1 Samuel5
King James Version · Public Domain
1And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben–ezer unto Ashdod.
2When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, 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 stump of Dagon was left to him.
5Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
6But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
7And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
8They sent therefore 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 about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
9And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
10Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, 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 us, to slay us and our people.
11So 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 it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
12And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Samuel 5.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Dagon is broken before the ark. (1–5). The Philistine smitten. (6–12).
vv1-5
See the ark's triumph over Dagon. Thus the kingdom of Satan will certainly fall before the kingdom of Christ, error before truth, profaneness before godliness, and corruption before grace in the hearts of the faithful. When the interests of religion seem to be ready to sink, even then we may be confident that the day of their triumph will come. When Christ, the true Ark of the covenant, really enters the heart of fallen man, which is indeed Satan's temple, all idols will fall, every endeavour to set them up again will be vain, sin will be forsaken, and unrighteous gain restored; the Lord will claim and possess the throne. But pride, self-love, and worldly lusts, though dethroned and crucified, still remain within us, like the stump of Dagon. Let us watch and pray that they may not prevail. Let us seek to have them more entirely destroyed.
vv6-12
The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Philistines; he not only convinced them of their folly, but severely chastised their insolence. Yet they would not renounce Dagon; and instead of seeking God's mercy, they desired to get clear of his ark. Carnal hearts, when they smart under the judgments of God, would rather, if it were possible, put him far from them, than enter into covenant or communion with him, and seek him for their friend. But their devices to escape the Divine judgments only increase them. Those that fight against God will soon have enough of it.
Key Words
פְּלִשְׁתִּי: a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth
לָקַח: to take (in the widest variety of applications)
אָרוֹן: a box
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
אֶבֶן הָעֵזֶר: Eben-ha-Ezer, a place in Palestine
אַשְׁדּוֹד: Ashdod, a place in Palestine
בַּיִת: a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
דָּגוֹן: Dagon, a Philistine deity
יָצַג: to place permanently
Cross References
1 Samuel 5Explicit fulfillment of the covenant curse of botches/emerods threatened for disobedience.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explicitly censures those who leap or tread on the threshold, a superstition originating here.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Poetic description of God smiting His enemies in the hinder parts with emerods.
Supported by JFB
Establishes Dagon as the premier god of the Philistines, previously credited with defeating Samson.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels God executing judgment against foreign gods (Dagon) just as He did in Egypt.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The great cry going up to heaven echoes the plague of Egypt's midnight cry.
Prophetic parallel of the idols of Egypt trembling and falling before the presence of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Prophetic parallel of Babylonia's idols (Bel and Merodach) being broken and confounded.
Mockery of helpless idols that have hands but cannot handle, mirroring Dagon's severed hands.
Geographical connection tracing the ark's journey from Eben-ezer, where Israel was defeated.
Supported by Matthew Poole