, “...celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood8, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.”
The other tradition comes from the oldest-known manuscripts of 2 Samuel9 as well as the modern text of 1 Chronicles 13, which reads, “playing/celebrating with all [their] might, that is, with songs and with guitars and with harps and with tamborines and with cymbals [or percussion shakers] and with trumpets [or flutes].” The NIV and ESV generally followed this tradition.
Basically, the Hebrew phrase for “with all their might and with songs” sounds incredibly similar to the Hebrew phrase for “with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood,” and both phrases make good sense and don’t contradict each other. There is no reason why there can’t be two accounts, one which lists more of the percussion and stringed instruments being played, and one which mentions wind instruments being played along with how energetically they were playing them10.
This was a “big band” sound for the Iron Age!
Psalm 132 “LORD, remember David... How he swore to the LORD... ‘I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’ ... We found it in the fields of the woods [or the fields of Jaar, referring to Kiriath Jairim, where they picked up the ark]. Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength…. For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place…” (NKJV)
It was about 10 miles from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem, and it appears that they got pretty close to Jerusalem before tragedy struck.
“As they walked toward the threshing-floor of Nodon...” [This name gets spelled different ways in the manuscripts, and Keil & Delitzsch offer an interesting explanation that the different names in the 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles accounts are based, not on the owner’s name but on the tragedy that happened there, the name “Nachon” meaning “struck down” and the name “Chidon” (in the parallel account in 1 Chron.) meaning “disaster.”]
Anyway, as they neared Jerusalem and passed this area where grain was removed from its chaff, “Uzzah reached out his hand toward the ark of God to hold onto it” because something happened with the oxen11.
The verb for what the oxen did only occurs half a dozen other times in the Bible:
describing what people are supposed to do on the Sabbath (Exod. 23:11),
describing cancellation of a loan (Deut. 15:2-3),
describing the deposition of Jezebel (2 Ki. 9:33)
and the deposition of other wicked judges (Ps. 141:6),
and describing the loss of inheritance faced by the Israelites in exile (Jer. 17:4).
In all these other occurences it describes not merely “shaking/stumbling” but a “disengagement – a cutting loose” of some kind. It sounds to me like the oxen came unhiched somehow, which, if they were travelling uphill to Jerusalem, would mean the cart would start rolling downhill once it came unhitched from the oxen, and would crash – and you’d get a disaster worse than what happened at Beth Shemesh, because the contents would spill out, and everybody would see it and die – 30,000 people, instead of just the 70 men that looked into the ark at Beth Shemesh and died. It would be a catastrophe – no wonder Uzzah reached out to steady the ark!
But that action violated another one of God’s commands about the care of the ark. No one was to touch it.
Numbers 4:15 “And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering... all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.”
Uzzah should have known that rule about carrying the ark: You touch it; you die.
God came near to His people in the presence of that ark, but the vast, unbridgeable gulf between the Divine Creator and mortal man still had to be respected, and no man could just come up and touch the holy presence of God of his own will. This was a step too far for God to overlook, merciful as He was, and God’s punishment was decisive.
“Then the anger of Yahweh got hot against Uzzah, and God struck him down there on the basis of his devience, and he died there beside the ark of God.”
The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles explains that this disrespectful act of devience was “because he had reached out his hand upon the ark.”
This reminds me of how God struck Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, dead for offering “strange fire” in the tabernacle sanctuary in Leviticus 10.
And of how God struck Ananias and his wife Saphira dead when they lied to Peter about their financial gift to the church in Acts 5.
The prophets expressed it well:
Isaiah 33:14&22 “...Who can lodge... with a devouring fire? Who can lodge... with everlasting burnings? ... For Yahweh is our judge...” (NAW)
Malachi 3:2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire…” (NKJV)
Now, the same verb about God’s anger “burning” at the beginning of v.7 is used again at the beginning of v.8 to describe David “burning,” but there is a preposition in Hebrew before the word “David,” indicating that it was happening “to” David, not that David was initiating it.
My take is – not that David got angry at God but – that David realized he was in “hot water,” so to speak: “Then it got hot for David due to Yahweh bursting out with an outburst against Uzzah…”
David was the one who had rounded everybody up to do this move. The parade was David’s idea, and David was the king leading this party. If anything went wrong, it would be his fault, and everybody would be upset at him.
Now somebody has been struck dead, and everybody’s wondering, “Who’s gonna be next?” “What happened?” “What did Uzzah do wrong?” “I don’t know, but I sure hope God isn’t mad at me too!”
