Uzzah

Biblical Account

Uzzah appears in 2 Samuel 6:1-11 and 1 Chronicles 13:1-14. After David came to the throne, he sought to bring the ark of the covenant (the ark of God) from Baale of Judah, that is, Kirjath-jearim, to Jerusalem. The ark had long remained in the house of Abinadab on the hill (1 Samuel 7:1-2). David and the people set the ark on a new cart, and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the cart.

When they came to the threshingfloor of Nachon (called the threshingfloor of Chidon in Chronicles), the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put forth his hand and took hold of the ark. Scripture records that "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" (2 Samuel 6:6-7). David was displeased and called the place Perez-uzzah ("the breach of Uzzah"). Afraid, David carried the ark aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, and during the three months that the ark remained there, the household of Obed-edom was blessed.

Significance Within Scripture

The Uzzah incident is closely tied to the manner in which the ark was transported. The Mosaic law assigned the sons of Kohath among the Levites to carry the furnishings of the tabernacle on their shoulders and warned that touching the holy things would bring death (Numbers 4:15; 7:9). Placing the ark on a cart was the same method the Philistines had used when they sent the ark back (1 Samuel 6:7). Later, when David had the Levites carry the ark, he told them that God had struck Israel "because ye did it not at the first" (1 Chronicles 15:2, 13-15). Chronicles thus presents the incident as the consequence of failing to act according to the prescribed ordinance.

Uzzah is not mentioned in the New Testament. The Old Testament also mentions another person by the same name, as well as place names such as "the garden of Uzza" (2 Kings 21:18); these are regarded as a different person and a separate place from this Uzzah.

Interpretation and Issues

• The reason for the judgment: Many interpreters read the incident as the result of violating God's holiness and the regulations of the law. Some interpretations place greater responsibility on David and the leaders who chose to use a cart than on Uzzah himself.
• The word "error": The Hebrew word rendered "error" in 2 Samuel 6:7 is of uncertain meaning, and translations render it differently. 1 Chronicles 13:10 gives the reason as "because he put his hand to the ark."
• Uzzah's intent: The text does not state Uzzah's motives or inner disposition. Explanations such as "he meant well and was trying to protect the ark" or "he had lived with the ark so long that he had grown insensitive to its holiness" are interpretations brought to the text from outside it.
• Lineage: Some hold that "son of Abinadab" should be understood as a descendant rather than a son, but this is difficult to determine from the text alone.
• Principle of worship: In the Reformed tradition, this passage is sometimes cited to illustrate the principle that worship must be offered in the manner Scripture commands.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, the Uzzah incident is commonly used to illustrate the lesson that "God's work must be done God's way." It is also frequently preached together with the scene that follows, the blessing of Obed-edom's household. In Sunday school it is taught as one episode in the story of the ark of the covenant.