But David was upset because the Lord
(Yahweh) had broken down
(Hebr. perets) Uzzah, so he called that place
Peres-Uzza, as it is still called today.
[Perets means to break apart and Uzza means strong. The place is located only 1 km west of Jerusalem. The ark symbolizes God's presence, person, and his promises. In the gold-plated wooden box (1.2 m long and 0.6 m wide and high) were the stone tablets with the commandments, see . Only the high priest was allowed to enter the ark once a year under strict restrictions, and violating this was punishable by death, see ; . The Levites, who were descendants of Kohath, the Kohathites, were the ones who were to perform the tasks related to the ark (, , ). The ark was to be carried (not driven on a cart) and covered with a veil (). When the ark was carried across the Jordan, it was the Levites who carried it, and the people were to keep a distance of 900 meters, see .
The house of Avinadav was in Judah, so he and his sons were probably not Levites, let alone Kohathites. Even if they were, the ark was transported completely incorrectly. The brothers Uzzah and Ahio had grown up with the ark in their house, so there is a risk that, in their familiarity, they did not have sufficient reverence for God's holiness.]
