1 Samuel 5:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

NIV: Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

NASB: And the people who did not die were struck with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

CSB: Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

NLT: Those who didn’t die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven.

KJV: And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

NKJV: And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Reading these verses might cause one to ask, how does someone die from panic? Some among the people of Ekron did just that. History shows that during times of disease, disaster, or sudden catastrophe, people often react with terror. This can lead to self-destructive behaviors, increased violence, fear-based decision-making, and so forth. Some casualties of disasters are harmed not by the disaster, itself, but by how they or others respond to it. This panic seems to be more than the terror-stricken response of the people to presence of the ark and the plague of tumors that has followed it from city to city (1 Samuel 5:6–11). The panic itself was apparently part of God's "heavy hand" against the Philistines.

The panic and tumors afflict the people in each of the cities the ark arrived at. Worse, the impact seems to have been magnified each time the ark was moved. In Ekron, every man who did not die from the panic got the tumors. The intense suffering and fear caused the people to cry out loudly, seeking divine help. It's unclear if this means the Philistine people cried out to the Lord of Israel (Judges 10:14) to spare them. Or it might simply indicate how loud and desperate the people became in their suffering and mourning.

In either case, everyone knew something—anything—must be done to get the ark away from them.

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.