What is the significance of the number six in 2 Samuel 6:13? Canonical Text “When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.” (2 Samuel 6:13) Immediate Literary Context David is relocating the ark from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem after the death of Uzzah (6:1-12). The narrative slows to report that every six paces the procession halts for sacrifice. First Chronicles 15:26 parallels the event and confirms divine approval: “because God helped the Levites … they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.” The six-step interval, therefore, is both deliberate and theologically loaded. Numeric Symbolism in the Old Testament 1. Creation: God worked six days (Genesis 1) and rested the seventh. 2. Labor legislation: “Six days you shall labor” (Exodus 20:9). 3. Agricultural cycle: “For six years you shall sow” (Exodus 23:10). 4. Jericho: Israel marched once for six days before Sabbath victory on the seventh (Joshua 6:3-4). 5. Eschatological shorthand for fallen humanity: “the number of a man … 666” (Revelation 13:18). The pattern is consistent: six marks the realm of human effort and incompleteness awaiting divine consummation in the seventh. Six Paces, Then Sacrifice: A Creation-Rest Motif By stopping after six strides, David reenacts the cadence of creation—work followed by worship. The offering anticipates the “rest” represented by the yet-to-be-taken seventh step. The ark will enter Jerusalem only after confession that human effort (six) cannot usher in God’s presence without atonement. Holiness and Human Limitation Uzzah’s death (6:7) proved that irreverent contact with holiness brings judgment. Six paces symbolize the boundary of human approach; sacrifice bridges the gap. David’s liturgy confesses that humans, created on the sixth day, fall short of the holiness required to complete the journey. Typological Foreshadowing of Christ The ox and fattened calf prefigure the once-for-all sacrifice of the Messiah (Hebrews 10:12). As the ark—God’s throne—moves toward Zion, each six-step offering foreshadows Calvary, after which the Son “sat down,” the seventh-day posture of rest. Comparison with 1 Chronicles 15:26 Chronicles adds the number seven to the sacrifices (seven bulls, seven rams). The historian thus links the six-step halts to ultimate perfection (seven), reinforcing the completion theme. Theological Implications for Worship • Approach to God must be punctuated by substitutionary sacrifice. • Human endeavor (symbolized by six) is inadequate without divine grace. • Worship is rhythmic—labor, pause, offering—mirroring creation’s order. Practical Application Believers pattern their lives on this six-and-one rhythm: daily vocation surrendered regularly at the altar of Christ’s finished work. Corporate worship becomes the “seventh step” where rest and joy replace striving. Summary In 2 Samuel 6:13 the number six signifies human labor, creatureliness, and incompletion. Halting every six paces for sacrifice dramatizes that only through atonement can the holy presence advance. The ritual echoes creation, anticipates the Sabbath rest secured by Jesus, and instructs worshippers that our every stride toward God must pass through the blood of a substitute. |
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