Christianity

1 Samuel 5The Ark Among the Philistines

Summary

1 Samuel 5 tells how the Philistines place the captured ark in the temple of their god Dagon at Ashdod. The next morning Dagon lies face down before it, and the following day his head and hands are broken off on the threshold. The people of Ashdod are struck with emerods, and when the ark is moved to Gath and then Ekron, the plague follows. Panic spreads, and the Philistines cry out to send the ark away.

Key verse

“And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.”

1 Samuel 5:3

Themes

Powerless Idols
God's Sovereignty
Judgment
Holy Presence

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.

When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.

And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.

Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.

So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

Islam
Surah Al-Anbiya (21): Abraham Breaks the Idols
Quran 21:57 to 58 tells how Abraham smashes his people's idols, leaving only the chief one, to show they cannot help themselves. Dagon's fall makes a similar point, though here God acts with no human hand.
Christianity
Isaiah 46: Bel Boweth Down
Isaiah mocks the Babylonian gods that bow down and must be carried, contrasting them with Israel's God who carries his people, much as Dagon cannot even stand before the ark.

Questions about 1 Samuel 5

Who was Dagon?

Dagon was a god worshipped by the Philistines and earlier in Syria and Mesopotamia, often linked to grain. The older idea that he was a fish god is now widely doubted by scholars.

What were the emerods in 1 Samuel 5?

The Hebrew word is usually translated tumors or swellings. Because the Philistines later send golden mice with their offering (1 Samuel 6:4), some scholars have proposed an outbreak of plague.