1 Samuel6
New King James Version
1Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”
3So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”
4Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
5Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.
6Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?
7Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them.
8Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go.
9And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”
10Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors.
12Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.
15The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord.
16So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;
18and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
20And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”
21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Samuel 6.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Philistines consult how to send back the ark. (1–9). They bring it to Bethshemesh. (10–18). The people smitten for looking into the ark. (19–21).
vv1-9
Seven months the Philistines were punished with the presence of the ark; so long it was a plague to them, because they would not send it home sooner. Sinners lengthen out their own miseries by refusing to part with their sins. The Israelites made no effort to recover the ark. Alas! where shall we find concern for religion prevail above all other matters? In times of public calamity we fear for ourselves, for our families, and for our country; but who cares for the ark of God? We are favoured with the gospel, but it is treated with neglect or contempt. We need not wonder if it should be taken from us; to many persons this, though the heavies of calamities, would occasion no grief. There are multitudes whom any profession would please as well as that of Christianity. But there are those who value the house, the word, and the ministry of God above their richest possessions, who dread the loss of these blessings more than death. How willing bad men are to shift off their convictions, and when they are in trouble, to believe it is a chance that happens; and that the rod has no voice which they should hear or heed!
vv10-18
These two kine knew their owner, their great Owner, whom Hophin and Phinehas knew not. God's providence takes notice even of brute creatures, and serves its own purposes by them. When the reapers saw the ark, they rejoiced; their joy for that was greater than the joy of harvest. The return of the ark, and the revival of holy ordinances, after days of restraint and trouble, are matters of great joy.
vv19-21
It is a great affront to God, for vain men to pry into, and meddle with the secret things which belong not to them, De 29:29; Col 2:18. Man was ruined by desiring forbidden knowledge. God will not suffer his ark to be profaned. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Those that will not fear his goodness, and reverently use the tokens of his grace, shall be made to feel his justice. The number smitten is expressed in an unusual manner in the original, and it is probable that it means 1170. They desire to be rid of the ark. Foolish men run from one extreme to the other. They should rather have asked, How may we have peace with God, and recover his favor? Mic 6:6, 7. Thus, when the word of God works with terror on sinners' consciences, they, instead of taking the blame and shame to themselves, quarrel with the word, and put that from them. Many stifle their convictions, and put salvation away from them.
Key Words
אָרוֹן: a box
שָׂדֶה: a field (as flat)
פְּלִשְׁתִּי: a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth
שֶׁבַע: seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
קָרָא: to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
כֹּהֵן: literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
קָסַם: properly, to distribute, i.e. determine by lot or magical scroll; by implication, to divine
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
Cross References
1 Samuel 6The historical parallel of a pagan power forced to let Israel go after severe judgments.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
David later imitates the Philistines' error of using a new cart instead of Levites' shoulders.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicit Mosaic prohibition against looking at or touching the holy things on pain of death.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Identifies Beth-shemesh as a designated city of the priests in the territory of Judah.
Supported by JFB
Warns against prying into secret, unrevealed things of God, relevant to Beth-shemesh's curiosity.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The continuation of the narrative where the ark is successfully retrieved and brought to Kirjath-jearim.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Illuminates pagan and Jewish anxiety on how to properly approach and appease an offended God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The Mosaic law's requirement of a trespass offering to make atonement for unintentional sacrilege.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Condemns intruding into things not seen, matching the Beth-shemites' profane curiosity into the ark.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The biblical principle that one must not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God executing judgment against pagan deities, paralleling the fall of Dagon and Philistine gods.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Giving glory to God by confessing sin and acknowledging His righteous judgments.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Requirement of sacrificial beasts on which no yoke has ever come, showing sacred devotion.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The parallel judgment on Uzzah for touching the ark irreverently, showing God's severe holiness.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel where wood of agricultural implements is chopped up for an emergency sacrificial fire.
Supported by Matthew Poole