2 Samuel 6:1-23. The Translation of the Ark to Mount Zion = 1 Chronicles 13, 15, 16 This chapter records an important episode in David's reign. After restoring the political unity of the nation, and consolidating it by the establishment of his new capital, his next care was to make that capital th... [ Continue Reading ]
Removal of the Ark from Kirjath-jearim. Uzzah smitten for his irreverence 1. _Again, David gathered together_ AND DAVID GATHERED TOGETHER AGAIN. "Again" refers either to the assembly convened for David's coronation (ch. 2 Samuel 5:1-3), or to the muster for the Philistine war recorded in the verses... [ Continue Reading ]
_from Baale of Judah Baale of Judah_is generally supposed to be another name for _Kirjath-jearim_, which is called _Baalah_in Joshua 15:9; 1 Chronicles 13:6, and Kirjath-Baal in Joshua 15:60. Here the Ark had remained since its return from the country of the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:1-2). If the prep... [ Continue Reading ]
_set the ark_ Lit. _made the ark to ride_. _upon a new cart_ Not desecrated by common uses. Cp. 1 Samuel 6:7. This was however a breach of the Levitical law, which prescribed that the Ark should be borne upon the shoulders of the Levites (Numbers 3:29-31; Numbers 7:9). _in Gibeah_ Rather, ON THE H... [ Continue Reading ]
The text of these verses is corrupt. Some words have been accidentally repeated by a scribe in copying the Hebrew, and should be struck out, on the authority of the LXX., and the end of 2 Samuel 6:3 and 2 Samuel 6:4 read thus: "Now Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abinadab were driving the cart with the A... [ Continue Reading ]
_played_ The word denotes a dance accompanied by music, such as frequently formed part of a religious festival. Cp. 1 Samuel 18:7. _on all manner of_instruments made of _fir wood_ The expression is a strange one, and the text seems to be corrupt. Probably we should adopt the reading of the parallel... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nachon's threshingfloor_ There is nothing to shew where this place was. It is called in 1 Chronicles 13:9, the threshingfloor of _Chidon_. It may have been known by both names, but more probably one of the two forms is due to corruption of the text. _for the oxen shook it_ This is the most probabl... [ Continue Reading ]
_for_his _error_ The Hebrew word occurs nowhere else, but if genuine, may best be rendered thus, or as in the margin, _for his rashness_. The reading of Chronicles, "because he put his hand to the ark," sounds like a substitution for an expression which had already become obscure. _God smote him the... [ Continue Reading ]
_was displeased_ The same word is used in 1 Samuel 15:11 (E. V. _it grieved Samuel_) to denote vexation akin to anger. _made a breach_ BROKE FORTH UPON UZZAH: the same verb as in ch. 2 Samuel 5:20: used in a precisely similar sense of a sudden divine judgment in Exodus 19:22; Exodus 19:24.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Obed-edom the Gittite_ Obed-edom was a Levite belonging to the family of the Korahites, who were descended from Kohath (1Ch 26:1; 1 Chronicles 26:4-8; Numbers 16:1). He is called a Gittite probably because he was a native of the Levitical city of Gath-rimmon, in Dan or Manasseh, which was assigned... [ Continue Reading ]
Removal of the Ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem 12. _So David went_ Some Latin and a few Greek MSS. soften the abruptness of the text by inserting before this sentence the words, "And David said, I will go and bring back the Ark with blessing unto my house;" but they are in all probabil... [ Continue Reading ]
_they that bare the ark of the_Lord] The requirements of the law were now duly observed, as is recorded at length in 1 Chronicles 15, where further details are given about the preparation of a tent to receive the Ark, the number of Levites who took part in the ceremony, and the arrangements for the... [ Continue Reading ]
_David danced_ The dances which were the usual expression of rejoicing on occasions of national thanksgiving (Exodus 15:20-21; Judges 11:34) and religious festivals (Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4) were generally performed by women only. David's enthusiasm did not fear to transgress the limits of conven... [ Continue Reading ]
_leaping and dancing_ Two peculiar words, the first found here only, the second only here and in 2 Samuel 6:14, are used to denote the special modes of dancing anciently employed in religious solemnities. In 1 Chronicles 15:29 two verbs in ordinary use have been substituted, shewing that these disti... [ Continue Reading ]
_the tabernacle_ Rather, THE TENT, as in 1 Chronicles 15:1. The tabernacle proper was at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39).... [ Continue Reading ]
_burnt offerings and peace offerings_ The "burnt offerings" were dedicatory, the "peace offerings" eucharistic. The latter furnished the festival meal for the assembled people (Leviticus 7:15). Compare Solomon's sacrifices at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8:62-65). _he blessed the people in... [ Continue Reading ]
_dealt_ In the old sense of _divided_or _distributed_, from A. S. _dælan_, to distribute, from which comes _dole_, a portion _dealt_out. Cp. Isaiah 58:7; Romans 12:3. _a cake of bread_ The Heb. word for _cake_occurs elsewhere only in the Pentateuch, and is always applied to cakes prepared for sacri... [ Continue Reading ]
Michal's contemptuous pride rebuked by David 20. _And Michal_, &c. The account of David's meeting with Michal is omitted in 1 Chr. _How glorious_, &c. Better, HOW HONOURABLE DID THE KING OF ISRAEL MAKE HIMSELF TO-DAY. The E. V. weakens the point of David's answer in 2 Samuel 6:22 by translating th... [ Continue Reading ]
It was _before the_Lord] BEFORE THE LORD, WHO CHOSE ME RATHER THAN THY FATHER, &C. … YEA I WILL PLAY BEFORE THE LORD. "Before the Lord" stands emphatically at the beginning of David's answer. No service offered to the God to whom he owed all his advancement could be degrading. Thus he defends his ow... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will yet_, &c. AND I WILL MAKE MYSELF YET MORE CONTEMPTIBLE THAN THIS, AND WILL BE HUMBLE IN MINE OWN EYES. Michal had taunted David with degrading himself in the eyes of the meanest servants. He replies that even if he humbled himself yet more deeply, instead of priding himself on his royal... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore Michal_ Simply, AND MICHAL. She was condemned to the reproach of childlessness, the sharpest privation to an Oriental woman. Cp. Genesis 30:1; 1 Samuel 1:5.... [ Continue Reading ]