What Does 2 Samuel 6:2 Mean in the King James?
And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The ark is marked by the Name called over it, so its deepest meaning is the nature and rule of the One enthroned above the cherubim.
THE MEANING
The passage holds a carried sign and a living Presence together: the ark moves, while the LORD of hosts is named as the One dwelling between the cherubim. Here, “name” (שֵׁם, shem: a nature-bearing name) reveals more than a label; it points to the character and authority at the center of the scene. The movement brings the sign into view; it does not make the Presence.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that carrying a sacred object means carrying or controlling God: the ark is carried, but the Name identifies the Presence beyond its cargo.
THE ROOT
נִקְרָא
niqra
GROWS FROM
קרא
q-r-ʾ
Call, summon, proclaim, or name.
The phrase presents the Name as being called over the ark, marking whose nature and authority it bears. The root also reaches toward summoning: the Name does not merely label the object but draws attention to the One represented there.
ALSO GROWS
qara: To call, proclaim, or name.
קָרָא
The ark is publicly identified through the Name called over it.
miqra: A calling together; an assembly or reading.
מִקְרָא
This branch shows how a call can gather attention around what is named, opening the ark’s meaning beyond the object itself.
יֹשֵׁב
yoshev
GROWS FROM
ישב
y-sh-b
Sit, remain, or dwell.
“dwelleth” in this verse is yoshev. This root holds sitting and dwelling together: the LORD is described as settled there, not merely passing through. In the scene, that settled presence carries the sense of enthronement above the cherubim.
ALSO GROWS
yashav: To sit or dwell.
יָשַׁב
It holds the seated and settled senses that sound together in “dwelleth.”
moshav: A dwelling place or settlement.
מוֹשָׁב
This branch makes the root’s connection between dwelling and a settled place visible.
THE PATTERN
A visible sign points beyond itself to the Presence and rule named over it.
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-eduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.THE THREAD
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-eduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.Psalm 80:1 uses the same root, ישב (y-sh-b: sit or dwell), for the One dwelling between the cherubim. It names that settled Presence as Israel’s Shepherd, revealing the living care within the enthroned rule.
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