The Function of Place Naming in 2 Samuel 5–6 - Sage Journals
Years later, King David attempted to move the Ark to his new capital, Jerusalem. The Death of Uzzah: samuel 6
To read 2 Samuel 6 is to grapple with the nature of God’s holiness and the proper posture of human worship. It challenges modern sensibilities about intimacy with the Divine, reminding the reader that the God of the Bible is not merely a buddy or a moral concept, but a consuming fire. The Function of Place Naming in 2 Samuel
The Ark arrived safely in Beth Shemesh, but the Israelites' joy was short-lived. Because 70 men (or 50,070 in some manuscripts) looked inside the Ark—violating its holiness—God struck them down, leading the survivors to fearfully send the Ark away to Kiriath Jearim. 2 Samuel 6: David’s Attempt to Move the Ark The Ark arrived safely in Beth Shemesh, but
: They hitched two milk cows that had never been yoked to a new cart, leaving their calves behind. If the cows went straight toward Israel against their natural instinct, it proved the plague was from God.
Instead of inviting the Ark closer, they send messengers to the men of Kiriath Jearim, begging them to come and get the Ark. In chapter 7, we learn that the Ark stays in the house of Abinadab for twenty years.