“David again assembled all the picked men of Israel, thirty thousand” [6:1]. Many people of Israel assembled and they made David king in the city of Hebron. Now, when David wanted to move the Ark from the house of Avinadav to God’s house, he assembled thirty thousand young men.
“And they loaded the Ark of God” [6:3]. They placed God’s Ark on a new wagon and they carried it from the house of Avinadav, from the city of Gibah.1He misunderstood the word. It means hill, and is not the name of a city. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Avinadav led the oxen and the wagon with the Ark. Uzzah walked near the wagon and Ahio went in front of the Ark.
“David and all the House of Israel, etc.” [6:5]. David and all of Israel sang with musical instruments, with harps, violins, drums and revels. When they came to the threshing floor of Navon, the Holy One caused the limbs of the oxen to fail, since it was not proper that oxen should carry the Holy Ark. The priests should have carried the Holy Ark on their shoulders.2Yalkut Shimoni, II Samuel, Remez, 142. Therefore, the Holy One caused the oxen to break their feet and their limbs. When Uzzah, who was walking near the Ark saw that the oxen were falling down, he thought that they would fall on him with the Ark and Uzzah put his hand on the Ark to hold it, so that it should not fall.
“The Lord was angry at Uzzah, etc.” [6:7]. The Holy One killed Uzzah because he thought that the Ark would fall. He should have thought that the Ark was very holy and it would not fall, even if the oxen would fall. The Holy One said that the Ark carried the people who carried it. In any event, it would carry itself and would not fall. He punished Uzzah there, near the Ark.3Radak, II Samuel, 6:7.
“David was angry about what had burst forth, etc.” [6:8]. David was very saddened that Uzzah had been killed and their joy was disturbed. David was very afraid of God and said: how shall I bring the Ark to me, and he did not want to bring the Ark into his city, Zion. David left the Ark in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The Ark sat in the house of Obed for three months and the Holy One blessed the house of Obed greatly.
“It was told to the king” [6:12]. It was told to King David that the house of Obed had been blessed because of the Holy Ark. David went and wanted to bring the Holy Ark into the city of David from the house of Obed with joy.
“When the bearers of the Lord” [6:13]. King David reasoned that Uzzah had walked only six steps and was killed. That is why David thought that when they would go another six steps he would bring sacrifices. This is what David did. As soon as they walked six steps with the Ark, David stood still with the Ark and put it down on the road and brought sacrifices. They rejoiced that nothing happened in the six steps. David did this the whole way. He brought sacrifices every six steps.4Yalkut Shimoni, II Samuel, Remez, 142.
“David danced with all his might” [6:14]. David jumped and danced with all his might before the Ark. He put on the ephod, which was a beautiful garment in which they used to dress the priest. One asks a question. David was not a priest, so why did he put on the garment of the priest? The answer is that the ephod was made for the priest as an ornament and for his honor. Therefore, David was also allowed to wear the ephod for the honor of the Holy One. David and all of Israel went up, bringing God’s Ark with trumpets and ram’s horns.5Radak, II Samuel, 6:14.
“As the Ark of the Lord came, etc.” [6:17]. When they brought the Ark into the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, who was the wife of David, saw through the window that David was jumping before God. Michal resented it. She thought that it was disgraceful that a king should jump around before all the people in the street. They brought the Ark and placed it in the tent and they brought sacrifices. David blessed the people in the name of God.
“And he distributed to all the people” [6:19]. And David distributed to all the people, to each man and woman, a baked cake and a piece of meat and a beaker of wine. Some sages say that “eshpar” [6:19] means, divided into six pieces. He divided an ox and gave each one a portion of six pieces.6Yalkut Shimoni, II Samuel, Remez, 142.
“How the king humbled himself today” [6:20]. Michal, his wife, went toward him and said to David. Why is this day more honored than other days, that you so disgraced yourself before the maidens and maidservants, your servants? How much more so, it is disgraceful for your legitimate wives that you humble yourself, like a wretch.
“David said to Michal” [6:21]. David said to Michal. I jump for the Holy One who made me a ruler over Israel instead of your father Saul. I want to play much more than I have done until now and let me be humble. I do it for the sake of God.
“Michal, the daughter of Saul had no children” [6:23]. Michal did not have any children, but she would die if she had a child. There are three women who died in childbirth. The first was Rachel, the wife of Jacob. The second was the daughter-in-law of Eli the priest. The third was Michal, as is written about all three.7B. Sanhedrin, 21a.
“When the king settled in his house” [7:1]. When King David sat in his house at peace with all of his enemies, he said to Nathan the prophet. I sit in a house of fir wood and the Holy Ark sits in a tent. Nathan the prophet answered him. Do what you want; God is with you. That night, God came to Nathan the prophet and said to him. Go and say to David. Thus has God said: you want to build a house for me? Our sages learn from this that a prophet does not know everything in his prophecy. Here, Nathan the prophet had thought that David should build a house for God and the Holy One had intended that he should not build. It is similar with Samuel the prophet. He was a great prophet and he was supposed to make a son of Jesse the king. Samuel did not know which one he should anoint. Our sages say, and why did the Holy One come to Nathan the prophet during the night? The answer is that the Holy One thought that David was very quick to making vows and oaths. Perhaps David would make a vow that he wanted to build a house. The Holy One came to Nathan the prophet quickly before David could make a vow. Some sages say that the prophecy came to Nathan the prophet in a dream.8Yalkut Shimoni, II Samuel, Remez, 143.
“I have not dwelt in a house” [7:6]. God said: I have not dwelt in a house since I brought Israel out of Egypt. I have moved in a tent and in the Tabernacle.
