Egypt and the Bible: Q+A #13, Why was Uzzah Killed for Touching the Ark of the Covenant?

In 2 Samuel 6, Uzzah was killed when he touched the Ark of the Covenant. This video will look at the circumstances that brought the Ark of the Covenant to the home of Obed-Edom. And why Uzzah was singled out for summary judgment.
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[@RogersMgmtGroup]

I totally learned some things here. Thank-you so much.

[@ancientegyptandthebible]

Awesome! Glad to hear it. 🙂

[@maxalcindor7130]

Me to

[@maxalcindor7130]

@ Amerindian Rodgers I’ve learned also

[@Menzobarrenza]

Thank you so much for making this video. I had been interested in this question before, and am very glad to have received such a clear answer to my curiosity.

[@Jim-Mc]

This is also consistent with the story of Ananias and Sapphira: Repeated instances of testing tbe Spirit of the Lord.

[@chriscarey1478]

Thanks for your work, Your digging into scripture. Seems most people in' one nation under God ' can't be bothered anymore.

[@CiliPB]

This is fascinating. So God knew where that oxen had been. Very impure.

[@jessecamping]

Good Stuff!!!

[@Xgy33]

Just subscribed!

[@fedler89]

Hi mr. Falk and thank you for sharing your knowledge about this scenario! I respect your sincerity and diligence! I have a question concerning the context and the meaning of names in this story. Does the meaning of Ba'alah (the location), Uzzah and Ahio carry large significance for the right interpretation of the story? I also wonder if my intuition is correct in recognizing the symbolism of the story as akin to Peter saying to Jesus that He shall not die, receiving the answer "go away from me Satan", as humans want to be in control and commit the sin of overreaching instead of trusting God. God bless!

[@toomanymarys7355]

Before I listen: he was killed because the ark only fell because it was being transported in a way directly contrary to the Mosaic Law.

[@luism.gomez-cortez5068]

Hi mr. Falk Would you kindly review assasins creed origins. I would like your take on it, specially the afterlife views they have on it. I know video gaming might not be your specialty but...nevertheless give it to us please...thank you kindly.

[@ancientegyptandthebible]

I actually love gaming. However, I don't play assassins creed origins... it feels too much like work. Ever since getting into Egyptology, I have not been able to play Tomb Raider or anything like it.

[@luism.gomez-cortez5068]

@@ancientegyptandthebible Thank you sir for all that you do. Muchas gracias!

[@dahyunbibimbap9850]

4:39 God: "You're unclean." Humans: *uses unclean oxen* "NO YOU"

[@philipps6032]

Do you have some good german (christian) biblical scholars to recommend? I don't, but I have a book called "Geschichte Mesopotamiens" by the german assyriologist Edzard C. H. Beck. I found that book very good. 🙂

[@reinforcedMELODIES]

Unfortunately I’m not getting how you connected David’s brother Abinadab with the Abinadab in 1 Samuel 7:1. - 1 Samuel 7:1 - And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the Ark of God, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the Ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, while the Ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.- When the Ark was returned to Israel from the Philistines, it was taken to Kirjathjearim. Why? Because in the Book of Joshua: - Joshua 9:3 - And when the inhabitants of Gibeon ( “hill city” as well as the cities of Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim) heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. . . And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. - - Joshua 18:21 - Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz. . . Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, - - Joshua 21:3 - And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs. And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, of the Levites. . .And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, - So these men of the Gibeon, Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim were bondsmen of house of our Father, the tabernacle because they tricked Israel so not to be destroyed when Israel came into the promised land. Gibeon, being a big city and the other’s being the suburbs of it. Gibeon and it’s suburbs were given to the Kohathites, the Levites priest class, who moved the holy items of the tabernacle, as a place to live. This being the case, the Ark was brought to Kirjathjearim (suburb of Gibeon) for twenty years after the twelve tribes conquered and settled in the promise land with Joshua and was kept in the house of Abinadab in the hill (Gibeon means Hill city in Hebrew) by the Levites who had authority to move the Ark. Studying who Abinadab in the hill was brings us to the family line of: - 1 Chronicles 9:34 - These chief fathers of the Levites, chief throughout their generations; these dwelt at Jerusalem. And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jehiel, whose wife's name - Maachah: And his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab, - - 1 Chronicles 9:39 - And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. - - 1 Chronicles 10:2 - And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. - Saul, the first king of Israel, had a son named Abinadab. I cannot say for sure that these two men are the same. Most commentaries express that these are two different men but the timeline, coincidences and circumstances line up quite well to actually be the same man. Bringing this back to the verse. - 1 Samuel 7:1 - And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the Ark of God, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the Ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, while the Ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.- After twenty plus years of the Ark being stationary. Saul took his own life after a battle with the Philistines. David becomes king: - 2 Samuel 6:2 - And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah (which is another name for Kirjathjearim -Joshua 15:1), to bring up from thence the Ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab in the hill (or heights or Gibeah): and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. - - Joshua 15:1 - Then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast. . . And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjathjearim (or Baale of Judah which was given to the Kohathites in Joshua 21:3+). - From 1 Samuel to 2 Samuel there seems to be some changing of the names but my research and cross referencing shows that the Ark was stored in Kirjathjearim and or Gibeon and or Gibeah in the house of Abinadab when David went to move it. It doesn’t state that Abinadab was alive rather it was kept in his household hence why I cited the connection to Saul and his son as he was killed in battle as I stated the timeline, coincidences and circumstances line up quite well. The responsibility of caring for the Ark was sanctified to Eleazar, Abinadab’s son not Abinadab himself since he was not given a task (1 Samuel), unto Uzzah and Ahio, the other sons of Abinadab, to move the Ark in the new cart (2 Samuel). Since Saul was from the heritage of Levi, that the family of Kohathites were the ones who could move the Ark, the Kohathites were given Gibeon and it’s suburbs, Kirjathjearim (Baale of Judah). This is where Saul’s family was from and this is where the Ark ended up at this particular time in history. This would give the house of Abinadab the Heavenly authority to safe keep and move the Ark when needed and the honor of keeping the Ark may have been given to them as a sign of respect for their patriarchy and service to the nation if Abinadab was Saul’s son.

