Uz´zah (strength), son of Abinadab, a Levite, who, with his brother Ahio, conducted the new cart on which the ark was taken from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem. When the procession reached the threshing-floor of Nachon, the oxen drawing the cart became unruly, and Uzzah hastily put forth his hand to stay the ark, which was shaken by their movements. For this the anger of the Lord smote him, and he died on the spot. This judgment appeared to David so severe, or even harsh, that he was much distressed by it, and becoming afraid to take the ark any farther, left it there, in charge of Obed-edom, till three months after, when he finally took it to Jerusalem (). The whole proceeding was very irregular, and contrary to the distinct and far from unmeaning regulations of the law, which prescribed that the ark should be carried on the shoulders of the Levites (), whereas here it was conveyed in a cart drawn by oxen. The ark ought to have been enveloped in its coverings, and thus wholly concealed before the Levites approached it; but it does not appear that any priest took part in the matter, and it would seem as if the ark was brought forth, exposed to the common gaze, in the same manner in which it had been brought back by the Philistines (). It was the duty of Uzzah, as a Levite, to have been acquainted with the proper course of proceeding: he was therefore the person justly accountable for the neglect; and the judgment upon him seems to have been the most effectual course of ensuring attention to the proper course of proceeding, and of checking the growing disposition to treat the holy mysteries with undue familiarity. That it had this effect is expressly stated in; .
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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