2 Samuel 6:5

5 And David and all the men of Israel made melody before the Lord with all their power, with songs and with corded instruments and instruments of brass.

2 Samuel 6:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 6:5

And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord,
&c.] That is, before the ark, which was a symbol of the presence of the Lord:

on all manner of [instruments made of] fir wood:
which is a general expression, the particulars follow; though instruments of different sorts are mentioned, and even some of metal, as cymbals, which were vessels of brass, they struck one against another, and gave a very acute sound, being hollow ^F7;

even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and
on cymbals;
harps, psalteries, and timbrels, are frequently met with; cornets, according to Kimchi, are such sort of instruments, that in playing upon them it required an agitation of the whole body. Now it was that David penned the sixty eighth psalm, which begins, "let God arise" ( Psalms 68:1-35 ) , words used by Moses when the ark set forward, ( Numbers 10:35 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Suidas in voce (kumbala) .

2 Samuel 6:5 In-Context

3 And they put the ark of God on a new cart and took it out of the house of Abinadab which was on the hill: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were the drivers of the cart.

4 And Uzzah went by the side of the ark, while Ahio went before it.

5 And David and all the men of Israel made melody before the Lord with all their power, with songs and with corded instruments and instruments of brass.

6 And when they came to Nacon's grain-floor, Uzzah put his hand on the ark of God to keep it safe in its place, for the oxen were out of control.

7 And the wrath of the Lord, burning against Uzzah, sent destruction on him because he had put his hand on the ark, and death came to him there by the ark of God.