1 Samuel 5:12 NVIPT

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:6-12

The downfall of Dagon (if the people had made a good use of it, and had been brought by it to repent of their idolatries and to humble themselves before the God of Israel and seek his face) might have prevented the vengeance which God here proceeds to take upon them for the indignities done to his ark, and their obstinate adherence to their idol, in defiance of the plainest conviction. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up they will not see, but they shall see, Isa. 26:11. And, if they will not see... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:12

And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods ,.... As the inhabitants of Ashdod and Gath had been; this shows that those that died did not die of that disease, but of some other; very likely the pestilence: and the cry of the city went up to heaven ; not that it was heard and regarded there, but the phrase is used to denote the greatness of it, how exceeding loud and clamorous it was; partly on the account of the death of so many of the inhabitants, their relations and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 5:12

The men that died not - Some it seems were smitten with instant death; others with the haemorrhoids, and there was a universal consternation; and the cry of the city went up to heaven - it was an exceeding great cry. It does not appear that the Philistines had any correct knowledge of the nature of Jehovah, though they seemed to acknowledge his supremacy. They imagined that every country, district, mountain, and valley, had its peculiar deity; who, in its place, was supreme over... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:6-12

Coercive providences. The facts given are— 1 . God visits the men of Ashdod with severe affliction. 2 . In their perplexity they remove the ark to another locality. 3 . The device proving a failure, and the men of Ekron refusing to receive the unwelcome symbol, a council of authorities decides to return it to Israel. Providence had so ordered events for high moral ends as to bring the ark into captivity. The influences were at work in Israel to issue in the result desired.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:12

The cry of the city went up to heaven. Not the word used in 1 Samuel 5:10 , where it is an outcry of indignation, but a cry for help, a cry of sorrow and distress. Though in 1 Samuel 5:10 Ekronites is in the plural, yet in all that follows the singular is used. "They have brought about the ark to me, to slay me and my people … That it slay me not and my people." It is the prince of Ekron who, as the representative of the people, expostulates with his fellow rulers for the wrong they are... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Samuel 5:11-12

1 Samuel 5:11-12. There was a deadly destruction through all the city That is, in every city where the ark of God came, some were struck with the pestilence and died, and others lingered under intolerable pains, which made them cry out in an inexpressible manner. The cry of the city went up to heaven A hyperbolical speech; things that are exceeding great, beyond expression, being often said to reach to heaven, Deuteronomy 1:28. 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

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 Samuel 5:12

1 Samuel 5:12. And the men that died not, &c.— The doctrine of intercommunity led the heathens into the custom of changing one tutelary deity for another; but the God of the Israelites had an absolute abhorrence of all community or alliance with the gods of the Gentiles: and the present instance of his power has set this opinion beyond all contradiction. When the Philistines had taken the ark from the Israelites in battle, and carried it as another palladium to Ashdod, they placed it in the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 5:12

12. the cry of the city went up to heaven—The disease is attended with acute pain, and it is far from being a rare phenomenon in the Philistian plain [VAN DE VELDE]. 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