1The Philistines bring the ark into the house of Dagon at Ashdod. 3Dagon is cast down and broken in pieces before the ark. 6The men of Ashdod are smitten with emerods. 8The ark being carried to Gath, the men of Gath are smitten with the like plague; 10as also the men of Ekron, when the ark is brought thither.
1AND the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from 1Eben-ezer unto 2Ashdod.
1 See 1 Sam. 4:1.
2 This city is, Acts 8:40, called Azotus. It was one of the most important cities of the Philistines, in which there dwelt giants in Joshua’s time, Joshua 11:22.
2When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it 3into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 That is, into the temple of the idol Dagon. See Judges 16:23. This the Philistines did for a sign of victory, which they thought they had obtained by the help of this their god.
3¶And 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 4Dagon was left to him.
4 That is, the stump at which the head with the hands were broken off.
55Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread 6on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
5 Wherefore did they not tread on the threshold? It seems that they accounted it holy, because Dagon had lain upon it.
6 That is, on the threshold of the temple of Dagon; so it is said the key of David; that is, of the house of David.
6But the 7hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he 8destroyed them, and smote them with 9emerods, even Ashdoda and the coasts thereof.
7 That is, the Lord visited them of Ashdod with grievous plagues.
8 Namely, by the mice, as is mentioned 1 Sam. 6:4.
9 The Hebrew word properly signifies an hill, and also the fundament, because this part of man’s body is exalted, or lifted up. As this part of the body of the Philistines was plagued, this is clearly expressed Psalm 78:66. This plague is called in our language the nipples, hemorrhoids, piles, or condyloma, of which one suffers much pain.
a Psalm 78:66.
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 10they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto 11Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
10 Namely, the princes of the Philistines.
11 This was also one of the most important cities of the Philistines, situated upon a hill or mountain called Ammah, not far from the sea. David captured this city, 2 Sam. 8:1, compare with 1 Chron. 18:1. See further concerning this city, 2 Kings 12:17; 2 Chron. 11:8; 26:6.
9And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great 12destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had 13emerods 14in their secret parts.
12 Or, disturbance.
13 That is, the swellings were not outward, but inward in the entrails, so that a man could not come at them, to let them bleed when they festered, which is the painful sort of emerods.
14 Hebr. were hidden to them.
10¶Therefore they sent the ark of God to 15Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, 16that the 17Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
15 This was also one of the most important cities of the Philistines, and fell to the tribe of Judah for their inheritance, Joshua 15:45; Judges 1:18. See further concerning this city, Judges 13:3; 2 Kings 1:2; Jer. 25:20; Amos 1:8; Zeph. 2:4; Zech. 9:5, 7.
16 The Ekronites, having heard and seen the heavy plagues wherewith the Lord had plagued their neighbors because of the ark, were exceedingly afraid, when they heard that they would bring the ark unto them.
17 Namely, the governors of the city, for there follows, 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 18us not, and our people: for there was a 19deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
18 Thus spoke every one of the princes of the Philistines.
19 Some are of the opinion, that besides the emerods, there reigned yet another deadly disease amongst the Philistines: See the following verse.
12And the men 20that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the 21city went up to heaven.
20 Namely, of the deadly vexation whereof mention is made in verse 11.
21 That is, from the inhabitants of the city.