1And the ark of Jehovah was in the field of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for priests and for those divining, saying, What shall we do to the ark of Jehovah? Let us know with what we shall send it to its place. 3And they said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, you shall not send it away empty. For turning back you shall return a guilt offering back to Him. Then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand has not turned away from you. 4And they said, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall send back to Him? And they said, The number of the rulers of the Philistines, five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice. For one plague has been on all of you, and on your rulers. 5And you shall make images of your hemorrhoids, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and shall give honor to the God of Israel. It may be that He will lighten His hand from off you and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6And why do you harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? When He dealt ruthlessly with them, did they not send them away? And they went. 7And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling cows, on which a yoke has never gone up. And you shall tie the cows to the cart, and cause their young ones to return home from them. 8And you shall take the ark of Jehovah and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which you shall return to Him for a guilt offering. Put them in a coffer in its side and send it away; and let it go. 9And watch; if it goes up by way of its own border, to Beth-shemesh, He has done this great evil to us. And if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that touched us; it was an accident to us. 10And the men did so. And they took two suckling cows and tied them to the cart. And they shut their young ones in the house. 11And they placed the ark of Jehovah on the cart, and the coffer with the golden mice and the images of their hemorrhoids. 12And the cows went straight in the way, on the way to Beth-shemesh. They went on one highway, going and lowing. And they did not turn to the right or to the left. And the rulers of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh. 13And those of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14And the cart had come to the field of Joshua the Bethshemite, and stood there. And there was a great stone. And they cut the wood of the cart, and they offered the cows as a burnt offering to Jehovah. 15And the Levites took the ark of Jehovah down, and the coffer which was with it, in which were the vessels of gold. And they placed them on the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices in that day to Jehovah. 16And the five rulers of the Philistines saw it, and turned back to Ekron on that day. 17And these were the golden hemorrhoids which the Philistines sent back as a guilt offering to Jehovah: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron: 18and the golden mice, the number of all the cities of the Philistines, for the five rulers, from the fortified city even to the hamlet of the villagers, even to the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah remain until this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. 19And he struck among the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked into the ark of Jehovah. Yea, He struck seventy among the people, fifty out of a thousand men. And the people mourned because Jehovah destroyed among the people with a great destruction. 20And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us? 21And they sent messengers to the ones living in Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have sent back the ark of Jehovah. Come down: take it up to you.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE PHILISTINES COUNSEL HOW TO SEND BACK THE ARK. (
1Sam 6:1-9)
the ark . . . was in the country of the Philistines seven months--Notwithstanding the calamities which its presence had brought on the country and the people, the Philistine lords were unwilling to relinquish such a prize, and tried every means to retain it with peace and safety, but in vain.
2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners--The designed restoration of the ark was not, it seems, universally approved of, and many doubts were expressed whether the prevailing pestilence was really a judgment of Heaven. The priests and diviners united all parties by recommending a course which would enable them easily to discriminate the true character of the calamities, and at the same time to propitiate the incensed Deity for any acts of disrespect which might have been shown to His ark.
4 Five golden emerods--Votive or thank offerings were commonly made by the heathen in prayer for, or gratitude after, deliverance from lingering or dangerous disorders, in the form of metallic (generally silver) models or images of the diseased parts of the body. This is common still in Roman Catholic countries, as well as in the temples of the Hindus and other modern heathen.
five golden mice--This animal is supposed by some to be the jerboa or jumping mouse of Syria and Egypt [BOCHART]; by others, to be the short-tailed field mouse, which often swarms in prodigious numbers and commits great ravages in the cultivated fields of Palestine.
5 give glory unto the God of Israel--By these propitiatory presents, the Philistines would acknowledge His power and make reparation for the injury done to His ark.
lighten his hand . . . from off your gods--Elohim for god.
6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?--The memory of the appalling judgments that had been inflicted on Egypt was not yet obliterated. Whether preserved in written records, or in floating tradition, they were still fresh in the minds of men, and being extensively spread, were doubtless the means of diffusing the knowledge and fear of the true God.
7 make a new cart--Their object in making a new one for the purpose seems to have been not only for cleanliness and neatness, but from an impression that there would have been an impropriety in using one that had been applied to meaner or more common services. It appears to have been a covered wagon (see on
2Sam 6:3).
two milch kine--Such untrained heifers, wanton and vagrant, would pursue no certain and regular path, like those accustomed to the yoke, and therefore were most unlikely of their own spontaneous motion to prosecute the direct road to the land of Israel.
bring their calves home from them--The strong natural affection of the dams might be supposed to stimulate their return homewards, rather than direct their steps in a foreign country.
8 take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart--This mode of carrying the sacred symbol was forbidden; but the ignorance of the Philistines made the indignity excusable (see on
2Sam 6:6).
put the jewels . . . in a coffer by the side thereof--The way of securing treasure in the East is still in a chest, chained to the house wall or some solid part of the furniture.
9 Beth-shemesh--that is, "house of the sun," now Ain Shems [ROBINSON], a city of priests in Judah, in the southeast border of Dan, lying in a beautiful and extensive valley. JOSEPHUS says they were set a-going near a place where the road divided into two--the one leading back to Ekron, where were their calves, and the other to Beth-shemesh. Their frequent lowings attested their ardent longing for their young, and at the same time the supernatural influence that controlled their movements in a contrary direction.
12 the lords of the Philistines went after them--to give their tribute of homage, to prevent imposture, and to obtain the most reliable evidence of the truth. The result of this journey tended to their own deeper humiliation, and the greater illustration of God's glory.
14 and they clave--that is, the Beth-shemites, in an irrepressible outburst of joy.
offered the kine--Though contrary to the requirements of the law (
Lev 1:3;
Lev 22:19), these animals might properly be offered, as consecrated by God Himself; and though not beside the tabernacle, there were many instances of sacrifices offered by prophets and holy men on extraordinary occasions in other places.
17 And these are the golden emerods . . . and the mice--There were five representative images of the emerods, corresponding to the five principal cities of the Philistines. But the number of the golden mice must have been greater, for they were sent from the walled towns as well as the country villages.
18 unto the great stone of Abel--Abel, or Aben, means "stone," so that without resorting to italics, the reading should be, "the great stone."
19 he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark--In the ecstasy of delight at seeing the return of the ark, the Beth-shemesh reapers pried into it beneath the wagon cover; and instead of covering it up again, as a sacred utensil, they let it remain exposed to common inspection, wishing it to be seen, in order that all might enjoy the triumph of seeing the votive offerings presented to it, and gratify curiosity with the sight of the sacred shrine. This was the offense of those Israelites (Levites, as well as common people), who had treated the ark with less reverence than the Philistines themselves.
he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men--Beth-shemesh being only a village, this translation must be erroneous, and should be, "he smote fifty out of a thousand," being only fourteen hundred in all who indulged this curiosity. God, instead of decimating, according to an ancient usage, slew only a twentieth part; that is, according to JOSEPHUS, seventy out of fourteen hundred (see
Num 4:18-
Num 4:22).
21 Kirjath-jearim--"the city of woods," also called Kirjath-baal (
Josh 15:60;
Josh 18:14;
1Chr 13:6-7). This was the nearest town to Beth-shemesh; and being a place of strength, it was a more fitting place for the residence of the ark. Beth-shemesh being in a low plain, and Kirjath-jearim on a hill, explains the message, "Come ye down, and fetch it up to you."