1 Samuel 6:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

NIV: When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months,

NASB: Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months.

CSB: When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory for seven months,

NLT: The Ark of the Lord remained in Philistine territory seven months in all.

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

NKJV: Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

Given what is described in the previous chapter, seven months seems a long time for the ark of the Lord (Exodus 25:10–16) to have remained in Philistine territory. That seven months began when the ark was brought to the camp of the Israelite army by Eli's sons (1 Samuel 4:3–4). It ends later in this chapter when it crosses the border into Israelite territory alone on a cart pulled by two milk cows (1 Samuel 6:12).

During those months, the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Philistines for holding His ark captive. He brought great panic and a plague of tumors on the people, first in Ashdod and then in Gath and Ekron and eventually to the entire Philistine nation (1 Samuel 5:6–12; 6:4).

Why did it take the Philistines seven months to decide to send the ark back to Israel? For one thing, they likely believed they had literally captured the God of Israel—the deity Himself—by capturing the ark, thus removing from Israel any access to the Lord's power and protection (1 Samuel 4:5–11). This was false. The ark of the Lord was merely the place on earth where God's presence rested, but He continued to be God in all places and to be all powerful. His ability to bring this plague on the Philistines should have demonstrated that to them. Giving back the ark was an admission of defeat.

The other reason is that some among the Philistines apparently speculated that the incident was mere coincidence. Perhaps the presence of the ark and the onset of their suffering coincided by chance. Maybe the plague would have happened either way. Why give the Lord the credit for something that may have been an act of nature (1 Samuel 6:9)?

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.