1 Chronicles / Chapter 13

1 Chronicles 13

14 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

David consults with his officers and proposes to all Israel that they bring the Ark of God back from Kiriath-jearim, noting that it was neglected during Saul's reign. The assembly agrees. David gathers all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath — the full extent of the promised land — to bring the Ark from Baalah, that is Kiriath-jearim. They place the Ark on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, with Uzzah and Ahio driving it. David and all Israel celebrate before God with all their strength, with songs and lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. But at the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah reaches out to steady the Ark when the oxen stumble, and the LORD's anger blazes against him — God strikes him dead for reaching out his hand to the Ark. David is both angry and afraid. He names the place Perez-uzzah and diverts the Ark to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, where it remains three months and the LORD blesses Obed-edom's household.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This chapter is the Chronicler's version of 2 Samuel 6:1-11, but with distinctive additions and theological framing. The Chronicler adds David's consultation with his officers (vv 1-4), his speech about neglecting the Ark during Saul's reign, and the geographical scope of the assembly ('from Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath'). The Chronicler also specifies the cause of Uzzah's death more precisely: 'because he put his hand on the Ark' (v10), whereas 2 Samuel 6:7 uses the obscure hapax legomenon hashal. The message is unmistakable: the right desire (bringing the Ark to Jerusalem) executed the wrong way (on a cart instead of Levitical shoulders) produces catastrophe. David's good theology — recognizing the Ark's neglect — is undermined by bad methodology. The Chronicler will make this explicit in chapter 15, when David says, 'Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.'

Translation Friction

The threshing floor is called Chidon (Kidon) here but Nacon (Nakhon) in 2 Samuel 6:6 — the names differ between accounts and neither location can be confidently identified. The phrase ki shalach yado al ha-aron ('because he put his hand on the Ark') in verse 10 is the Chronicler's clarification of the ambiguous hashal in 2 Samuel 6:7. The Chronicler's version is theologically clearer but may represent an interpretive paraphrase rather than an independent textual tradition. The scope of the assembly — 'from Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath' — describes the idealized borders of the promised land (Numbers 34:5-8, Joshua 13:3), which David's kingdom never fully controlled. The Chronicler uses idealized geography to present David's assembly as a national event of the highest order.

Connections

The Ark's journey connects to 1 Samuel 4-7 (its capture, return, and twenty-year rest at Kiriath-jearim). David's mention that the Ark was neglected during Saul's reign (v3) echoes the Chronicler's theology from 10:13-14: Saul's failure was fundamentally about not seeking God properly. The new cart echoes the Philistine transport of 1 Samuel 6:7 — Israel is imitating pagan methods. Uzzah's death echoes the deaths at Beth-shemesh (1 Samuel 6:19) and Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2): unauthorized contact with holiness is lethal. The Ark's diversion to Obed-edom anticipates its successful transfer in chapter 15, where David corrects the transport method. The phrase 'the LORD broke out' (perets) uses the same language as David's victory at Baal-perazim (14:11), creating a verbal link between God's deadly holiness and God's saving power.

1 Chronicles 13:1

וַיִּוָּעַ֣ץ דָּוִ֗יד עִם־שָׂרֵ֧י הָאֲלָפִ֛ים וְהַמֵּא֖וֹת לְכׇל־נָגִֽיד׃

David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds — with every officer.

KJV And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This opening verse has no parallel in 2 Samuel 6 and is the Chronicler's addition, establishing that David's initiative to move the Ark was not impulsive but deliberative. The phrase vayyivva'ats ('he consulted') from ya'ats ('to counsel, to advise') presents David as a leader who seeks input from his command structure. The officers named — sarei ha-alafim veha-me'ot ('commanders of thousands and hundreds') — are the tribal military hierarchy described in chapter 12.
1 Chronicles 13:2

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר דָּוִ֜יד לְכֹ֣ל ׀ קְהַ֣ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אִם־עֲלֵיכֶ֤ם טוֹב֙ וּמִן־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ נִפְרְצָ֗ה נִשְׁלְחָה֙ עַל־אַחֵ֣ינוּ הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֔ים בְּכֹ֖ל אַרְצ֣וֹת יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְעִמָּהֶם֙ הַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים וְהַלְוִיִּ֔ם בְּעָרֵ֖י מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם וְיִקָּבְצ֖וּ אֵלֵֽינוּ׃

David said to the entire assembly of Israel, "If it seems right to you, and if it is from the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to our kinsmen remaining throughout the territories of Israel — and with them the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands — and let them assemble with us."