“Now, say thus to My servant David” [7:8]. Now say to David My servant. I took you from a barn in which there were sheep and made you a ruler over Israel. I want to be with you wherever you will go and will make a name for you in the land. I will make a city in Israel where I will dwell and My Shekhinah will be among them.
“Will tremble no more” [7:10]. They will no longer be driven into exile, with anger. The wretches will not torment you, as previously.
“From the time that I appointed judges” [7:11]. From the day that I appointed My judges over Israel, the nations used to torment Israel. However, they will have rest and I will build you a house in which you will place your son on the throne. Your days will be seventy years. He was thirty years old when he became king and he was king over Israel for forty years. I will give you a son and will make him a king and this son will build a house for Me.9Radak, II Samuel, 7:11.
“When he does wrong, I will chastise him with the rod of men” [7:14]. The Holy One said: I will be a father to your son and he will be like a son to Me. If he will commit sins, I will punish him like a father punishes his son, who hits him with the rod. I will do the same to him and I will not remove my lovingkindness from him. When I removed it from Saul, I removed him from the world for you. Our sages say that the verse “the affliction of mortals” [7:14] means that the Holy One will punish Solomon with the chastisement that Ashmodai will throw Solomon far from his kingdom into distant lands.10B. Gittin, 68a-b.
“Your house is secure” [7:16]. Your house and your kingdom will be secure forever. Everything you see today, so will it remain. All of these words were prophecies said by Nathan the prophet to David.
We will write midrashim about the haftorah. The Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin, chapter 10, writes. David counted ninety thousand elders in one day and he left out Ahitophel and did not count him among the elders. When the Holy Ark was on the way with the oxen, the Ark lifted the priests into the air and threw them down again. David sent for Ahitophel, who was a great sage, and said to him: tell me what to do so that the priests should not suffer these troubles. Ahitophel answered, send for the ninety thousand elders. They will tell you. David said that whoever knows what it means that the priests are being punished and does not want to tell should choke to death. Ahitophel answered. You do not know what the children learn from their teacher in school. It is written, “But to the children of Kohath did not give, etc.” [Numbers, 7:9]. That is to say, the Levites should carry the Holy Ark on their shoulders and not in wagons with oxen. That is why the Holy Ark is throwing the priests.
Similarly, King David wanted to dig the foundation of the Temple. David dug down fifteen hundred cubits and did not find the abyss that is the foundation of the earth. Later, David found a large thick wooden plug lying deep in the ground. David wanted to take that plug away, out of the earth. The plug, that is to say, the wood began to speak to David. Leave me alone, you can’t do anything to me. David said to it: why? The thick wood answered: I have been placed here. I sit on the abyss, that is to say, the foundation of the earth. David said to the wood. How long have you been here? The wood responded, when “I am the Lord your God” [Exodus, 20:2] was said on Mount Sinai, the whole earth trembled and wanted to sink into the abyss. I was put there over the abyss so that the abyss should not drown the world. David did not want to listen and pulled the plug out of the earth. The abyss soon rose up and wanted to drown the whole world. Ahitophel was standing nearby and thought to himself, let David die now in the water and I will become king. David said: whoever is smart and understands this and remains silent should choke to death. Ahitophel immediately recited sacred names and the water ceased to flow. David went out of the foundation of the earth and recited the fifteen “Songs of Ascents.”11The opening words of Psalms, 120 to 134. Ahitophel hung himself and choked to death.12J. Sanhedrin, 10.2. From here we learn that the curse of a sage is always fulfilled, even as it happened for someone like Ahitophel.
The Talmud writes in [tractate] Berakhot, chapter nine. Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yose the Gallilean said that the Holy One gives a great reward to the person who honors a scholar in his house with food and drink. We can learn this from the Holy Ark that stood in the house of Obed and the Holy One blessed the house because of it, even though he did not feed the Ark. How much more so when a person honors a scholar with food and drink.13B. Berakhot, 63b.
The Jerusalem Talmud writes in [tractate] Yevamot, chapter four. What was the blessing that Obed was blessed with through the Ark. He had eight daughters-in-law for eight sons. Each one gave birth to two children every month. She was ritually impure for seven days and ritually pure for seven days. She had a child after fourteen days and again, fourteen days later she had another child. In this way, each one gave birth to two children every month. There were eight women and every month they had sixteen children. The Ark stood in the house of Obed for three months. In three months they had forty-eight children. Three times sixteen is forty-eight and their mother-in-law also had six children in three months. This is fifty-four. In addition, there were eight daughters-in-law. Thus, there were sixty-two souls in Obed’s household.14J. Yevamot, 4.12.
The Yalkut writes concerning the verse “You will not build a house for My name, for you are a man of battles and have shed blood” [I Chronicles, 28:3]. When David heard from the Holy One that he should not build the Temple because he had killed many gentiles and shed much blood, David was very frightened. The Holy One said, do not be afraid. The gentiles are considered by Me as if you had brought sacrifices. David said: why should I not build the Temple? The Holy One said: if you would build the Temple, then it would remain standing forever and would not be destroyed. David responded: let it remain standing forever. The Holy One responded: I know very well that Israel will commit sins and I will destroy the house. Israel is protected in that I will not destroy them completely. That is to say, the Temple is an expiation for Israel. They will see the great destruction and they will be very troubled, as if they themselves would be destroyed. The Holy One said to David: because you wanted to build the Temple, I will consider it as if you built it yourself and I will call the Temple after your name, as the verse says, “A song for the dedication of the House of David” [Psalms, 30:1].15Yalkut Shimoni, II Samuel, Remez, 145.