1 Samuel 5 Study Notes: The Ark Among the Philistines
The Philistines place the captured ark in Dagon's temple at Ashdod, and the idol is twice found toppled before it, the second time broken. God strikes Ashdod, Gath and Ekron with panic and tumors until the Philistine rulers are begged to send the ark away.
General
When the Philistine rulers had the ark moved from Ashdod to Gath, what happened in Gath (1 Samuel 5:9)?
Answer: The LORD struck that city too with panic and tumors
Ashdod summoned the lords of the five Philistine cities, and their solution was simply to send the ark on to Gath (5:8). But Gath fared no better, for God’s hand was against it too: He threw the city into great panic and struck its men of every age with tumors (5:9). So the ark was sent on to Ekron, and Ekron’s people protested as soon as it arrived, sure it had been brought to kill them (5:10). Moving the ark from city to city could not move it out of God’s power. No plan can win against the LORD (Proverbs 21:30), and no one can rescue from His hand (Deuteronomy 32:39).
- 1 Samuel 5:8-9 (BSB)“So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” “It must be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they carried away the ark of the God of Israel. But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.”The Philistine rulers move the ark to Gath, and the LORD strikes that city with panic and tumors as well.
- 1 Samuel 5:10 (BSB)“So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!””The ark is sent on to Ekron, whose people cry out that it has come to kill them.
- Proverbs 21:30 (BSB)“There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.”No human plan or counsel can succeed against the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 (BSB)“See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”No one can deliver from the LORD’s hand, wherever they move.
Theological
What happened when the Philistine lords transferred the ark from Ashdod to Gath (1 Samuel 5:9)?
Answer: The LORD struck that city too with panic and tumors
The lords’ answer to the crisis is relocation: the ark goes on to Gath (5:8). The LORD’s hand follows it, bringing great panic and a spread of tumors on Gath’s men, young and old (5:9). Ekron, the next stop, protests at once that the ark has been sent to destroy them (5:10). The circuit of the cities demonstrates that no human counsel prevails against the LORD (Proverbs 21:30), and no one can deliver from His hand (Deuteronomy 32:39).
- 1 Samuel 5:8-9 (BSB)“So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” “It must be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they carried away the ark of the God of Israel. But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.”The Philistine rulers move the ark to Gath, and the LORD strikes that city with panic and tumors as well.
- 1 Samuel 5:10 (BSB)“So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!””The ark is sent on to Ekron, whose people cry out that it has come to kill them.
- Proverbs 21:30 (BSB)“There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.”No human plan or counsel can succeed against the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 (BSB)“See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”No one can deliver from the LORD’s hand, wherever they move.
General
True or False: On the second morning, Dagon was found fallen before the ark again, now missing his head and both hands.
Answer: True
This is true. After the people set Dagon back up, they found him fallen again the next morning. This time he lay face down in front of the ark, his head and hands now broken off on the threshold, the step at the temple entrance, and only the body of the statue was left (5:4). The narrator adds that from then on Dagon’s priests and worshipers in Ashdod would not step on that threshold (5:5). The idol could not even protect itself in its own temple. Scripture says idols have hands that cannot feel (Psalm 115:4-7), and the LORD will not share His glory with them (Isaiah 42:8). No god compares with Him (Exodus 15:11).
- 1 Samuel 5:4 (BSB)“But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained.”On the second morning Dagon has fallen again, and his head and hands lie broken off on the threshold.
- 1 Samuel 5:5 (BSB)“That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the threshold.”The narrator explains a custom of Dagon’s priests that came from this event.
- Psalm 115:4-7 (BSB)“Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats.”Idols have hands and feet that cannot feel or walk, which is exactly what Dagon’s broken statue displayed.
- Isaiah 42:8 (BSB)“I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.”The LORD declares that He will not give His glory or praise to idols.
- Exodus 15:11 (BSB)“Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”Israel’s song after the exodus asks who among the gods is like the LORD.
Theological
True or False: On the second morning, Dagon had fallen before the ark again, this time headless and with both hands severed.
Answer: True
This is true. The restored image falls a second time, now with its head and hands broken off on the threshold and only the trunk remaining (5:4). The narrator traces a lasting custom of Dagon’s priests in Ashdod, who avoid the threshold, to this event (5:5). The LORD humiliates the idol in its own sanctuary, exposing it as powerless, the very thing the psalmist says of idols whose hands cannot feel (Psalm 115:4-7). The LORD does not yield His glory to idols (Isaiah 42:8), and no god can be compared with Him (Exodus 15:11).
