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LXX 2 Samuel

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 6

1 And David again gathered all the young men of Israel, about seventy thousand. 2 And David arose, and went, he and all the people that were with him, and some of the rulers of Judah, on an expedition, to bring back from there the ark of God, on which the name of the Lord of Hosts who dwells between the cherubs upon it is called. 3 And they put the ark of the Lord on a new wagon, and took it out of the house of Amminadab who lived on the hill, and Uzzah and his brothers the sons of Amminadab drove the wagon, 4 with the ark: and his brothers went before the ark. 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. 9 And David feared the Lord in that day, saying, How shall the ark of the Lord come in to me? 10 And David would not bring in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to himself into the city of David: and David turned it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord lodged in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed all the house of Obed-Edom, and all his possessions. 12 And it was reported to king David, saying, The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that he has, because of the ark of God. And David went, and brought up the Ark of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with gladness. 13 And there were with them bearing the ark seven bands, and for a sacrifice a calf and lambs. 14 And David sounded with well-tuned instruments before the Lord, and David was clothed with a distinguished robe.⁠ 15 And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of a trumpet. 16 And it happened as the ark arrived at the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked through the window, and saw king David dancing and playing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they bring the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle which David pitched for it: and David offered whole burnt offerings before the Lord, and peace-offerings. 18 And David made an end of offering the whole burnt offerings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. 19 And he distributed to all the people, even to all the host of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, both men and women, to every one a cake of bread, and a joint of meat, and a cake from the frying-pan: and all the people departed every one to his home. 20 And David returned to bless his house. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and saluted him, and said, How was the king of Israel glorified today, who was today uncovered in the eyes of the female servants of his servants, as one of the dancers wantonly uncovers himself! 21 And David said to Michal, I will dance before the Lord. Blessed be the Lord who chose me before your father, and before all his house, to make me head over his people, even over Israel: therefore I will play, and dance before the Lord. 22 And I will again uncover myself thus, and I will be vile in your eyes, and with the maidservants by whom you said that I was glorified. 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child till the day of her death.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Samuel 2:27 and 2 Samuel 6:14 and LXX 2 Samuel 6:14

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

In 2 Samuel 6, David is shown wearing an ephod, priestly clothing, even though he is not a Levite. The Greek Septuagint translation avoids this issue by calling it a distinguished robe instead, likely to remove the image of David in the priestly ephod.

Passages

1 Samuel 2:27

Hebrew Bible
26 However, the boy Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people. 27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘I plainly revealed myself to your ancestor’s house when they were slaves to the house of Pharaoh in Egypt. 28 I chose your ancestor from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Samuel

2 Samuel 6:14

Hebrew Bible
13 Those who carried the ark of the Lord took six steps and then David sacrificed an ox and a fatling calf. 14 Now David, wearing a linen ephod, was dancing with all his strength before the Lord. 15 David and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord, shouting and blowing trumpets.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Samuel

LXX 2 Samuel 6:14

Septuagint
13 And there were with them bearing the ark seven bands, and for a sacrifice a calf and lambs. 14 And David sounded with well-tuned instruments before the Lord, and David was clothed with a distinguished robe. 15 And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of a trumpet.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX 2 Samuel

References

"... As a member of the tribe of Judah, David cannot be a priest. In Deuteronomy, there is also a distinction between the laws for the king (Deuteronomy 17:14–20) and those for the Levitical priests (Deuteronomy 18:1–8). This necessitates a change in the reproduction of some texts that contradict these rules. When returning the ark of the Lord, David was girded “with the ephod” (2 Samuel 6:14). Both the Septuagint and Targum Jonathan reserve the ephod to priests. In this way, we can explain the rendering by Targum Jonathan (David was girded with a tunic of linen) and the Septuagint (David was girded with a distinguishing garment) ..."
Martin Meiser, The Septuagint and Its Reception: Collected Essays (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022), 77–78.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Samuel 2:27 and 2 Samuel 6:14 and LXX 2 Samuel 6:14

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