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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.

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Compare 2 Samuel 6:6 and LXX 2 Samuel 6:6

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

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.

Passages

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.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Samuel

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.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX 2 Samuel

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.

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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