The parade suddenly took a macabre twist with this smoking corpse lying next to the center of the party; it wasn’t feeling like much of a celebration anymore.
In the last chapter, God had “broken out” upon Israel’s enemies in a battle, so David had called the place “Baal Perezim” (“The Master of Breakouts”), but now, God has “broken out” in anger against one of his own people, so David calls that place “Perez-Uzzah” (“The Breakout against Uzzah”).
v.9 “and David became afraid of Yahweh on that day, {saying}, “How can the ark of Yahweh come to me?” – or, as the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles quotes him, “How can I bring the ark of God to myself?” This question can be taken two ways:
The emphasis could be on the word “How?” David might have been thinking, “Well, this isn’t working, but it’s still the goal to get the ark to Jerusalem, so I’m going to have to try another way, but what’s the best way?” David does end up finding a better way by going back to God’s word and following the directions God had given the Israelites for moving the ark. So the “how” question eventually found an answer,12 but I think there’s a better interpretation:
The emphasis could be on the word “me.” The NIV renders it along these lines by adding the word “ever” to the sentence, “How can I ever bring it to me?” And this seems to be supported by the fact that the ark story pauses for a few months. It stops David in his tracks, and it seems he has second thoughts about bringing such a dangerous thing into his capitol. “Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe I’m not holy enough to bring God’s special presence into my community. What if He doesn’t like us and kills more of us?”
Both are valid interpretations, and I want to make them my two points of application.
First, are you sure you are doing what God’s word says to do, or have you been copying the world and doing what pagans do simply because it’s the status quo?
Are we living our family life the way the media says to do it, or are we searching out God’s word and putting into practice only what we see there?
Are we implementing in church services what we’ve seen in entertainment events, or are we sticking to what God says to do in the Bible?
We can even get taken off course by well-meaning preachers and teachers, who unknowingly mingle their own ideas with Scripture.
I was just reading one such article last week from a nationally-known pastor I respect – and whom I believe is doing his best to honor God, but who has some gaps in his knowledge and who comes from a specific cultural background that influences his teaching, I think, more than he realizes. He was describing the “ideal church”: it should be King-James-only, it should only sing the hymns that are in major keys, it should not have a seminary-trained pastor, and so on and so forth. Now, these things certainly fit within the range of Biblically-faithful churches, but the Bible doesn’t actually limit all churches to such narrow standards, and everyone who takes all their marching orders from that pastor rather than from God’s word will be led slightly off-course.
Even the best of human leaders will make mistakes, so we need to keep getting our guidance from God’s inerrant word rather than from men alone.
This principle is commonly called the “regulative principle,” that we can only do what God says to do in worship.
Now, it’s possible to go overboard on the regulative principle and refrain from doing things which do not need to be refrained from. For instance, women are never commanded to take communion, and silent prayer is never commanded in public worship, nor is it ever commanded to play a keyboard instrument in worship. For that matter driving to church in an automobile and using electricity in the meeting hall isn’t commanded either, but we do these things. Why? Because they are consistent with the principles (and the freedoms) which God had given us in His word13.
So, as with most wisdom issues, there are ditches on both sides of the road:
disregard for God’s commands on the one side (in order to follow human traditions),
and disregard for the liberties God had given us on the other (in order to follow human authority),
so we need to carefully and soberly sort out the differences between following man and following God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 “beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (NASB)
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved... work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (NASB)
Second, are you sufficiently afraid of God? Do you have a healthy respect for Him that avoids being flippant about the things of God?
“Let us learn hence, 1. To think and speak highly of God. He is the name above every name, the Lord of hosts, that has all the creatures in heaven and earth at his command, and receives homage from them all, and yet is pleased to dwell between the cherubim, over the propitiatory or mercy-seat, graciously manifesting himself to his people, reconciled in a Mediator, and ready to do them good. 2. To think and speak honourably of holy ordinances, which are to us, as the ark was to Israel, the tokens of God's presence (Matt. 28:2), and the means of our communion with him (Psalm 27:4).” ~Matthew Henry
Is the Lord’s Supper just a snack to you, or are you respecfully seeking to commune with Jesus?
When we sing, are you self-conscious about it (which is a nice way of saying you’re self-centered), or are you honestly communicating those words to Jesus and to your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Jesus said in Luke 12:5 "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”
Hebrews 10:28-29 “If someone [like Uzzah] who has upset the law of Moses dies without mercy... how much worse punishment do y'all suppose will be deserved by the one who has trampled down the Son of God and who has decided that the blood of the covenant (by which he was made holy) is profane, and who has insulted the Spirit of Grace?” (NAW)
1 Peter 1:17 “And since the Father y'all are calling upon is the One who judges against the work of each man without showing favoritism, y'all should start lifestyling the time of your temporary residence with respectfulness” (NAW)
Revelation 19:5-16 “Fear God and give him glory” (not angel but Jesus)
Furthermore, are there ways you can encourage others to show reverence toward God?