KJV And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. David's speech addresses kol qehal Yisra'el ('the entire assembly of Israel') — the Chronicler's term for the gathered nation as a deliberative body. The conditional im aleikhem tov umin YHWH Eloheinu ('if it seems good to you and if it is from the LORD our God') makes the proposal subject to both popular consent and divine will. The specific mention of priests and Levites (ha-kohanim veha-Levi'im) is the Chronicler's addition, foreshadowing their crucial role in chapters 15-16. The phrase arei migrsheihem ('cities of their pasturelands') refers to the Levitical cities assigned in Joshua 21.
1 Chronicles 13:3

וְנָסֵ֕בָּה אֶת־אֲר֥וֹן אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ אֵלֵ֑ינוּ כִּ֛י לֹ֥א דְרַשְׁנֻ֖הוּ בִּימֵ֥י שָׁאֽוּל׃

"Let us bring the Ark of our God back to us, for we did not seek it during the days of Saul."

KJV And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb nasevah ('let us bring around, let us bring back') from savav ('to turn, to go around') implies returning the Ark to its proper place in the center of national life. The phrase bimei Sha'ul ('in the days of Saul') is a gentle but clear indictment of the previous regime — Saul's kingdom was characterized by the absence of the Ark, which is to say, the absence of deliberate seeking after God's presence.
1 Chronicles 13:4

וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ כׇל־הַקָּהָ֖ל לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת כֵּ֑ן כִּֽי־יָשַׁ֥ר הַדָּבָ֖ר בְּעֵינֵ֥י כׇל־הָעָֽם׃

The entire assembly agreed to do this, for the plan was right in the eyes of all the people.

KJV And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase ki yashar ha-davar be-einei kol ha-am ('for the matter was right/upright in the eyes of all the people') uses yashar ('straight, right, upright') — a word that carries moral weight. The assembly's unanimous approval echoes the lev echad ('one heart') of 12:38. The Chronicler presents David's reign as beginning with national consensus around the right priority: God's presence at the center of Israel's life.
1 Chronicles 13:5

וַיַּקְהֵ֤ל דָּוִיד֙ אֶת־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מִן־שִׁיח֣וֹר מִצְרַ֔יִם וְעַד־לְב֖וֹא חֲמָ֑ת לְהָבִיא֙ אֶת־אֲר֣וֹן הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים מִקִּרְיַ֖ת יְעָרִֽים׃

David assembled all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

KJV So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The geographical markers — min Shichor Mitsrayim ve-ad levo Chamat ('from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath') — describe the full extent of the idealized promised land. The Shihor is the Wadi el-Arish at the Egyptian border; the entrance of Hamath is the Beqa'a Valley in modern Lebanon. This scope, never fully achieved politically, represents the Chronicler's theological geography: all Israel, in its ideal wholeness, participates in the Ark's recovery. Kiriath-jearim (Qiryat Ye'arim, 'city of forests') had housed the Ark since its return from Philistia (1 Samuel 7:1-2).
1 Chronicles 13:6

וַיַּ֨עַל דָּוִ֤יד וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בַּעֲלָ֔תָה אֶל־קִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר לִֽיהוּדָ֑ה לְהַעֲל֣וֹת מִשָּׁ֗ם אֵ֣ת אֲר֧וֹן הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים יְהֹוָ֖ה יוֹשֵׁ֥ב הַכְּרוּבִ֖ים אֲשֶׁר־נִקְרָ֥א שֵֽׁם׃

David and all Israel went up to Baalah — that is, to Kiriath-jearim in Judah — to bring up from there the Ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned above the cherubim, over which the Name is invoked.

