Uzzah

Uzzah (meaning: strength) was the son of Abinadab of Kirjath-jearim, in whose house the ark of the covenant had been kept for twenty years after its return from Philistia (1 Sam. 7:1). When David organized a great procession to bring the ark up to Jerusalem on a new cart, Uzzah walked alongside it. When the oxen stumbled and the ark threatened to fall, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark to steady it — and God struck him dead on the spot (2 Sam. 6:6–7; 1 Chr. 13:9–10). The place was called Perez-uzzah ("the breach of Uzzah") in memory of the event.

The death of Uzzah is one of the most troubling episodes in the Old Testament for modern readers. The theological point is the absolute holiness of God's presence and the strict Levitical regulations governing the ark's transport (Num. 4:15): only the Kohathite Levites were to carry it on poles inserted through its rings; it was not to be placed on a cart nor touched even by Levites under penalty of death. David's failure to follow these instructions — adopting the Philistine model of transport — was the root cause. The incident prompted David to investigate the law of God more carefully before the second, successful procession (1 Chr. 15:2, 13).