Matthew Henry, in his commentary on this passage suggested that David was doing this very thing by mobilizing such a huge parade to move the ark: “This would make a noble cavalcade, and would help to inspire the young people of the nation, who perhaps had scarcely heard of the ark, with a great veneration for it, for this was certainly a treasure of inestimable value which the king himself and all the great men waited upon, and were a guard to.”
I remember having one of those moments while watching a Christian movie with a time-travel theme that depicted a 19th century Christian’s observations of Christians at the end of the 20th century. In one scene he goes with church group to watch a movie at the theater, then a few minutes later, he comes running out of the theater yelling for the management to stop the movie because one of the actors had taken the Lord’s name in vain. That had a big impact on me because I had grown callous to that sin and had begun to accept it as inevitable in modern entertainment, but this Christian movie helped me see that I had slipped in regard to the Bible’s standard of holy speech.
LXX |
Brenton |
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MT 2Sa6 |
MT 1Ch13B |
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1 ויִּוָּעַץ דָּוִיד עִם־שָׂרֵי הָאֲלָפִים וְהַמֵּאוֹת Cלְכָל־נָגִיד׃ |
1 Presently, David took counsel with the officers of the thousands and of the hundredsD - that is, every leader, |
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2 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד לְכֹל קְהַל יִשְׂרָאֵל אִם־ עֲלֵיכֶם טוֹב וּמִן־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ נִפְרְצָה נִשְׁלְחָה עַל־ אַחֵינוּ הַנִּשְׁאָרִים בְּכֹל אַרְצוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעִמָּהֶם הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם בְּעָרֵי מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶם וְיִקָּבְצוּ אֵלֵינוּ׃ |
2 then David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If, as far as y’all are concerned, it is good and it is from Yahweh our God, let us split up sending messages to our remaining brothers in all the lands of Israel (and the priests with them, and the Levites in the towns of their parishes), and let them be assembled to us, |
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3 וְנָסֵבָּה אֶת־ אֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֵלֵינוּ כִּי־לֹא דְרַשְׁנֻהוּ בִּימֵי שָׁאוּל׃ |
3 and let the ark of our God be brought round to us, for we did not seek it out in the days of Saul.” |
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4 וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָל־הַקָּהָל לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּן כִּי־יָשַׁר הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי כָל־הָעָם׃ |
4 And they said that all the assembly should do it that way, for the thing seemed right in the eyes of all the people. |
1
Καὶ συνήγαγεν
ἔτι Δαυιδ πάντα
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And David again gathered all the young
men |
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And David again gathered together all the chosen men |
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Again,
David gathered together all the
chosen men
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1 Presently, David again gathered together all the army-recruits {from} Israel – 30,000 there were, |
1 וַיֹּסֶף עוֹד דָּוִד אֶת- כָּל-בָּחוּר Fבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁלֹשִׁים אָלֶף: |
5 וַיַּקְהֵל X דָּוִיד אֶת־כָּל־ x Xיִשְׂרָאֵל X X מִן־ שִׁיחוֹר מִצְרַיִם וְעַד־לְבוֹא חֲמָת לְהָבִיא אֶת־ אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים מִקִּרְיַת יְעָרִים׃ |
5 So David assembled all Israel - from Sihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath - to bring the ark of God from Kiraith Jearim, |
2 καὶ ἀνέστη καὶ ἐπορεύθη Δαυιδ καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὁ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρχόντων Ιουδα ἐν ἀναβάσει τοῦ ἀναγαγεῖν ἐκεῖθεν τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, [ἐφ᾿] ἣν ἐπεκλήθη X τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τῶν δυνάμεων καθημένου [ἐπὶ] τῶν χερουβιν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆς. |
2 And David arose, and went, [he] and all the people that were with him, [andG] some of the rulers of Juda, [on an expedition to a distant placeH], to bring back thence the ark of God, [on] which X the name of the Lord of HostX who dwells [between] the cherubs upon it is called. |
