I Chronicles 15, The Ark Arrives in Jerusalem

David has brought the ark from Kiriath Jearem to the house of a man named Obed-Edom but the ark is stopped there after the death of the priest Uzzah, who reached out and touched and died.  Meanwhile, David's kingdom has grown and he has defeated the Philistines.

1 Chronicles 15: 1-2, Preparing a place

After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, "No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever."

After building up Jerusalem (including, according to 2 Samuel, a palace for himself), David plans to bring the ark there. Wary of the death of Uzzah, David plans to make sure that only Levites are allowed near the ark.

1 Chronicles 15: 3-10, Gathering Levites

David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

   From the descendants of Kohath, Uriel the leader and 120 relatives;
   from the descendants of Merari, Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives;
   from the descendants of Gershon, Joel the leader and 130 relatives;
   from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives;
   from the descendants of Hebron, Eliel the leader and 80 relatives;
   from the descendants of Uzziel, Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives.

The Chronicler, with his love of lists, describes the descendants of Aaron and the Levites.

1 Chronicles 15: 11-15, The prescribed way

Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. He said to them, "You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way."

So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.

Warned by the death of Uzzah, David makes sure to follow the ancient commandments, the "prescribed way", of Moses regarding the ark. The Chronicler will describe, here, the significant preparation that David now puts into moving the ark.

1 Chronicles 15: 16-24, Joyful songs

David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah; and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.

The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith.

Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it. Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark. Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.

Heman, Asaph and Ethan show up as authors of certain psalms. Kenaniah is in charge of singing "because he was skillful at it", that is, quality of singing and worship was important to this act of worship. Instruments appearing here are lyres, harps, cymbals and trumpets, along with the voices of a Levite choir. 

We don't know the meaning of alamoth (in verse 20); it appears in the Old Testament one other time, in the heading of Psalm 46. Yamauchi says that the word has, as its root, the concept of "maiden" or "virgin"; the Strong's webpage linked to the word translates the word as "(soprano voices of) young women."

The word "sheminith" in verse 21 appears two other times in the Old Testament, in the headings of Psalm 6 and Psalm 12. Yamauchi claims that the root of the word is "eight" so may mean a lower octave. But associating "eight" with a musical octave in writings from thousands of years ago seems a bit of a stretch to me. A more reasonable suggestion from the Strong's concordance is that the word refers to an eight string lyre.

Obed-Edom, in verse 18, is the same individual who took care of the ark previously (1 Chronicles 13: 14.)

1 Chronicles 15: 25-26, Joyful singing and sacrifice.

So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed.

Sacrifices also accompany the singing.

1 Chronicles 15: 27-29, David dances

Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod.

So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, with the sounding of rams' horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

David dances ecstatically, out of joy, to the embarrassment of his wife who thinks kings should not act this way. 

2 Samuel 6 records the passage of the ark from Kirieath Jearim (also in 1 Chronicles 13) to Jerusalem.