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From: 2 Samuel 6:12b-15, 17-19
The Ark in Jerusalem (Continuation)
[17] And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, inside the
tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace
offerings before the LORD. [18] And when David had finished offering the burnt
offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD
of hosts, [19] and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel,
both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of
raisins. Then all the people departed, each to his house.
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Commentary:
6:1-23. By moving the ark to Jerusalem from Baale, a town on the border with the
Philistines (cf. 1 Sam 4:1-7:1), David is making the city the religious capital: from
now on, it will be the Holy City blessed by the presence of the Lord. The narrative
gives a good idea of the solemnity of the transfer (a liturgical procession of the
kind celebrated in Psalm 132) and has a lot of doctrinal content.
The first stage in the transfer of the ark (vv. 1-11) was interrupted by the death of
Uzzah, son of Abinadab. This amazing episode may be meant to show the pre-
dominance of one priestly family, that of Abiathar (cf. 1 Sam 22:20-23; 2 Sam 15:
27-29), and the disappearance (for some inexplicable reason) of the descendants
of Abinadab; but the main message is of course the respect and veneration due
to the ark as the symbol of God’s presence among his people. Only those in
charge of the ark may touch it. Even the king wonders whether it is right to bring
it as far as Jerusalem, and it is the Lord himself who, by blessing the house of
Obed-edom, signals that it should be brought the rest of the way.
The procession bringing the ark into the holy city is reported in detail in the se-
cond stage of the transfer (vv. 12-15). David himself, as king of Israel, assumes
the functions of a priest and gives a lead in ritual jubilation. The Fathers have
seen the ark as a figure of the Blessed Virgin; so the transfer of the ark is a sym-
bol of Mary’s journey to visit her relative Elizabeth (cf. Lk 1:39-45), and David’s
dance is a figure of the Baptist, who leaps with joy in the womb of his mother
when Mary arrives with Jesus in her womb. “The prophet dances before the ark;
but what is the ark if not [a symbol of] Holy Mary? The ark contained the tablets
of the testament, Mary held in her body the heir to the testament; the ark carried
the Law, Mary the Gospel; the ark held the voice of God, Mary the Word; inside
and out, the ark shone with gold, the light of Mary’s virginity shines inside and
out; the ark was decorated with earthly gold, Mary with the gold of heaven” (St
Maximus of Turin, Sermons, 42, 5). See also the note on 1 Chronicles 15:1-24.
The last scene records Michal’s failure to understand David’s sincere devotion to-
wards the ark (vv. 16-23); her rejection has political implications as regards the
succession. David will have many sons who later dispute the throne, but none of
them will be descendants of Saul. The sentence pronounced against Michal,
David’s first wife, draws a line under the house of Saul.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.