Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1-5

Here is, I. The Philistines? triumph over the ark, which they were the more pleased, the more proud, to be now masters of, because before the battle they were possessed with a great fear of it, 1 Sam. 4:7. When they had it in their hands God restrained them, that they did not offer any violence to it, did not break it to pieces, as the Israelites were ordered to do by the idols of the heathen, but showed some respect to it, and carefully carried it to a place of safety. Whether their curiosity... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1

And the Philistines took the ark of God ,.... Which fell into their hands, Israel being beaten, and caused to flee, and the priests that had the care of the ark slain; and when possessed of it, they did not destroy it, nor take out of it what was in it, only took it up: and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod . Ebenezer was the place where the camp of Israel was pitched, 1 Samuel 4:1 and near to which the battle was fought. Ashdod was one of the five principalities of the Philistines,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 5:1

Brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod - Ashdod or Azotus was one of the five satrapies or lordships of the Philistines. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1

EXPOSITION THE ARK OF GOD IN PHILISTIA ( 1 Samuel 5:1-12 ). The Philistines took the ark of God . The silence of Scripture is often as remarkable as what it tells us. From Psalms 78:60-64 ; Jeremiah 7:12 ; Jeremiah 26:9 , we gather that from Aphek the Philistines marched upon Shiloh, and having captured it, put all whom they found there to the sword, and levelled the buildings to the ground. Especially their wrath fell upon the priests, in revenge for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1-5

Foreshadowings. The facts given are— 1 . The Philistines, acting on polytheistic principles, place the ark in their heathen temple, thus ascribing to it Divine honour, and yet indicating its inferiority to Dagon. 2 . During the night their god Dagon falls to the ground. 3 . Supposing the fall to be the result of some unaccountable accident, they replace their god, and on the next day find him even broken to pieces. 4 . The event is memorialised by the establishment of a... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Samuel 5:1

1 Samuel 5:1. The Philistines took the ark of God Abarbinel gives several reasons why God suffered the ark of his presence to fall into the hands of these uncircumcised heathen: 1st, The Israelites were such great sinners that they were unworthy of this symbol of the divine presence among them: 2d, The idolatry of Micah remained to this day in the land, therefore God fulfilled his threatening, Leviticus 26:19-31: 3d, The sin of the priests highly provoked him to deliver up the ark, which... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

The ark returns (5:1-7:1)Although God used the Philistines to judge Israel, he would not allow them to dishonour him. He showed that the capture of the ark did not mean that he was inferior to the Philistine god Dagon (5:1-5). Wherever the ark went it brought trouble to the Philistine people. A plague of mice seems to have spread a painful and deadly disease throughout the country, bringing widespread suffering and death (6-12; cf. 6:5).The Philistines felt fairly certain that the ark was the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Samuel 5:1

God . Hebrew. Elohim . See App-4 . Eben-ezer . Compare 1 Samuel 4:1 ; 1 Samuel 7:12 . Ashdod = fortified. Now Esdud. Compare Joshua 13:3 . See note on Genesis 10:14 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Samuel 5:1

THE ARK OF GOD AMONG THE PHILISTINES Contrary to what any uninspired writer would have done, the author (whom we believe to have been Samuel) says nothing at all in this chapter concerning the Israelites and their reaction to the terrible defeat they had just suffered. He gives us not a single word about the terrible destruction of Shiloh by the Philistine army; and we are able to know about that only from the later references to it in the Bible.From Psalms 78:60-64 and from Jeremiah 7:12 and... read more

Group of Brands