1 Samuel 5:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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."

NIV: When the people 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 on us and on Dagon our god."

NASB: When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, 'The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.'

CSB: When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of Israel’s God must not stay here with us, because his hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon."

NLT: When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, 'We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.'

KJV: And 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.

NKJV: And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.”

The Philistines in Ashdod soon made the connection between the terrible outbreak of tumors in the city (1 Samuel 5:6) and the presence of the ark of the Lord God of Israel in their pagan temple (1 Samuel 5:1–2). This would have been an extremely easy conclusion to make. Very recently, in the temple of Dagon, the statue of Dagon had been mutilated and humiliated in front of the ark (1 Samuel 5:2–5).

Ashdod's people came to the wise conclusion that if the Lord God of Israel could cause tumors to swell up on their bodies, they could not possibly defeat Him. More importantly, their god Dagon could not defeat the Lord. Any idea they had that their god was stronger than Israel's god had clearly been an illusion, no matter the outcome of their most recent battle (1 Samuel 4:10–11). The Lord's hand was hard against them—He was afflicting them. Something had to be done; still, the people act as if the issue at hand is the physical ark, itself, so they make plans to move it (1 Samuel 5:8).

First Samuel 5:7–12 describes growing terror among the Philistines, who captured the ark of the covenant and placed it in their pagan temple. After humiliating the idol of their god, Dagon, the Lord's hand brings a plague of fear and cancers everywhere the ark is taken. In Ekron, the men who don't die from the effects of mass panic are struck with tumors. The cry goes up to send the ark back to Israel to stop the suffering and death.

The captured ark of the Lord is placed in the temple of Dagon. On consecutive nights, the Dagon idol is found on the floor, face down before the ark. On the second night, its head and hands are removed. The Lord sends a plague of terror and tumors on the people of Ashdod. The ark is sent to Gath and then Ekron, where the suffering grows even more intense. Some men in Ekron die from sheer panic, and the rest are struck with tumors. The people cry out to send the ark away, back to the Israelites.

In the prior chapter, Israel lost badly in battle against the Philistines, who even captured the ark of the covenant. First Samuel 5 dispels any suspicion that the Israelites' defeat means the god of the Philistines is more powerful than the Lord. In Ashdod, the idol of the god Dagon is supernaturally humiliated in its own temple. A plague of terror and tumors follows, first in Ashdod and then in Gath and Ekron as the ark is moved closer and closer to Jerusalem. The people of Ekron cry out for their leaders to send it back to the Israelites. Chapter 6 details their plan to be free from the ark and God's wrath.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.