Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Chronicles 13:10

"And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put forth his hand to the ark; and there he died before God." — 1 Chronicles 13:10 (ASV)

And he smote him. —Abridged from and God smote him there (2 Samuel 6:7).

Because he put his hand to the ark. —“Because he put” is in the Hebrew, ‘al ’asher shalah. For this, Samuel has ’al hashshal, an obscure phrase, occurring nowhere else in the Old Testament. The similarity of letters in the two phrases can hardly be accidental, but whether the chronicler has given the original text of the passage as he found it preserved in his source, or whether he has himself made a guess at the true reading, cannot be determined.

The Syriac of Samuel reads, “because he put forth his hand;” and so the Arabic, adding, “to the ark.” The Targum reads, “because he sinned” (using a word like hashshal). The Vatican Septuagint omits the phrase.

Before God. —Samuel (2 Samuel 6:7) has by the ark of God. This explains the same phrase in 1 Chronicles 13:8. (Compare to 1 Samuel 6:19 for the event.)