1 Samuel 6:19

THE DEATH OF THE SEVENTY MEN OF BETH-SHEMESH

"And he slew some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked into the ark of the Lord; he slew seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had made a great slaughter among the people. Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us"? So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you."

(For a definitive comment on 1 Samuel 6:19-21, see the note under 1 Samuel 7:1.)

1 Samuel 7:1

"And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord, and brought it to the house of Abinidab on the hill; and they consecrated his son Eleazar, to have charge of the ark of the Lord."

We have added 1 Samuel 7:1 here, because most scholars treat it as the conclusion of 1 Samuel 6.

"Because they looked into the ark ... he (God) slew seventy of them" (1 Samuel 6:19). B. G. Caird criticized the rendition here, writing that, "`They looked into the ark' is not a possible translation. The Hebrew can mean only that, `they looked at the ark.'"[22] In this criticism, the writer overlooked the idiomatic use of language. If a man comes into his home and tells his wife that he has just `looked at' a new automobile, neither she nor anyone else who heard it would think for a moment that he had merely glanced at it. What had he done? He had thoroughly studied it, sat in it, possibly even have driven it; and of course, he had carefully looked inside of it also! All of this is included in the idiomatic use of "looked at."

B. G. Caird also complained that, "There is nowhere else any indication that this (looking into the ark) was regarded as an offense."[23] How could a Biblical commentator write something like that in the light of the word of God? "They shall not go in to look upon the holy things even for a moment, lest they die" (Numbers 4:20).

In this instance of the men of Beth-shemesh suffering death for a violation of God's instructions regarding the ark (and other holy things), there were undoubtedly aggravating circumstances in what they actually did. What we have here is a very brief summary only.

While his words are admittedly conjectural, we appreciate R. P. Smith's suggestion of what probably took place:

"The occasion of the calamity was probably as follows: - As the news of the return of the ark spread, the people flocked together to take part in the sacrifices, which would of course be followed by a feast. Bloated thereat by wine, perhaps, they lost all sense of reverence, and encouraged one another to look into the ark and even to examine its contents ... Furthermore, the men of Beth-shemesh, a Levitical city, most certainly should have known about the prohibition in Numbers 4:20."[24]

The meaning of this death of 70 men of Beth-shemesh was clear enough. "The Israelites, no less than the Philistines, must reverence the presence of Jehovah their God."[25]

"Come down and take it up to you" (1 Samuel 6:21). Instead of praising God for the privilege of having the ark of his presence in their city, the men of Beth-shemesh were concerned only with getting rid of it. "Their reasoning was basically the same as that of the Philistines."[26] As Young stated it, "Their action illustrates man's desire to free himself from the presence of God instead of seeking to make himself fit for it."[27]

The men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord (1 Samuel 7:1). The men of Kiriath-jearim willingly complied with the request from Beth-shemesh; and the ark remained with them for twenty years. As Willis noted, "There was a prominent priestly house at Kiriath-jearim, including Abinadab and his son Eleazar."[28]

Before leaving this episode, the miraculous nature of what is revealed here should be stressed. Only the direct intervention of God could possibly account for the behavior of those cows leaving their calves behind and taking that cart directly to Israel.