2
And David arose and went, with all the people that were with him
of the |
2
And David arose, and went with all the people that were
with him from Baale
of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is
called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth
|
2 and David got up and went (with all the people who were with him from among the lords of of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God who is called by {} the name of Yahweh of Armies, sitting with the cherubim on it. |
2 וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד וְכָל-הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ מִבַּעֲלֵי יְהוּדָהI לְהַעֲלוֹת מִשָּׁם אֵת אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר-נִקְרָאJ שֵׁם שֵׁם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹתK יֹשֵׁב הַכְּרֻבִים עָלָיו: |
6 וַיַּעַל דָּוִיד וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל X בַּעֲלָתָה אֶל־קִרְיַת יְעָרִים אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָה לְהַעֲלוֹת מִשָּׁם אֵת אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים X יְהוָהX יוֹשֵׁב הַכְּרוּבִים X אֲשֶׁר־נִקְרָא שֵׁם׃ |
6 and David went up, and all Israel was going up to Kiriath Jearim which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of the God Yahweh, who sits with the cherubim, who is called by the Name. |
3
καὶ |
3
And they |
3
And they |
3
And they |
3 So they {loaded} the ark of {Yahweh on} a new cart, and they carried it from the house of Abinidab which was at the hill, and Uzzah and Achio, the sons of Abinidab, led the {} cart away |
3 וַיַּרְכִּבוּN אֶת- אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִיםO אֶל-עֲגָלָהP חֲדָשָׁה וַיִּשָּׂאֻהוּ מִבֵּית אֲבִינָדָב אֲשֶׁר בַּגִּבְעָהQ וְעֻזָּא וְאַחְיוֹ בְּנֵי אֲבִינָדָב נֹהֲגִים אֶת- הָעֲגָלָה חֲדָשָׁהR: |
7 וַיַּרְכִּיבוּ אֶת־אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים עַל־עֲגָלָה חֲדָשָׁה מִבֵּית אֲבִינָדָב X X וְעֻזָּא X X וְאַחְיוֹ נֹהֲגִים X בָּעֲגָלָה X׃ |
7 And they carted the ark of God upon a new cart from the house of Abinidab, and Uzzah and Achio were leading it away in the cart. |
4 X X X X X X X X σὺν τῇ κιβωτῷ X, καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπορεύοντο ἔμπροσθεν τῆς κιβωτοῦ. |
X
X X X X X X X
with
the ark X.
|
4 And when they had taken it out of the house of Abinadab, who was in Gabaa, X Ahio [having care] of the ark of God went before the ark. |
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. |
4 {} with the ark of God, and Achio walked in front of the ark. |
4 וַיִּשָּׂאֻהוּ מִבֵּית אֲבִינָדָב אֲשֶׁר בַּגִּבְעָהS עִם אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים וְאַחְיוֹ הֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵי הָאָרוֹן: |
|
|
5
καὶ Δαυιδ καὶ
οἱ |
5
And David and the children
of Israel were playing
before the Lord [on
well-tunedT
instruments]
|
5
But David and all X
Israel played
before the Lord on all manner of |
5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. |
5 And David along with all the {children} of Israel were playing before the presence of Yahweh with all [their] {might, that is with songs} and with guitars and with harps and with tamborines and with shakers and with {flutes}. |
5 וְדָוִד וְכָל- בֵּיתV יִשְׂרָאֵל מְשַׂחֲקִים לִפְנֵי יְהוָה בְּכֹל עֲצֵי בְרוֹשִׁיםW וּבְכִנֹּרוֹת וּבִנְבָלִים וּבְתֻפִּים וּבִמְנַעַנְעִיםX וּבְצֶלְצֶלִיםY: |
8 וְדָוִיד וְכָל־X יִשְׂרָאֵל מְשַׂחֲקִים לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים בְּכָל־עֹז וּבְשִׁירִים וּבְכִנֹּרוֹת וּבִנְבָלִים וּבְתֻפִּים וּבִמְצִלְתַּיִם וּבַחֲצֹצְרוֹת׃ |
8 And David along with every Israelite were playing before the presence of God with all [their] might, that is, with songs and with guitars and with harps and with tamborines and with cymbals and with the trumpets. |
6
καὶ παραγίνονται
ἕως ἅλω Νω |
6
And they come as far as the threshing floor of Nacho |
6 And when they came to the floor of Nachon, Oza put forth [his hand] to the ark of God, and took hold of it: because the oxen kicked [and made it lean aside]. |
6 And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. |
6 And when they walked toward the threshing-floor of {Nodon}, Uzzah reached out {his hand} toward the ark of God {to} hold onto it because the oxen had come loose. |
6 וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד- גֹּרֶן נָכוֹןAA וַיִּשְׁלַח עֻזָּאAB אֶל-אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים ACוַיֹּאחֶז בּוֹ כִּי שָׁמְטוּ הַבָּקָר:AD |