KJV And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Baalah (Ba'alah) is identified with Kiriath-jearim (Joshua 15:9-10). The full divine title — aron ha-Elohim YHWH yoshev ha-keruvim asher niqra shem ('the Ark of God the LORD who is enthroned above the cherubim, over which the Name is invoked') — piles up theological weight: this is not merely a sacred box but the earthly throne of the God of Israel. The cherubim (keruvim) are the golden winged figures on the Ark's cover (Exodus 25:18-22). The phrase asher niqra shem ('over which the Name is called') indicates the Ark bears the divine Name — it is the physical location where God's identity is anchored in the material world.
1 Chronicles 13:7

וַיַּרְכִּ֜יבוּ אֶת־אֲר֤וֹן הָאֱלֹהִים֙ עַל־עֲגָלָ֣ה חֲדָשָׁ֔ה מִבֵּ֖ית אֲבִינָדָ֑ב וְעֻזָּ֣א וְאַחְי֔וֹ נֹהֲגִ֖ים בָּעֲגָלָֽה׃

They loaded the Ark of God onto a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart.

KJV And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The new cart (agalah chadashah) echoes the Philistine cart of 1 Samuel 6:7, subtly signaling that Israel is transporting the Ark by pagan precedent rather than Mosaic instruction. Numbers 4:15 and 7:9 specify that the Kohathite Levites must carry the most holy objects on their shoulders — no cart is authorized. The Chronicler records the error without immediate commentary, allowing the catastrophe of verse 9 to serve as the verdict. Uzzah (Uzza) and Ahio, from Abinadab's household, had lived with the Ark for decades.
1 Chronicles 13:8

וְדָוִ֣יד וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מְשַׂחֲקִים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים בְּכׇל־עֹ֕ז וּבְשִׁירִ֥ים וּבְכִנֹּר֖וֹת וּבִנְבָלִ֣ים וּבְתֻפִּ֑ים וּבִמְצִלְתַּ֖יִם וּבַחֲצֹצְרֽוֹת׃

David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their strength — with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

KJV And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Chronicler's version reads bekhol oz ('with all strength/might') where 2 Samuel 6:5 has the difficult bekhol atsei veroshim ('with all cypress-wood instruments'). Most scholars consider the Chronicles reading original here, with the Samuel text corrupted. The instrument list substitutes shirim ('songs') for the wooden instruments and adds chatsotsrot ('trumpets'), a distinctly Levitical instrument (Numbers 10:2). The celebration is total: vocal (songs), stringed (lyres, harps), percussive (tambourines, cymbals), and brass (trumpets).
1 Chronicles 13:9

וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ עַד־גֹּ֣רֶן כִּיד֑וֹן וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח עֻזָּא֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ לֶאֱחֹ֖ז אֶת־הָאָרֽוֹן כִּ֥י שָׁמְט֖וּ הַבָּקָֽר׃

When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark, because the oxen had stumbled.

KJV And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The threshing floor is identified as goren Kidon ('Chidon's threshing floor'), while 2 Samuel 6:6 calls it goren Nakhon — the two names differ and neither site can be located with certainty. The verb shamtu ('they stumbled, they let slip') from shamat describes the oxen losing their footing. Uzzah's response is instinctive — le'echoz et ha-aron ('to grasp the Ark') — but instinct is not the standard by which holiness is measured.
1 Chronicles 13:10

וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֤ף יְהֹוָה֙ בְּעֻזָּ֔א וַיַּכֵּ֕הוּ עַ֣ל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח יָד֖וֹ עַל־הָאָר֑וֹן וַיָּ֥מׇת שָׁ֖ם לִפְנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִֽים׃

The anger of the LORD blazed against Uzzah, and God struck him down because he had reached out his hand to the Ark. He died there before God.

KJV And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb vayyichar af YHWH ('the anger of the LORD burned') is the standard idiom for divine wrath. The Chronicler's explicit statement of cause — shalach yado al ha-aron ('he put his hand on the Ark') — removes the ambiguity of the Samuel account, making the theological point inescapable: the Ark must be approached only in the manner God prescribed.
1 Chronicles 13:11

וַיִּ֣חַר לְדָוִ֔יד כִּֽי־פָרַ֥ץ יְהֹוָ֖ה פֶּ֣רֶץ בְּעֻזָּ֑א וַיִּקְרָ֞א לַמָּק֤וֹם הַהוּא֙ פֶּ֣רֶץ עֻזָּ֔א עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

David burned with anger because the LORD had torn open a breach against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah — as it is called to this day.

