2 Samuel 6:1

David Brings the Ark of Yahweh to Jerusalem

1 David again gathered all the chosen men in Israel, thirty thousand.

2 Samuel 6:1 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 6:1

Again, David gathered together all [the] chosen [men] of
Israel, thirty thousand.
] Which was done by the advice of his officers, ( 1 Chronicles 13:1 ) ; the word "again" refers either to the gathering of them when they made him king in Hebron, as the Jewish writers generally observe; but then they gathered themselves, and not David: or rather to his gathering them to fight the Philistines a little while ago; and as they were the choice and young men that were gathered for war, as being the fittest, so now to fetch up the ark with dancing and singing, and to protect it; the Septuagint version says they were about seventy thousand; but the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic versions, have thirty thousand, agreeably to the Hebrew text.

2 Samuel 6:1 In-Context

1 David again gathered all the chosen men in Israel, thirty thousand.

2 David got up and went and all the people who [were] with him, from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God which [is] called the name, the name of Yahweh of hosts, {upon which the cherubim sit}.

3 They loaded the ark of God on a new utility cart, and they carried it from the house of Abinadab, which [was] on the hill. Now Uzza and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, [were] driving the new utility cart along.

4 So they brought it out from the house of Abinadab, which [was] on the hill with the ark of God, and Ahio [was] going before the ark.

5 Now David and all the house of Israel [were] dancing before Yahweh, with all kinds of [musical instruments made from] ash trees, and with zithers, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.