1 Samuel 6:1-21 - Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

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Bible Comments

1 Samuel 6:1 to 1 Samuel 7:1. Ark Brought back to Beth-shemesh; Plague Breaks out there; Ark Housed at Kiriath-jearim.

1 Samuel 6:1 may not belong to the main story; 2 would be a better continuation of 1 Samuel 5:12. At the end of the verse LXX adds And their land swarmed with mice. This would prepare for the mice in 1 Samuel 6:4 f., 1 Samuel 6:11; 1 Samuel 6:18. Possibly these references to mice are survivals from a fuller form of the story, in which the mice figured more largely, or mice may have symbolised plague. One doubts whether it was known then that vermin carried the infection.

1 Samuel 6:2. diviners: qosem (see Deuteronomy 18:10).

1 Samuel 6:3. guilt-offering: - asham, here not a sacrifice, but a compensation for injury; so also 2 Kings 12:16; later on in the Priestly Code, a form of sacrifice (Leviticus 5:6).

1 Samuel 6:4. tumours: homoeopathic treatment; magic often seeks to control a person or thing by an image thereof. [This is especially the case with disease or loss. The sufferer takes to the sanctuary a figure of the diseased part of his body, fashioned of clay, bronze, or wax, and the peasant who has suffered a loss of cattle brings a representation of the animal. In the animistic stage of thought the image is thought to have a soul. Through its immanent psychical power it is to exercise magical coercion over the soul of the god. See Wundt, Elements of Folk Psychology, pp. 438- 440. A. S. P.]

1 Samuel 6:6. wrought wonderfully among them: better made a mock of them-' (mg.).

1 Samuel 6:8 f. If the kine made straight for the nearest point of Israelite territory, it would show that they were under the control of the God of Israel and that it was His will that the Ark should be returned to its own country.

1 Samuel 6:8. coffer: The word so translated occurs only in this narrative and its meaning is not certain.

1 Samuel 6:9. Beth-shemesh: Joshua 15:10, p. 31.

1 Samuel 6:14. There is no question of limiting sacrifice to the Tabernacle. The great stone may have been a sacred stone, or may have been used as an altar (1 Samuel 14:33-35).

1 Samuel 6:15. Editorial addition; later custom required that Levites should be present, both in connexion with the sacrifice, and as guardians of the Ark. The offering of further sacrifices seems out of place.

1 Samuel 6:16 continues 1 Samuel 6:14.

1 Samuel 6:17. Gaza: p. 28, Judges 16:1 *. Ashkelon: see p. 28.

1 Samuel 6:19. Read (mg.) with LXX, And the sons of Jeconiah did not rejoice with the men of Beth-shemesh when they saw the ark of the Lord, and he smote of them seventy men, and the people mourned, etc.

1 Samuel 6:20. Identifies the Ark with Yahweh. Holy here denotes terrible majesty, which brings disaster on those who do not show due reverence.

1 Samuel 6:21. Kiriath-jearim: see Joshua 9:17.

1 Samuel 7:1. sanctified: performed certain rites, ablutions, etc., which would be thought necessary to qualify Eleazar to become the custodian or priest of the Ark, and to protect him from its baleful holiness. The Ark now disappears from the history till 2 Samuel 6:2, which see for its fortunes in the interval. Its presence in 1 Samuel 14:18 is due to a mistake of a scribe. Probably the sanctuary at Shiloh was destroyed at this time, and our documents contained a statement to that effect, which for some reason has been omitted (cf. Jeremiah 7:12 *).

Related Commentaries of 1 Samuel 6:1

1 Samuel 6:1-21

1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.

3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.a

5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfullyb among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?

7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:

8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.

9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.

10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:

11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.

12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.

13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.

15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.

16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the greatc stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.

19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.