Chapter Five
The Philistines and the Ark
5:1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
The Philistines take the Ark to Ashdod, a city south of Aphek and Joppa, near the middle of Philistia. Many wonder how they were able to capture it as it was never to be touched, and required it to be carried by the poles. Plus we read in the next chapter that they apparently opened it, so why weren’t they killed? Because the instructions applied to the Israelites, not all of humanity.
5:2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
The Philistines bring the Ark to Ashdod and place it in the temple of their primary god, known as Dagon. He is believed to have been represented as being half man and half fish. The next day the Philistines found that the idol of Dagon had fallen face down on the ground bowing towards the Ark of YHWH. After reassembling the idol and putting him back in place they returned the next day and the same thing happened again, except this time Dagon’s head and both of his hands were lying on the threshold (doorstep) with only his torso remaining standing.
After seeing the superiority of the God of Israel, these Philistine priests had a choice. They could turn from their weak, inferior god Dagon and begin serving the mighty, superior LORD of Israel. Or they could make a religious tradition instead. They chose the religious tradition: Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.[1]
5:6 The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.
As a result of keeping the Ark in Ashdod the people were terrified (Hebrew yešim·mē’, to be desolated, to be destroyed, causes horror) and were afflicted with tumors (Hebrew ’ǒp̄ā·lîm, a hill, a mound, can also refer to a swelling, a tumor, considered to be a reference to hemorrhoids) throughout Ashdod and those nearby.
5:7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.
The people of Ashdod understood the connection of the Ark being there and the inflictions they suffered from, so they gathered all of the lords of the Philistines. Undoubtedly wanting to savor their victory over the Israelites, the lords were not ready to admit defeat, so they apparently thought that the events in Dagon’s temple and the outburst of panic and tumors were perhaps coincidental, therefore they decided to move the Ark. So they sent the Ark east to Gath.
5:9 But after they had brought it around, the hand of the LORD was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.”
Once they moved it to Gath the same outbreak affected the people there, both young and old. They again moved the Ark, this time north to Ekron. The people there complained loudly, saying that the Ark was sent there to kill them.
5:11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
The Philistine lords were summoned again to discuss what to do about the Ark of the God of Israel. They decided to send it back where it belongs. As there was a deathly (Hebrew mā’·wěṯ, death, dying) panic (Hebrew mehû’·mǎṯ, confusion, tumult, vexation), people were literally being frightened to death. Those that did not die from terror were struck with painful tumors, their cry went up to heaven.
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[1] Guzik, D. (2013). 1 Samuel (1 Sa 5:1–5). David Guzik.