2 Samuel 6:2

2 David and all the troops who were with him set out for Baalah, which is Kiriath-jearim of Judah, to bring God's chest up from there—the chest that is called by the name of the LORD of heavenly forces, who sits enthroned on the winged creatures.

2 Samuel 6:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 6:2

And David arose, and went with all the people that [were] with
him
The thirty thousand chosen men gathered together, and as many else as chose to go:

from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God;
that is, they first went to this place, as in ( 1 Chronicles 13:6 ) ; in order to fetch the ark from thence, as here expressed, and then they came from thence with it; this place is the same that is called Baalah and Kirjathbaal, a city in the tribe of Judah; hence Judah is added to it, and the same with Kirjathjearim, ( Joshua 15:9 Joshua 15:60 ) ; the place where it was brought to when fetched from Bethshemesh, ( 1 Samuel 7:1 ) ; and had been here now near fifty years; nor was it any where else during this time, only once at Gibeah of Saul with him, ( 1 Samuel 14:18 ) ;

whose name he called by the name of the Lord of hosts, that dwelleth
[between] the cherubim;
not the ark, but the Lord, whose is the ark; his name is called by the name of Jehovah, the infinite, incomprehensible, eternal, and immutable Being, the Lord of armies above and below; whose habitation was between the cherubim that overshadowed the mercy seat, which was above the ark; all this is said, not only to express the greatness and majesty of God, but for the honour of the ark, which belonged to him.

2 Samuel 6:2 In-Context

1 Once again David assembled the select warriors of Israel, thirty thousand strong.

2 David and all the troops who were with him set out for Baalah, which is Kiriath-jearim of Judah, to bring God's chest up from there—the chest that is called by the name of the LORD of heavenly forces, who sits enthroned on the winged creatures.

3 They loaded God's chest on a new cart and carried it from Abinadab's house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab's sons, were driving the new cart.

4 Uzzah was beside God's chest while Ahio was walking in front of it.

5 Meanwhile, David and the entire house of Israel celebrated in the LORD's presence with all their strength, with songs, zithers, harps, tambourines, rattles, and cymbals.

Footnotes

• [a] DSS (4QSama), 1 Chron 13:6; MT from Baale-judah
• [b] MT repeats name, but 1 Chron 13:6 omits one of these and LXX reads the first as there.