- 1 Samuel 5:4 (BSB)“But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained.”On the second morning Dagon has fallen again, and his head and hands lie broken off on the threshold.
- 1 Samuel 5:5 (BSB)“That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the threshold.”The narrator explains a custom of Dagon’s priests that came from this event.
- Psalm 115:4-7 (BSB)“Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats.”Idols have hands and feet that cannot feel or walk, which is exactly what Dagon’s broken statue displayed.
- Isaiah 42:8 (BSB)“I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.”The LORD declares that He will not give His glory or praise to idols.
- Exodus 15:11 (BSB)“Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”Israel’s song after the exodus asks who among the gods is like the LORD.
General
The Philistines set the captured ark beside the statue of their god Dagon in Ashdod. What did the Ashdodites find at dawn the following day (1 Samuel 5:3)?
Answer: Dagon lying face down before the ark
The Philistines, a people on Israel’s southwest coast who were Israel’s chief enemy in this period, had seized the ark of God in battle (4:11). The ark was the sacred chest that stood for the LORD’s presence among His people. They brought it to Ashdod, one of their main cities, and placed it next to the statue of Dagon inside Dagon’s temple (5:1-2). The next morning Dagon was lying on his face in front of the ark, the position of someone bowing low, and the people had to lift their god and put him back where he belonged (5:3). A god who had to be picked up by his worshipers could not stand before the LORD. Scripture elsewhere shows the LORD bringing judgment on false gods (Exodus 12:12; Isaiah 19:1) and mocks idols that have to be hauled about since they cannot walk (Jeremiah 10:5).
- 1 Samuel 5:1-2 (BSB)“After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.”The Philistines bring the captured ark to Ashdod and set it beside Dagon’s statue in his temple.
- 1 Samuel 5:3 (BSB)“When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.”The next morning Dagon lies face down before the ark, and the people put him back in place.
- Exodus 12:12 (BSB)“On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.”At the exodus the LORD declared that He would bring judgment on the gods of Egypt.
- Isaiah 19:1 (BSB)“This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.”Isaiah pictures the idols of Egypt trembling when the LORD comes against that land.
- Jeremiah 10:5 (BSB)“Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.””Idols must be carried because they cannot move themselves, so they are not to be feared.
Theological
After the ark was placed beside Dagon’s image in Ashdod, what did the Ashdodites discover the following morning (1 Samuel 5:3)?
Answer: Dagon lying face down before the ark
The captured ark is set beside Dagon in his own temple at Ashdod (5:1-2). The next morning Dagon lies prostrate before the ark, the position of a worshiper, and his devotees must set the image upright again (5:3). The irony is pointed: the god must be helped up by those who look to him for help. The scene echoes the LORD’s judgment on Egypt’s gods (Exodus 12:12; Isaiah 19:1) and the prophetic polemic against idols that cannot move unless carried (Jeremiah 10:5). Israel lost the ark, but the LORD was not defeated.
- 1 Samuel 5:1-2 (BSB)“After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.”The Philistines bring the captured ark to Ashdod and set it beside Dagon’s statue in his temple.
- 1 Samuel 5:3 (BSB)“When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.”The next morning Dagon lies face down before the ark, and the people put him back in place.
- Exodus 12:12 (BSB)“On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.”At the exodus the LORD declared that He would bring judgment on the gods of Egypt.
- Isaiah 19:1 (BSB)“This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.”Isaiah pictures the idols of Egypt trembling when the LORD comes against that land.
- Jeremiah 10:5 (BSB)“Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.””Idols must be carried because they cannot move themselves, so they are not to be feared.
General
Israel had lost the ark in battle. What does chapter 5 show about the LORD during the ark’s time in Philistia (1 Samuel 5:11-12)?
Answer: He was acting in power with no army at all
Israel’s elders had brought the ark into battle as if it would guarantee victory, yet they were defeated and the ark was captured (4:3, 11). It might have looked as though Israel’s God had lost. Chapter 5 shows the opposite. Not one Israelite lifts a weapon, yet the LORD humbles Dagon and strikes Ashdod, Gath and Ekron until Ekron’s leaders gather the Philistine rulers and demand that the ark go back to its own place. A deadly panic filled the city, God’s hand was very heavy on it, those who survived had tumors, and the cry of the city rose to heaven (5:11-12). Psalm 78 recalls this time: God let His strength go into captivity (78:61), and then He drove back His enemies (78:66).
- 1 Samuel 5:11-12 (BSB)“Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.”Ekron’s leaders demand that the ark be sent home, as deadly panic and tumors fill the city.
- 1 Samuel 4:3 (BSB)“When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.””Israel’s elders had brought the ark into battle as if it could guarantee them victory.
