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2 Samuel 6 says Uzzah was killed for touching the ark, showing it as 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, leaving Uzzah’s death ambiguous.
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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: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
LXX 2 Samuel 6:6
Septuagint
5 And David and the sons of Israel were dancing before the Lord with tuned instruments with strength and with songs and with lyres and with stringed instruments and with tambourines and with cymbals and with flutes. 6 And they came to the threshing floor of Nacon and Uzzah reached his hand to the Ark of God to hold it still and he grabbed it to stabilize it because the calf diverted it. 7 And the Lord became wrathful by Uzzah and God struck him down right there. And he died there beside the Ark of the Lord before God. 8 And David was angry at how the Lord gashed a gash in Uzzah; and that place has been called “Uzzah’s Gash” until this day.
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (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 ..."
Beck, John A.
Translators as Storytellers: A Study in Septuagint Translation Technique
(pp. 111-112) Peter Lang Publishing, 2000
* 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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