9 וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד־ גֹּרֶן כִּידֹן וַיִּשְׁלַח עֻזָּא אֶת־יָדוֹ לֶאֱחֹז אֶת־הָאָרוֹןX כִּי שָׁמְטוּ הַבָּקָר׃ |
9 And when they walked toward the threshing-floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to hold onto the ark, because the oxen had come loose. |
7 καὶ ἐθυμώθη X κύριος τῷ Οζα, καὶ ἔπαισεν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ ὁ θεός, X X καὶ ἀπέθανεν ἐκεῖ παρὰ τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ [κυρίου ἐνώπιον] τοῦ θεοῦ. |
7
And the Lord was |
7
And the indignation
of the Lord was enkindled
against Oza, and |
7 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. |
7 Then the anger of Yahweh grew hot against Uzzah, and God struck him down there on the basis of his devience, and he died there beside the ark of God. |
7 וַיִּחַר-אַף יְהוָה בְּעֻזָּה וַיַּכֵּהוּ שָׁם הָאֱלֹהִים עַל- AFהַשַּׁל וַיָּמָת שָׁם עִם אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים: |
10 וַיִּחַר־אַף יְהוָה בְּעֻזָּא וַיַּכֵּהוּ X X עַל אֲשֶׁר־ שָׁלַח יָדוֹ עַל־הָאָרוֹן וַיָּמָת שָׁם לִפְנֵי X אֱלֹהִים׃ |
10 Then the anger of Yahweh grew hot against Uzzah and struck him down because he had reached out his hand upon the ark, so he died there before God. |
8 καὶ ἠθύμησεν X Δαυιδ ὑπὲρ οὗ διέκοψεν κύριος διακοπὴν ἐν τῷ Οζα· καὶ ἐκλήθη ὁ τόπος ἐκεῖνος Διακοπὴ Οζα ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης. |
8
And X
David
was
dispirited
because the Lord |
8
And X
David
was
grieved
because the Lord had |
8
And X
David
was
displeased,
because the LORD had |
8 Then it got hot for David due to Yahweh bursting out with an outburst against Uzzah (and that place is called the Uzzah Outburst to this day), |
8 וַיִּחַר לְדָוִד עַל אֲשֶׁר פָּרַץ יְהוָה פֶּרֶץ בְּעֻזָּה וַיִּקְרָא לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא פֶּרֶץ עֻזָּה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה: |
11 וַיִּחַר לְדָוִיד X כִּי־פָרַץ יְהוָה פֶּרֶץ בְּעֻזָּא וַיִּקְרָא לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא פֶּרֶץ עֻזָּא עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ |
11 Then it got hot for David, because Yahweh had burst out with an outburst against Uzzah (and the place is called Uzzah Outburst to this day), |
9
καὶ ἐφοβήθη
Δαυιδ τὸν κύριον
ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ
X
λέγ |
9
And David feared the Lord in that day, X
say |
9
And David was afraid of the Lord that day, X
say |
9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? |
9 and David became afraid of Yahweh on that day, {saying}, “How can the ark of Yahweh come to me?” |
9 וַיִּרָא דָוִד אֶת-יְהוָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא AGוַיֹּאמֶר אֵיךְ יָבוֹא אֵלַיAH אֲרוֹן יְהוָה: |
12 וַיִּירָא דָוִיד אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר הֵיךְ אָבִיא אֵלַי אֵת אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים׃ |
12 and David became afraid of God on that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God to myself?” |
10 καὶ οὐκ ἐβούλετο Δαυιδ τοῦ ἐκκλῖναι πρὸς αὑτὸν τὴν κιβωτὸν [διαθήκης] κυρίου εἰς τὴν πόλιν Δαυιδ, καὶ ἀπέκλινεν αὐτὴν Δαυιδ [εἰς] οἶκον Αβεδδαρα τοῦ Γεθθαίου. |
10
And David would not bring
|
10
And X
he
would not have
the ark of the Lord brought
|
10 So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite. |
10 So David was not willing to move the ark {of the covenant} of Yahweh away with him into the City of David. Instead, David diverted it {to} the house of Obed Edom the Gittite, |
10 וְלֹא-אָבָה דָוִד לְהָסִיר אֵלָיו אֶת- אֲרוֹןAI יְהוָה AJעַל-עִיר דָּוִד וַיַּטֵּהוּ דָוִד AKבֵּית עֹבֵד- אֱדוֹם הַגִּתִּי: |
13 וְלֹא־xהֵסִיר דָּוִיד X אֶת־הָאָרוֹן אֵלָיו אֶל־עִיר דָּוִיד וַיַּטֵּהוּ אֶל־בֵּית עֹבֵד־אֱדֹם הַגִּתִּי׃ |
13 So David didn’t move the ark away with him into the City of David. Instead he diverted it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, |
11 καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἡ κιβωτὸς τοῦ κυρίου εἰς οἶκον Αβεδδαρα τοῦ Γεθθαίου μῆνας τρεῖς· καὶ εὐλόγησεν κύριος ὅλον τὸν οἶκον Αβεδδαρα καὶ [πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ]. |
11 And the ark of the Lord lodged in the house of Abeddara the Gethite three months, and the Lord blessed all the house of Abeddara, and [all his possessions]. |
11 And the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household. |
11
And the ark of the LORD |
