Perez-uzzah

Biblical Text

Perez-uzzah is a place name found in 2 Samuel 6:8 and 1 Chronicles 13:11. David sought to move the Ark of the Covenant, which had been kept in the house of Abinadab at Baale of Judah (Kirjath-jearim in 1 Chronicles), to Jerusalem on a new cart. The cart was driven by Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab.

When they came to a threshing floor, the oxen shook the cart, and Uzzah put out his hand and took hold of the ark. Second Samuel calls this threshing floor "Nachon's threshingfloor," while 1 Chronicles calls it "the threshingfloor of Chidon." God struck Uzzah, and he died there beside the ark (2 Samuel 6:6-7). David was displeased because the LORD had struck Uzzah, and he called the place Perez-uzzah. The text adds that the name has remained "to this day."

David was afraid and would not bring the ark into the city of David. Instead, he left it in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months.

Name and Location

"Perez" (Hebrew perets) means "a breach" or "a breaking forth." The text connects the name with the verb describing how the LORD "made a breach upon" (broke forth upon) Uzzah. The same root appears in the immediately preceding chapter in the name Baal-perazim, the place where David defeated the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:20). For this reason, some interpreters read the two passages as a contrast: the God who broke forth against Israel's enemies also broke forth among His own people.

The site was probably somewhere along the road from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem, but its exact location has not been identified.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Later, looking back on this event, David said (1 Chronicles 15:13): "For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order."

The Law prescribed that the ark be carried on poles inserted through its rings (Exodus 25:14). It also warned that even the sons of Kohath, who bore the holy things, would die if they touched them (Numbers 4:15). On the second attempt, the Levites carried the ark, and it entered Jerusalem safely (1 Chronicles 15:15). Commentators also frequently note that the new cart matched the method the Philistines had used when they sent the ark back (1 Samuel 6:7).

The New Testament does not mention Perez-uzzah directly. In Christian interpretation, the holiness of God displayed in this event is sometimes read alongside the teaching that believers draw near to the throne of grace through Christ (Hebrews 4:16), or alongside the exhortation to serve God with reverence and godly fear.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• The death of Uzzah: Whether it was excessive for Uzzah to die after taking hold of the ark with good intentions is a long-standing question. Many interpreters emphasize that the method of transport violated the Law and stress the responsibility of David and the leaders who disregarded it. The Hebrew word rendered "error" in 2 Samuel 6:7 occurs only once in Scripture, so opinions differ on its precise meaning.
• David's "displeasure": Some read it as anger directed toward God; others read it as distress and bewilderment at the collapse of his plans.
• Added explanations: Sermons commonly add that Uzzah, having lived for a long time with the ark in his house, had come to regard it lightly. The text itself, however, does not say this.
• The manner of worship: In the Reformed tradition, this event is sometimes cited as an example of the regulative principle of worship, which holds that God must be worshiped in the manner He has commanded. Other preachers place less emphasis on form and more on one's attitude toward the holiness of God.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, 2 Samuel 6 is often used as a text contrasting the "new cart" with the "ark carried on the shoulders." From it preachers draw the lesson that zeal and good intentions alone are not enough; worship and service must accord with the Word. The passage is also frequently preached together with the blessing that came upon the house of Obed-edom (2 Samuel 6:11).