[@samueltomjoseph4775]

Wait, even ritual purity is communicable sometimes, read the sin offering laws.

[@501Mobius]

Why would they use a two ox ox-cart to haul a dead body when a smaller single donkey donkey cart would do? The reason ox-carts where used to haul heavy loads is that oxen can pull 50% more than a horse. Moses had over 29 talents of gold = 2,175lb. 100 talents of silver = 7,500lb. 70 talents of brass = 5.250lb. Over 14,925lb. in total. A modern ox-cart can haul 1200 kg (2645 lb.) of cargo. An ancient cart with wooden wheels and axles probably less. Moses gave only 6 ox-carts to the Levites to use but none to the Kohaths. I don't see how the Tabernacle with all it's wood posts and metal bits could be moved from place to place with this little transport.

[@ancientegyptandthebible]

Why would oxen be used to haul a dead body? The answer: tradition. This was the normative form of transporting a dead body to a tomb. We see it often used in ancient Egypt and it was probably also used in ancient Canaan as well. It would make sense that the Kohathites would not receive any of the oxen, because, as porters of the Tabernacle and other sacred furniture, they could not risk ritual defilement. Num 7:9 says "But he did not give [any oxen] to the sons of Kohath because theirs was the service of the holy object, which they carried on the shoulders."

[@toomanymarys7355]

The ark of the covenant was out of acacia wood. It only had thin beaten overlay of gold. Even the cherubim were BEATEN gold, that is, thin and hollow. The gold rings would have been gold covered brass or a low gold alloy. I'm quite baffled as to why you think the ark weighed a massive amount. Lots of other tabernacle stuff had gold pieces that were probably a lot heavier.

[@toomanymarys7355]

Ohhhhh, you meant the whole of the Tabernacle. Not merely the ark.

[@toomanymarys7355]

Numbers 7 doesn't say that they ONLY were using these oxen. It says that they were given the oxen to use, meaning those oxen they didn't have to supply on their own. And that's if you take the numbers at face value, which is usually not how any ancient numbers are meant to be taken. (This is something that has driven me insane for a while, but I've some to just accept it. Every ancient text is like this.)

[@501Mobius]

@@toomanymarys7355 The almost 15,000 pounds of valuable metals in Moses or Levite metals. Whether of not they make something from it. A half talent of silver goes into each of the two footing of each tabernacle post. 50 posts make up the north, south and west sections. (I can't tell what's on the east.) So at least 100 talents of silver. Set up the Holy Tent by the plan shown to you on the mountain. If someone can just find the plan.

[@melindawells1521]

Did. Uzziah know of this law I feel sorry for him I know David was upset

[@marvalice3455]

it was the most important thing he did in his life. he *better* have known! and as dr Falk said, even the philistines knew not to use an ox cart.

[@melindawells1521]

Yes yes Arron 2 sons died

[@pablomarques3684]

The Philistines touched the ark, or not?

[@philipps6032]

No, they didn't touch the ark.

[@samueltomjoseph4775]

They probably had to, to put it in the cow cart.

[@melindawells1521]

I feel like that was pretty harsh all he did was straitened the ark

[@marvalice3455]

God runs a tight ship.

[@knightofkorbin888]

I'm not knowledgeable or wise enough to judge God but I am foolishly bold enough to think if God was so angry at Uzzah's irreverence he could have warned him. I'm too afraid to criticize him any further.

[@marvalice3455]

@@knightofkorbin888 uzzaih knew better.

[@jojo14deguzman89]

He (Uzzah) was killed by the LORD because he touched " a holy thing" which was not allowed to do by anyone but by the priest (Aaron and his sons!) And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: "but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die." These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. Numbers 4:15 It means that God does not honor any good deeds if it is done out of DISOBEDIENCE to HIS Law! Remember what happened to King Saul after he broke the commandment of the LORD even his intension was good? (1Sam.15:23)