11 and the ark of Yahweh sat at the house of Obed Edom the Gittite for three months. And Yahweh blessed Obed Edom and all his household. |
11
וַיֵּשֶׁב
אֲרוֹן יְהוָה |
14 וַיֵּשֶׁב אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים עִם־בֵּית עֹבֵד אֱדֹם בְּבֵיתוֹ שְׁלֹשָׁה חֳדָשִׁים וַיְבָרֶךְ יְהוָה אֶת־בֵּית עֹבֵד־ אֱדֹם וְאֶת־ כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ׃ פ |
14 and the ark of God sat with the household of Obed Edom – inside his house – for three months. And Yahweh blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all who belonged to him. |
1In the New International Commentry on the Old Testament, Tsumura suggested that “Uzzah and Eliazar may have been the same person, since it is phonetically possible that ‘Uzzah’ (‘z), a hypocoristicon of the throphoric name ‘uzzi’el, is a variation of ‘Eliazar’...”
2With the exception of Keil & Delitzsch, who posited 70 years, and Tsumara who posited 20 years, but they didn’t change the average.
3Actually “ark” in Hebrew can be either feminine or masculine.
41 Sam. 4:4; 2 Ki. 19:15; 1 Chr. 13:6; Ps. 80:2; Psalm 99:1; Isa. 37:16
5Hebrews 9:4-5 “… the ark of the covenant covered all-over with gold, in which was a golden jar containing the manna, and the rod of Aaron which sprouted, and the tablets of the covenant, and above it, cherubim-angels of the Glory casting shade on the atonement-place...” (NAW)
6“[P]erhaps not only Abinadab himself was dead, but Eleazar also, his eldest son, who was sanctified to keep the ark, as in 1Sam. 7:1.” ~John Gill (It’s also possible that Uzzah and Achio were not sons but grandsons.)
7cf. 2 Samuel 15:18 “Then all his servants passed before him; and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king.” (NKJV) Alternately it could be that he was from the Levite town of Gathrimmon (Josh. 21:24).
8“instruments” is not in the Hebrew, so Tsumura suggested translating it “all branches of firs,” interpreting that tree branches were cut off and waved to celebrate like the Israelites did in Matt. 21:8 to welcome a king into his royal city.
9The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint. K&D surprisingly called this “evidently the correct reading.”
10“[T]he two accounts complete each other.” ~K&D
11The Hebrew is actuallly singular “ox,” but perhaps the singular can also stand for the plural.
12cf. John Gill: “...not, how it should be brought to the place provided by him in Jerusalem, now Uzzah was dead, for there were Levites enough to carry it, as they afterwards did; but as signifying that it would be either boldness and presumption in him to do it, since God had shown such a mark of his displeasure at their proceeding, that he might be in doubt whether it was the will of God it should come to him...”
13I like to call this the “Informed Principle of Worship” based on a sermon series I read from Steve Schlissel on this topic.
AMy
original chart includes the NASB, ESV, and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. (NAW is my translation.)
When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text),
I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses
a wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in
my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the
Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original
text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a
word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an
X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the
English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help
the reader see correlations between the various editions and
versions when there are more than two different translations of a
given word. The only known Dead Sea Scroll containing 2 Samuel 6 is
4Q51Samuela, which contains fragments of vs. 2-18, and
which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS is legible and
in agreement with the MT, the MT is colored purple.
Where the DSS supports the LXX (or Vulgate) with omissions or text
not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that
into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
BI have marked up the parallel passage in the MT of 1 Chronicles 13 by placing a capital X where a whole word found in the 2Sam text is not found in the 1Chr text, a lower case “x” when a letter of a word is in 2Sam but not 1Chr, grey text to indicate words in the 1Chr text not found in 2Sam, and orange text to indicate words where a synonym was substituted.
