uzzah was killed for touching the ark of the covenant.
uzzah was killed for touching the ark of the covenant.
who was killed for touching the ark of the covenant?
uzzah
at the beginning of his reign over the united monarchy, king david removed the ark from kirjath-jearim amid great rejoicing. on the way to zion, uzzah, one of the drivers of the cart that carried the ark, put out his hand to steady the ark, and was struck dead by god for touching it. the place was subsequently named "perez-uzzah", literally "outburst against uzzah", as a result. david, in fear, carried the ark aside into the house of obed-edom the gittite, instead of carrying it on to zion, and there it stayed three months.
ark of the covenant
reading god's words to noah in "but i will establish my covenant with you," a midrash taught that god was telling noah that he would need a covenant to ensure that the produce would not decay or rot on the ark. further, the midrash taught, noah needed a covenant to prevent giants from plugging the openings of the deep and seeking to enter the ark. and noah needed a covenant to prevent additional lions from coming into the ark. rabbi hiyya bar abba explained that god was thus telling noah that though he may have built the ark, but for god's covenant, noah could not have entered the ark. thus noah's ability to enter the ark at all was proof of the covenant god established with noah in
noach (parsha)