KJV And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perezuzza to this day.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

פֶּרֶץ perets
"breach" — breach, breaking through, bursting out, gap torn open, violent disruption

Perets describes a violent rupture — a wall breaking, a flood erupting, a boundary being torn open. David experiences God's act as an explosion of lethal holiness through the boundary between the divine and the human. The word will reappear in 14:11 in a positive context (God breaking through enemies), creating a theological paradox: the same divine power that kills Uzzah will save Israel.

Translator Notes

  1. David's anger (vayyichar le-David) mirrors God's anger in the previous verse — the same verb charah is used for both. The verb parats ('to breach, to break through') gives the place its name: Perets Uzza ('Breach of Uzzah'). The same root appears in Baal-perazim (14:11), where God's 'breaking through' is a blessing. Here it is a catastrophe. The phrase ad ha-yom ha-zeh ('to this day') is the narrator's aside, indicating the name persisted.
1 Chronicles 13:12

וַיִּירָ֥א דָוִ֛יד אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֑וּא לֵאמֹ֕ר אֵ֛יךְ אָבִ֥יא אֵלַ֖י אֵ֥ת אֲר֥וֹן הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃

David was afraid of God that day. He said, "How can I ever bring the Ark of God home to me?"

KJV And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The shift from anger (v11) to fear (vayyira, v12) mirrors the emotional sequence in 2 Samuel 6:8-9. The question eikh avi elai et aron ha-Elohim ('how can I bring the Ark of God to me?') expresses not despair but genuine perplexity — David wants to do the right thing but has just discovered that doing it wrong is fatal. The Chronicler will answer this question in chapter 15, where David identifies the error: they did not carry the Ark 'according to the rule' (15:13).
1 Chronicles 13:13

וְלֹא־הֵסִ֥יר דָּוִ֛יד אֶת־הָאָר֥וֹן אֵלָ֖יו אֶל־עִ֣יר דָּוִ֑יד וַיַּטֵּ֕הוּ אֶל־בֵּ֥ית עֹבֵ֖ד אֱדֹ֥ם הַגִּתִּֽי׃

David did not bring the Ark home to himself in the City of David. Instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

KJV So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb hissir ('to turn aside, to remove') and hittahu ('he diverted it') describe a deliberate change of course — the Ark's procession to Jerusalem is halted and rerouted. Obed-edom (Oved-Edom, 'servant of Edom') the Gittite (ha-Gitti) will later be identified as a Levite (15:18, 21), which would explain why the Ark could legitimately rest at his house. The Gittite designation may refer to Gath-rimmon, a Levitical city (Joshua 21:24), rather than the Philistine city of Gath.
1 Chronicles 13:14

וַיֵּ֨שֶׁב אֲר֤וֹן הָאֱלֹהִים֙ עִם־בֵּ֣ית עֹבֵ֥ד אֱדֹ֛ם בְּבֵית֖וֹ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה חֳדָשִׁ֑ים וַיְבָ֧רֶךְ יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־בֵּ֥ית עֹבֵד־אֱדֹ֖ם וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לֽוֹ׃

The Ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom, in his house, for three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom and everything he had.

KJV And the ark of God remained with the family of Obededom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb vayyeshev ('it remained, it dwelled') describes the Ark as a guest in Obed-edom's home — a divine presence that brings berakha ('blessing') to the entire household. The three-month duration (sheloshah chodashim) parallels the Ark's sojourn in Philistine cities (1 Samuel 5), but with opposite effect: plague there, blessing here. The final phrase ve-et kol asher lo ('and everything that was his') indicates comprehensive prosperity — the Ark's presence sanctified and enriched the entire estate. This blessing will be the catalyst that emboldens David to attempt the transfer again (see 15:25 and 2 Samuel 6:12).
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