CSyriac & Latin add “and,” but not LXX or Targum. There is no DSS of 1 Chron.
DThese army officials over thousands and hundreds are also mentioned in 1 Samuel 22:7 and 2 Sam. 18:1
E The ancient Targums, Syriac, Latin, and Arabic versions all affirm the number in the MT over the LXX number.
FSyriac & Targums omit the beth prefix (“in”), and the Vulgate and LXX translators appear to have been translating from a Hebrew document that did not have that beth there either. Without that prepositional prefix, the default would be a construct state (“of”), which is the way the LXX and Vulgate translated it. Furthermore, the parallel passage in the MT of 1Chr has a preposition that means “out of.”
GVaticanus adds a και here, which is not in MT or Vulgate or standard LXX.
HVaticanus adds αναβασει here, which is not in MT or Vulgate or standard LXX.
IVulgate and LXX support the MT text here, translating “Baale” as “lords,” rather than transliterating it into a place name (cf. Luther: “from, the citizens of Judah”). All the commentators I read abandoned this in favor of a place name, but I think there are strong textual reasons in favor of the older interpretation. If it is a place name, it is considered to be the same place as Kiriath Jearim, which is the reading of the parallel passage in 1 Chron 13 and the reading of the DSS here: hwhyl r?a <yruy tyrq ayh hlub (“while he went up to Kiriath Jearim which belongs to Judah”).
JContrary to the KJV and Geneva Bibles, Willett understood this relative pronoun to refer to the ark rather than to God: “Some doe referre these words vnto God, reading thus, ‘to fetch from thence the Arke of God, whose name is called by the name of Iehovah:’ B.G.V. but it seemeth rather to be a description of the Arke, shewing the excellencie and dignitie of it, that there the Lord was called vpon, and from thence gaue answer, and shewed there euident signes of his presence.” Most modern English versions follow Willett’s interpretation. But John Gill affirmed the opposite with equal confidence: “not the ark, but the Lord, whose is the ark; his name is called by the name of Jehovah…” cf. K&D “above which (ark) the name of Jehovah-Zebaoth is named, i.e. above which Jehovah reveals His glory or His divine nature to His people...”
KDSS follows the 1Chr parallel account which omits “Sabbaoth,” but refers to the same Yahweh. Vulgate and LXX retain the “Sabbaoth” in the MT here.
L “Achio” means “his brethren” in Hebrew.
M“Gibeah” means “hill” in Hebrew.
NAlthough the MT “carted/made to ride” matches the verb in the parallel passage in 1 Chron, both the LXX and Vulgate were obviously reading a different Hebrew word which meant “put on,” and most English versions follow them. The Targum has yet another verb meaning “go down.” Syriac is וסמוהי, which appears to be yet another root. DSS is illegible at this spot.
ODSS, Targums, and LXX render “YHWH/the LORD.” It’s the same person, and the parallel account in 1Chr uses “God.” The next word in the DSS, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac, as well as in the parallel passage in 1Chr is על (“upon”), clarifying the more ambiguous preposition in the MT.
P1 Samuel 6:7 is the only other story in the Bible where this phrase “new cart” occurs, when the Philistines used an oxcart to return the ark to the Israelites. The Israelites “did what was right in their eyes” (1 Chron 13:2&4), which meant carrying the ark the way they had seen the Philistines do it, rather than carrying it the way God had said to carry it, which was manually - on foot with poles to hold it (Numbers 4).
QDSS is obliterated at this point, but there is room between the legible portions of this verse to add 10 more Hebrew consonants or spaces. No other manuscript has extra text to suggest, although the name “Kiriath Jearim” would fit this extra space in the DSS.
RDSS and LXX omit this word “new.” It doesn’t change the meaning because it’s obviously referring to the same cart described as “new” earlier in the verse.
SDSS is obliterated for all but the next-to-last word of this verse, which is “ark,” but it contains space for 35-45 Hebrew characters total. The MT has 64 characters (including spaces), 28 characters of which are repeated, seemingly unnecessarily, from the former verse, which, if subtracted, would bring the total characters of the MT in range with the DSS. The LXX omits those repeated words, supporting the DSS.
TOr “orchestral” – possibly this addition was an attempt to provide two alternate translations of this phrase in light of some uncertainty concerning it.
UThe LXX simply transcribed the Hebrew words for the stringed instruments and the drum, and the Vulgate does similarly.
