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 Ark in the Temple of Dagon. 1#The Philistines take the ark to Dagon’s temple in Ashdod to confirm their victory. Their action, however, underscores Dagon’s impotence and the Lord’s power. The narrator relates the transfer of the ark from Ashdod to Gath and then Ekron as the progress of a conquering warrior king through the Philistine cities along the central plain. The Philistines’ humiliation recalls the climax of the Samson story (Jgs 16:13–21). #Jgs 16:23–30; Is 45:5–6, 20–21. The Philistines, having captured the ark of God, transferred it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.#Jos 13:3. 2They then took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, placing it beside Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning, Dagon was lying face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they picked Dagon up and put him back in his place. 4But early the next morning, when they arose, Dagon lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord, his head and hands broken off and lying on the threshold, his trunk alone intact. 5For this reason, neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter the temple of Dagon tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this very day.
The Ark Is Carried About. 6Now the hand of the Lord weighed heavily on the people of Ashdod, ravaging them and afflicting the city and its vicinity with tumors.#Tumors: the Septuagint adds that mice, suggestive of bubonic plague, infested their fields, thus anticipating the golden mice in 6:4–5. One symptom of bubonic plague is swollen lymph nodes (“tumors”). #Ps 32:4. 7On seeing how matters stood, the people of Ashdod decided, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand weighs heavily on us and Dagon our god.” 8So they summoned all the Philistine leaders and inquired of them, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” The people of Gath replied, “Let them move the ark of the God of Israel to us.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9But after it had been brought there, the hand of the Lord was against the city, resulting in utter turmoil: the Lord afflicted its inhabitants, young and old, and tumors broke out on them. 10The ark of God was next sent to Ekron; but as it entered that city, the people there cried out, “Why have they brought the ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our kindred?” 11Then they, too, sent a summons to all the Philistine leaders and pleaded: “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. Send it back to its place so it does not kill us and our kindred.” A deadly panic had seized the whole city, since the hand of God lay heavy upon it. 12Those who escaped death were afflicted with tumors. Thus the outcry from the city went up to the heavens.
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