Uzzah
“Strength”
Summary
A son of Abinadab who was struck dead by God for touching the ark of the covenant when the oxen drawing it stumbled during its transport to Jerusalem.
☩The Journey with the Ark
Uzzah was one of the sons of Abinadab, in whose house at Kirjath-jearim the ark had rested for twenty years. When David first undertook to bring the ark to Jerusalem, Uzzah and his brother Ahio drove the new cart on which it was placed. Ahio went before the cart while Uzzah walked by its side. The procession advanced with music and celebration.
☩The Fatal Incident
At the threshing floor of Nachon (or Chidon), the oxen stumbled or shook the ark. Uzzah put out his hand to steady it. God's anger was kindled, and He struck Uzzah dead on the spot. The event was so sudden and awful that Scripture ascribes it directly to divine anger. David, with a mixture of awe and resentment, was afraid to take the ark farther, and the place was named Perez-uzzah, 'the breach of Uzzah.'
☩The Significance
The whole proceeding had been irregular. The law prescribed that the ark should be carried on the Levites' shoulders, not in a cart. Even the Levites were not to touch it on pain of death. As a Levite, Uzzah should have known the proper procedures; his death ensured attention to proper reverence thereafter. David later brought up the ark correctly, having learned from this judgment.
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Uzzah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Uzzah," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.American Tract Society, "Uzzah," in American Tract Society Bible Dictionary (American Tract Society, 1859).
- 4.John Kitto, "Uzzah," in A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, vol. II (Mark H. Newman, 1845).