{
  "id": "dict_005890",
  "term": "Uzzah",
  "slug": "uzzah",
  "letter": "U",
  "entry_type": "biblical_person",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Uzzah was the man who died after touching the ark of the covenant while it was being transported in David’s day. His account emphasizes God’s holiness and the need to handle holy things according to the Lord’s command.",
  "simple_one_line": "The man struck down for touching the ark in the wrong way.",
  "tooltip_text": "Uzzah’s account (2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13) highlights God’s holiness and the importance of obedience in worship.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Ark of the Covenant",
    "David",
    "Holiness of God",
    "Obedience",
    "Worship"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "2 Samuel 6",
    "1 Chronicles 13",
    "1 Chronicles 15",
    "Nadab and Abihu"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Uzzah is remembered for the solemn moment when he reached out to steady the ark of the covenant and was struck down by the Lord. The account is one of Scripture’s clearest warnings that sincere intent does not replace obedience to God’s revealed instruction.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A biblical man in the ark narrative who was struck dead after irreverently touching the ark.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in the ark transport account during David’s reign.",
    "Reached out to steady the ark when the oxen stumbled.",
    "The judgment underscores God’s holiness and the seriousness of His commands.",
    "The event helps explain David’s later careful obedience in moving the ark."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Uzzah appears in the account of David bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. When the oxen stumbled, he reached out to steady the ark, and the Lord struck him because the ark was not to be handled in that way. The episode underscores God’s holiness, the seriousness of disobedience, and the importance of approaching worship according to God’s revealed instruction.",
  "description_academic_full": "Uzzah is known from the account of the ark’s transport during David’s reign, especially in 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13 and 15. As the ark was being moved, Uzzah put out his hand to steady it when the oxen stumbled, and God struck him down. Scripture presents this not as an arbitrary act, but as a sobering demonstration of the Lord’s holiness and of the need to obey His specific commands concerning the ark. The narrative also shows that sincere intent does not cancel disobedience, and it helps explain why David later arranged for the ark to be carried in the manner God had prescribed. Uzzah is therefore best treated as a biblical person entry rather than a theological term.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Uzzah appears in the narrative of David’s attempt to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. The first attempt followed an improper method of transport, and the Lord’s judgment on Uzzah led David to fear the Lord and later to follow the prescribed Levitical procedure.",
  "background_historical_context": "The episode takes place in the early monarchy, during David’s reign, when Israel was seeking to centralize worship and to honor the ark as the symbol of the Lord’s covenant presence among His people.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In the Old Testament world, the ark represented the holy presence of the covenant Lord. Its treatment was not ordinary; it was bound to God’s explicit instructions, and irreverence toward it was a serious matter.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "2 Samuel 6:1-11",
    "1 Chronicles 13:1-14",
    "1 Chronicles 15:2, 13-15"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Exodus 25:10-15",
    "Numbers 4:15",
    "1 Chronicles 15:11-13"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The name Uzzah is Hebrew (עֻזָּה), commonly associated with the idea of strength.",
  "theological_significance": "Uzzah’s death teaches that God is holy, that worship must be governed by His word, and that good intentions do not excuse disobedience. The account also shows that God’s presence among His people is a blessing, but never something to be handled casually.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The narrative distinguishes intention from obedience. A person may mean well and still act wrongly if he ignores the terms set by the rightful authority. In biblical terms, reverence includes submission to God’s revealed order.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not read the passage as if God were arbitrary or harsh without cause. The text ties the event to the manner in which the ark was handled and to the Lord’s commands. Also avoid flattening the account into a mere moral lesson; it is first a covenant-holiness narrative.",
  "major_views_note": "Most evangelical interpreters read the account as a real historical judgment with theological purpose, not as a symbolic story. Debate usually centers on the precise relationship between Uzzah’s action, the transport method, and the broader holiness laws, not on whether the episode occurred.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should not be used to claim that every accidental or impulsive act brings immediate judgment. The passage is a unique covenant-historical event tied to the ark, divine instruction, and public worship in Israel.",
  "practical_significance": "Believers should approach God with reverence, follow Scripture rather than convenience, and remember that zeal and sincerity must be joined to obedience.",
  "meta_description": "Uzzah was the man struck down after touching the ark of the covenant. His account highlights God’s holiness and the need for obedient worship.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/uzzah/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/uzzah.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}