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2 Samuel 6 says Uzzah was killed for touching the ark, a punishment for breaking a divine command. The Greek Septuagint translation adds that he tried to hold the ark back and removes the reason for this, making Uzzah’s death ambiguous.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Samuel 6:6
Hebrew Bible
5 while David and all Israel were energetically celebrating before the Lord, singing and playing various stringed instruments, tambourines, rattles, and cymbals. 6 When they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and grabbed hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord was so furious with Uzzah, he killed him on the spot for his negligence. He died right there beside the ark of God. 8 David was angry because the Lord attacked Uzzah; so he called that place Perez Uzzah, which remains its name to this very day.
Date: 600–501 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX 2 Samuel 6:6
Septuagint
5 And David and the children of Israel were playing before the Lord on well-tuned instruments mightily, and with songs, and with harps, and with lutes, and with drums, and with cymbals, and with pipes. 6 And they come as far as the threshing floor of Nodab: and Uzzah reached forth his hand to the ark of God to keep it steady, and took hold of it; for the ox shook it out of its place. 7 And the Lord was very angry with Uzzah; and God struck him there: and he died there by the ark of the Lord before God. 8 And David was dispirited because the Lord made a breach upon Uzzah; and that place was called the breach of Uzzah until this day.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... when we examined the content of this discourse in translation, we discovered that 16 of the 23 verses had a marked change in content either by way of addition, change, or omission. The Greek storyteller was telling a very different story than the Hebrew storyteller ... The Greek translation differs from the Hebrew in virtually every one of those initial verses. The most significant change may be seen in verses 6-7. In verse 6, the Greek versions twice add the reason for Uzzah's grasping the Ark. Uzzah grabbed the Ark in order to 'hold it back'. In verse 7, the Greek version omits the motivation for the Lord's action against Uzzah. Since the motivation for Uzzah's actions is added and the motive for the Lord's response is gapped, the action of the Lord against Uzzah is less well understood. This increases the tension and makes the successful transportation of the Ark more worthy of celebration ..."
John A. Beck, Translators as Storytellers: A Study in Septuagint Translation Technique, StBibLit 25 (New York: Peter Lang, 2000), 111–112.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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