VDSS and LXX read “sons” rather than “house,” and Vulgate and the parallel passage in 1 Chron omit the word altogether, but it effectively means the same thing.
WDSS reads <yry?bw zu (“might and with songs”) along with the parallel passage in 1 Chron, and the LXX seems to be following this (“with strength and with odes”). Compare the MT of 1 Chron ‘ozubeshirim with 2 Sam ‘atzeyberoshim (“trees of cypress”), and it’s easy to see how they could get mixed up. The Vulgate seems to be following the MT with “instruments of wood.”
XHapex Legomenon
YAll but the last letter of this word has been obliterated in the DSS. The LXX reads “flutes” instead of “cymbals,” and the Hebrew word for “flute” [חָלִילים] has the same number of letters and ends with the same letter as the Hebrew word for “cymbals,” so it seems possible as a reconstruction of the DSS text. This seems even more possible since the last instrument in the list in the parallel passage in 1 Chron is a wind instrument rather than another percussion instrument. This was a relatively “big band sound” for this culture, and these are a lot of the same instruments used in the prophetic band that young Saul met with back in 1 Samuel 10:5 (and also that Isaiah mentioned later on in the court parties of his day).
ZLXX = “Nodab,” Vaticanus = “Nachor,” MT & Vulgate = “Nachon,” DSS= “Nodon,” Syriac = “Adra,” 1 Chron 13 MT = “Kidon” “Chidon is the name of the place where it was said to Joshua, ‘stretch out the spear [kidon] or shield in thine hand towards Ai’ (Josh. 8:18).” ~John Gill, citing T. Bab Sotah, fol. 35. 2. and Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Paralipom. fol. 83. G.
AADSS instead /dwn
ABDSS and other Hebrew manuscripts and commentaries (including Targums) insert wdy ta (“his hand”), which is also in the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 13. The LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac also have this insertion. Since there is nothing else it could mean, it doesn’t change the meaning.
ACLXX follows the 1 Chron. 13 infinitive form without the vav prefix, shortening the Hebrew word by one letter. The DSS is obliterated at this point, but the full MT form would run the line of text in the DSS longer than any other line on the page, so that would tend to support the shorter 1 Chron/LXX reading, but both forms mean the same thing.
ADLXX & Vulgate read as though there were another Hebrew word at the end, but the DSS and Targums supports the MT here with no extra text.
AEActually the Vaticanus follows the MT closely and does not omit “anger” like the LXX does. Brenton’s translation is a bit loose here.
AFVulgate supports the MT, as does the LXX except for the omission of this word, which is a Hapex Legomenon. Vulgate translated this word temeritate, and Targum = דְאִשׁתְלִי (“error/inaction”), and Syriac דאושׁט is similar. BDB suggests it is from the root שלה (“mislead/be negligent/draw off”), which is used in a similar context later on, when King Hezekiah says to the priests, “My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense." (2 Chron. 29:11, NKJV ). DSS, on the other hand has the 1 Chron 13 text word-for-word from here through the end of the verse, except that it omits the שם (“there”) toward the end.
AGDSS, LXX, and Vulgate follow the spelling of the MT of 1 Chron. 13 with “said” in the infinitive construct (“saying”) instead of vav consecutive (“and he said”). It means the same thing, though. (Curiously, the DSS, LXX, and Vulgate do not follow 1 Chron 13’s spelling of the next verb: It is first person Hiphil in 1 Chron 13 “I bring,” but third person qal “come” here.)
AHDSS has extra space here for a couple more words, but no extra words are suggested in other manuscripts. The extra marker (אֵת) signifying that “ark” is the direct object in 1 Chron. 13 isn’t enough to account for the difference.
AIAlthough the DSS is obliterated at this point, it has room for one more word than the MT has, supporting the insertion of the word “covenant,” found here in the LXX, describing the ark. Vulgate and Targums support the MT, while the Syriac supports the more-abbreviated reading of the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 13 which leaves “ark” standing alone without any descriptors. Any way you cut it, however, it is the same ark [of the covenant] [of Yahweh][God] being referred to.
AJSyriac, Teargums, LXX, Vulgate, and the parallel passage in 1 Chron point toward the preposition אל (“to”) instead of the MT’s almost-synonymous preposition על (“upon”).
AKAlthough the DSS is obliterated at this point, there is plenty of room to add a lamed prefix to this word, as the Syriac and Targums do. The LXX (εις) and Vulgate (in) have explicit prepositions here, as well as the MT of the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 13. It doesn’t change the meaning, since even the English versions which follow the MT instead of the LXX understood the preposition to be implied and rendered the phrase “to the house.”