1 Samuel 5:6 NIV

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 Samuel 5:6

1 Samuel 5:6. Smote them with emerods— See Deu 28:27 and compare 1 Samuel 5:9. At the end of this verse the LXX and Vulgate add, that "a great number of mice started up out of the earth, and over-running the fields, made a great waste;" which words Houbigant admits into his text; though they seem likely to have been a mere gloss in the Margin taken from the 4th and 5th verses of the next chapter. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 5:6

6. the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod—The presumption of the Ashdodites was punished by a severe judgment that overtook them in the form of a pestilence. smote them with emerods—bleeding piles, hemorrhoids ( :-), in a very aggravated form. As the heathens generally regarded diseases affecting the secret parts of the body as punishments from the gods for trespasses committed against themselves, the Ashdodites would be the more ready to look upon the prevailing epidemic as... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

B. Pagan Fertility Foiled by God ch. 5The primary purpose of this chapter, I believe, is to demonstrate the superiority of Yahweh over Dagon, the fertility god of the Philistines. There are several similarities between this chapter and the record of God sending plagues on the Egyptians (Exodus 7-12), an earlier demonstration of His sovereignty. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 5:6-12

The writer now began to stress the major theme in the ark narrative: the hand [power] of the Lord. [Note: Patrick D. Miller Jr. and J. J. M. Roberts, The Hand of the Lord: A Reassessment of the "Ark Narrative" of 1 Samuel, p. 48.] There are nine occurrences of this anthropomorphic phrase in this section of 1 Samuel (1 Samuel 4:8; 1 Samuel 5:6-7; 1 Samuel 5:9; 1 Samuel 5:11; 1 Samuel 6:3; 1 Samuel 6:5; 1 Samuel 6:9; 1 Samuel 7:13). The hand of the Lord represents Yahweh in action (cf. Exodus... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

The Ark among the Philistines1. Ashdod] on an elevation overlooking the Philistine plain midway between Gaza and Joppa, and 3 m. from the Mediterranean. Its importance consisted in the fact that it commanded the high road from Palestine to Egypt.2. Dagon] seems to have been worshipped in all the Philistine cities. His name is probably merely the Canaanite pronunciation of the word for ’corn,’ and designates him as the god of agriculture. The Philistines were not a maritime people, like the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 5:6

(6) But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod.—A painful and distressing sickness, in the form, perhaps, of tumours—(the word emerods should be spelt hemorrhoids)—broke out among the inhabitants of the Philistine city in which was situated the idol temple, where was placed the Ark of the Covenant. The LXX. has an addition to the Hebrew text here which speaks of a terrible land plague which, apparently from subsequent notices, visited Philistia in addition to the bodily sufferings... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

CHAPTER VII.THE ARK AMONG THE PHILISTINES.1 Samuel 5:1-12; 1 Samuel 6:1-21ALTHOUGH the history in Samuel is silent as to the doings of the Philistines immediately after their great victory over Israel, yet we learn from other parts of the Bible (Psalms 78:60-64 ) Jeremiah 7:12; Jeremiah 26:9) that they proceeded to Shiloh, massacred the priests, wrecked the city, and left it a monument of desolation, as it continued to be ever after. Probably this was considered an appropriate sequel to the... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

6. The Ark in the Hands of the Philistines and Its Return CHAPTER 5 1. The ark in the house of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:1-5 ) 2. The Philistines smitten by Jehovah (1 Samuel 5:6-12 ) The ark was brought to Ashdod, the leading city of the Philistines, and set up in the temple dedicated to Dagon, the chief god of the people. It was half fish and half man, the symbol of fertility. Before this idol the ark was set up. In their blindness they imagined that Dagon had conquered the God of Israel. The... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

Though God had allowed the Philistines to gain the victory, He very soon spoils their pleasure in having captured the ark, taking it to Ashdod. They think the most fit place for it is in the house of Dagon, the fish-god (half fish, half man). No doubt they even considered they were patronizing Israel's god by giving it this place! But the next morning Dagon was found fallen on its face before the ark, and they were given the work of lifting their god back into its place! The second morning,... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

ELI ’S DEATH ; THE LOSS OF THE ARK GOD SPEAKS TO SAMUEL (1 Samuel 3:0 ) “The word of the Lord was precious [or rare] in those days” (1 Samuel 3:1 ) is introductory to the record that it was now heard in the case of Samuel. It was Israel’s sin that hid God’s face from them and caused His voice to be silent so long only twice heard during the period of the Judges (Judges 4:4 ; Judges 6:8 ) but He was again to be gracious unto them in this respect, and a new epoch was to open in their... read more