The effect of the conquest of this celebrated fortress was very great. The news no sooner reached the court of HIRAM, king of Phœnicia[284], than he despatched messengers to David with offers of artificers and materials for constructing a palace, which was accordingly built, and hither David removed his wives from Hebron, and increased his already numerous household (2 Sam. v. 13–16). In other quarters the news was very differently received. The Philistines made two distinct attempts to crush the new king, of whose powers they were well aware. On the first occasion they came and encamped their numerous forces in the valley of Rephaim, or the _Valley of Giants_, south-west of Jerusalem, and stretching thence half-way to Bethlehem. After duly enquiring of the Lord, David marched out against them, and swept them away, as though with a “burst of waters,” whence he named the spot Baal-perazim, _the Plain of Bursts_ or _Destruction_ (2 Sam. v. 17–20). A second attempt of the same pertinacious foe met with no better success; they were entirely routed, and the fame of David _went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations_ (1 Chr. xiv. 17). His next care was to consecrate his new capital with religious associations. After consultation with the chiefs of the nation, he assembled 30,000 from all Israel (2 Sam. vi. 1; 1 Chr. xiii. 1), and went to Kirjath-jearim, _the Village of Forests_, where the Ark seems to have remained all through the reign of Saul in the custody of the Levite Abinadab (1 Sam. vii. 1, 2). The sacred coffer was placed in a new cart drawn by oxen, and with Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abinadab preceding it, was escorted towards Jerusalem amidst great rejoicings, and the sound of psalteries, cornets, timbrels, and cymbals. On reaching the threshing-floor of Chidon or Nachon (1 Chr. xiii. 9, _margin_), the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put forth his hand to hold the ark. In a moment he fell dead (2 Sam. vi. 7). This untoward event filled David with alarm; the spot itself was henceforth known as Perez-uzzah, _the breaking_ or _disaster of Uzzah_ (1 Chr. xiii. 11), and it was resolved to desist from any further attempt at present to remove the sacred coffer. Accordingly it was carried aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, that is, probably, a native of Gath-Rimmon, a town of Dan, allotted to the Kohathite Levites, of whom Obed-Edom was one, where it remained three months (2 Sam. vi. 10, 11; 1 Chr. xiii. 13).