1 Samuel 5
5
Capture of the Ark Provokes God
1Then the Philistines took the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to #One of the five major Philistine cities.Ashdod. 2They took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it beside [the image of] Dagon [their chief idol]. 3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. 4But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had [again] fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and his head and both palms of his hands were [lying] cut off on the threshold; only the trunk [portion] of [the idol of] Dagon was left on him. 5This is the reason neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6Then the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He caused them to be dumbfounded and struck them with #It is possible that this was a type of bubonic plague or infection spread by rats (or fleas hosted by rats), as intimated in 6:4f.tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7When the men of Ashdod saw what had happened, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” 8So they sent word and gathered all the lords (governors) of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to #Gath was another major Philistine city and the home of their giant warrior, Goliath. Faced with the humiliation of surrendering the ark to Israel, the Philistine governors decided instead to treat it like a dangerous “hot potato” and simply get rid of it by sending it to another city.Gath.” So they took the ark of the God of Israel there. 9But it happened that after they had taken it to Gath, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing an extremely great panic [because of the deaths from the plague], for He struck the people of the city, both young and old, and tumors broke out on them. 10So they sent the ark of God to #A major Philistine city north of Ashdod and near the territory of Israel.Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel [from Gath] to #Lit me.us, to kill us and #Lit my.our people.” 11So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel; let it be returned to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy (severe) there. 12The men who had not died were stricken with tumors and the cry of the city [for help] went up to heaven.
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1 Samuel 5
5
The Philistines and the Ark
1#1Sa 4:1; 7:12Now the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2#Jdg 16:23; 1Ch 10:10When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3#Isa 19:1; 46:1–2; 46:7When the Ashdodites arose early in the morning, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again. 4#Mic 1:7; Jer 50:2When they arose early on the next morning, again Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold. Only the torso of Dagon was left to him. 5#Zep 1:9Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any coming into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6#1Sa 5:11; Ex 9:3; Ps 32:4But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites. He desolated them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its territories. 7When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel cannot remain with us. For His hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.” 8So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”
And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried around to Gath.” And they carried the ark of the God of Israel there.
9#1Sa 5:6; Dt 2:15; 1Sa 7:13It happened that after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction. And He struck the men of the city, both small and great. And tumors broke out on them. 10Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron.
And it came about that as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to slay us and our people.” 11#1Sa 5:6; 5:8–9So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to His own place that He might not kill me and my people,” for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12#Ex 12:30The men that did not die were plagued with the tumors. And the cry of the city went up to heaven.
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