Uzzah


Uzzah, was an Israelite whose death is associated with touching the Ark of the Covenant. The account of Uzzah appears in and.
Uzzah was the son of Abinadab, in whose house the men of Kirjath-Jearim placed the Ark when it was brought back from the land of the Philistines. With his brother Ahio, he drove the cart on which the Ark was placed when David sought to bring it up to Jerusalem. When the oxen stumbled at the threshing floor of Chidon, making the Ark tilt, Uzzah steadied the Ark with his hand, in direct violation of the divine law, and he was immediately killed by the Lord for his error. David, displeased because Yahweh had killed Uzzah, called the place where this occurred "Perez-uzzah", which means "to burst out against Uzzah".
David was afraid to bring the Ark any further, and placed it in the house of Obed-Edom for three months. As the Lord blessed Obed-edom, David finally brought the Ark up into the city.

Rabbanic Literature

Rabbis have long made various attempts to explain and palliate the death of Uzzah. By an argumentum a majore ad minus, proof is offered that if the Ark could bear those who bore it, so much more could it bear itself. By not perceiving this, and thinking that the Ark might be prevented from falling by stopping the oxen, Uzzah had brought death on himself.
R. Johanan thought that "'al ha-shal" implied that he died as a result of his act, while R. Eleazar drew from "shal" the inference stated that he died "by" the Ark; and as the latter belonged to eternity, Uzzah in like manner must be immortal

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