- 1 Samuel 4:11 (BSB)“The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”In that battle the ark was captured and Eli’s sons died.
- Psalm 78:61 (BSB)“He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.”The psalmist says God Himself gave His strength into captivity, then later beat back His foes (78:66).
- Psalm 78:66 (BSB)“He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.”After the time of captivity, God drove back His enemies and put them to shame.
Theological
After Israel’s defeat and the loss of the ark, what does chapter 5 reveal about the LORD’s power (1 Samuel 5:11-12)?
Answer: He was acting in power with no army at all
Israel had treated the ark as a guarantee of victory and lost both the battle and the ark (4:3, 11). Chapter 5 reverses any impression that the LORD was defeated. Without a single Israelite soldier, He humbles Dagon and afflicts Ashdod, Gath and Ekron until Ekron’s leaders demand the ark’s return; deadly panic grips the city, God’s hand is very heavy on it, the survivors are struck with tumors, and its cry goes up to heaven (5:11-12). Psalm 78 interprets the episode as God’s own act: He gave His strength into captivity (78:61) and then routed His adversaries (78:66). The LORD disciplines His people without ceasing to be sovereign over their enemies.
- 1 Samuel 5:11-12 (BSB)“Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.”Ekron’s leaders demand that the ark be sent home, as deadly panic and tumors fill the city.
- 1 Samuel 4:3 (BSB)“When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.””Israel’s elders had brought the ark into battle as if it could guarantee them victory.
- 1 Samuel 4:11 (BSB)“The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”In that battle the ark was captured and Eli’s sons died.
- Psalm 78:61 (BSB)“He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.”The psalmist says God Himself gave His strength into captivity, then later beat back His foes (78:66).
- Psalm 78:66 (BSB)“He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.”After the time of captivity, God drove back His enemies and put them to shame.
General
Why did Ashdod’s men decide the ark could not remain among them (1 Samuel 5:7)?
Answer: God’s hand was pressing hard on them and Dagon
The trouble in Ashdod went beyond a fallen statue. The LORD’s hand, a common Bible way of describing His active power, came down heavily on the city and the area around it, devastating the people and striking them with tumors, painful swellings (5:6). Ashdod’s men understood what was happening: Israel’s God was pressing hard both on them and on their god Dagon, so the ark could not stay (5:7). The Philistines had already heard how this God struck Egypt with plagues (4:8). As with Pharaoh, the LORD’s purpose in the plagues was to show that no one is like Him (Exodus 9:14), and no one can rescue from His hand (Deuteronomy 32:39).
- 1 Samuel 5:6 (BSB)“Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.”The LORD’s hand comes down heavily on Ashdod and its surroundings, striking the people with tumors.
- 1 Samuel 5:7 (BSB)“And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon our god Dagon.””The men of Ashdod conclude that the ark cannot stay because God’s hand is against them and Dagon.
- Exodus 9:14 (BSB)“Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.”The LORD sent plagues on Egypt so that Pharaoh would know there is no one like Him in all the earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 (BSB)“See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”The LORD alone wounds and heals, and no one can rescue from His hand.
- 1 Samuel 4:8 (BSB)“Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.”The Philistines already knew of the plagues God had sent on Egypt and feared Him.
Theological
What reason did Ashdod’s men give for refusing to keep the ark (1 Samuel 5:7)?
Answer: God’s hand was pressing hard on them and Dagon
The LORD’s hand, Scripture’s idiom for His active power, falls heavily on Ashdod and its territory, ravaging the people with tumors (5:6). The Ashdodites correctly read the event: Israel’s God is pressing hard on both them and Dagon, so the ark must go (5:7). They had already feared this God as the one who struck Egypt (4:8), and the parallel is apt: the plagues on Egypt were sent so that it would be known there is none like the LORD (Exodus 9:14). He wounds and heals, and no one delivers from His hand (Deuteronomy 32:39).
- 1 Samuel 5:6 (BSB)“Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.”The LORD’s hand comes down heavily on Ashdod and its surroundings, striking the people with tumors.
- 1 Samuel 5:7 (BSB)“And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon our god Dagon.””The men of Ashdod conclude that the ark cannot stay because God’s hand is against them and Dagon.
- Exodus 9:14 (BSB)“Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.”The LORD sent plagues on Egypt so that Pharaoh would know there is no one like Him in all the earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 (BSB)“See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”The LORD alone wounds and heals, and no one can rescue from His hand.
- 1 Samuel 4:8 (BSB)“Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.”The Philistines already knew of the plagues God had sent on Egypt and feared Him.