1 Samuel 6:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.

NIV: They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors.

NASB: And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the saddlebag with the gold mice and the likenesses of their tumors.

CSB: Then they put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the box containing the gold mice and the images of their tumors.

NLT: Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors.

The Philistines continue to carry instructions given by their priests, seeking the best way to send the ark of the Lord (Exodus 25:10–16) back to Israel. They have constructed a new cart and yoked two untrained milk cows to it (1 Samuel 6:10). Now they place on the cart the ark, along with a box containing the guilt offering (1 Samuel 6:3–4). Nature would lead the cows to walk home, back into Philistine territory and their calves. If they head for Israel, it will confirm a supernatural influence.

Commentators differ about whether the guilt offering included just five mouse figures made of gold or also five golden figures that were shaped to look like tumors. Some understand the mice to be the representations of the tumors while others believe the text is describing five of each. Either possibility is consistent with the meaning of the incident.

In either case, the guilt offering was being offered to the Lord God of Israel in keeping with the theology of the Philistines, not according to the law of Moses. The practice of the Philistines and many religions of the time was to fashion a representation of the bad thing that was happening, then send it away. This was done in hopes that the god or gods would take the actual harmful thing away from them, along with the guilt for whatever offense had been done.

First Samuel 6:1–18 describes the Philistine plan to send the ark of the Lord back to Israel. They hope to stop the plague and panic with which God d afflicted them (1 Samuel 5). At the advice of their priests and diviners, the Philistines place the ark and a guilt offering of five golden mice and five golden tumors on a new cart pulled by two milk cows. The cows head straight for the Israelite town of Beth-shemesh. There, the rejoicing people offer the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Levites living in the town place the ark and the golden images on a large rock. The lords of the Philistines see the sacrifice and return to Ekron.

The Philistine religious leaders advise the five lords of the Philistines to send the ark of the Lord back to Israel with a guilt offering to stop the plague of tumors ravishing their land (1 Samuel 5:6–12). The Philistines place the ark along with five golden mice (or five golden tumors and five golden mice) on a new cart hitched to two untrained milk cows whose calves are shut up at home. The cows head straight for the Israelite border town of Beth-shemesh. There, the people rejoice and offer the cows before the ark as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Lord kills seventy men of the town because the people looked at the ark. Frightened, the people send to Kiriath-jearim and ask them to take the ark.

First Samuel 6 finds most of the Philistines convinced that the plague and panic (1 Samuel 5:6–12) are from the Lord. They place the ark of the Lord and a guilt offering of golden mice on a cart pulled by two milk cows. The cows pull the ark straight to the Israelite town of Beth-shemesh, where the rejoicing people offer the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord before the ark. The Lord kills seventy men of the town for looking at (or in) the ark. The people of Beth-shemesh send word to those in another town to take the ark away.

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.