1 Samuel 6

1Sa 6:1-9.

THE

PHILISTINES

COUNSEL

HOW TO

SEND

BACK THE

ARK.

1. the ark . . . was in the country of the Philistines seven

months--Notwithstanding the calamities which its presence had

brought on the country and the people, the Philistine lords were

unwilling to relinquish such a prize, and tried every means to retain

it with peace and safety, but in vain.

2, 3. the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners--The

designed restoration of the ark was not, it seems, universally approved

of, and many doubts were expressed whether the prevailing pestilence

was really a judgment of Heaven. The priests and diviners united all

parties by recommending a course which would enable them easily to

discriminate the true character of the calamities, and at the same time

to propitiate the incensed Deity for any acts of disrespect which might

have been shown to His ark.

4. Five golden emerods--Votive or thank offerings were commonly made

lingering or dangerous disorders, in the form of metallic (generally

silver) models or images of the diseased parts of the body. This is

common still in Roman Catholic countries, as well as in the temples of

the Hindus and other modern heathen.

five golden mice--This animal is supposed by some to be the jerboa

or jumping mouse of Syria and Egypt

[BOCHART]; by others, to be the

short-tailed field mouse, which often swarms in prodigious numbers and

commits great ravages in the cultivated fields of Palestine.

5. give glory unto the God of Israel--By these propitiatory presents,

the Philistines would acknowledge His power and make reparation for the

injury done to His ark.

lighten his hand . . . from off your gods--Elohim for god.

6. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and

Pharaoh hardened their hearts?--The memory of the appalling judgments

that had been inflicted on Egypt was not yet obliterated. Whether

preserved in written records, or in floating tradition, they were still

fresh in the minds of men, and being extensively spread, were doubtless

the means of diffusing the knowledge and fear of the true God.

7. make a new cart--Their object in making a new one for the purpose

seems to have been not only for cleanliness and neatness, but from an

impression that there would have been an impropriety in using one that

had been applied to meaner or more common services. It appears to have

been a covered wagon

(see on

2Sa 6:3).

two milch kine--Such untrained heifers, wanton and vagrant, would

pursue no certain and regular path, like those accustomed to the yoke,

and therefore were most unlikely of their own spontaneous motion to

prosecute the direct road to the land of Israel.

bring their calves home from them--The strong natural affection of

the dams might be supposed to stimulate their return homewards, rather

than direct their steps in a foreign country.

8. take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart--This mode of

carrying the sacred symbol was forbidden; but the ignorance of the

Philistines made the indignity excusable

(see on

2Sa 6:6).

put the jewels . . . in a coffer by the side thereof--The way of

securing treasure in the East is still in a chest, chained to the house

wall or some solid part of the furniture.

9-12. Beth-shemesh--that is, "house of the sun," now Ain Shems

[ROBINSON], a city of priests in Judah, in the southeast border of Dan,

lying in a beautiful and extensive valley.

JOSEPHUS says they were set

a-going near a place where the road divided into two--the one leading

back to Ekron, where were their calves, and the other to Beth-shemesh.

Their frequent lowings attested their ardent longing for their young,

and at the same time the supernatural influence that controlled their

movements in a contrary direction.

12. the lords of the Philistines went after them--to give their

tribute of homage, to prevent imposture, and to obtain the most

reliable evidence of the truth. The result of this journey tended to

their own deeper humiliation, and the greater illustration of God's

glory.

14. and they clave--that is, the Beth-shemites, in an irrepressible

outburst of joy.

offered the kine--Though contrary to the requirements of the law

(Le 1:3; 22:19),

these animals might properly be offered, as consecrated by God Himself;

and though not beside the tabernacle, there were many instances of

sacrifices offered by prophets and holy men on extraordinary occasions

in other places.

17, 18. And these are the golden emerods . . . and the mice--There were

five representative images of the emerods, corresponding to the five

principal cities of the Philistines. But the number of the golden

mice must have been greater, for they were sent from the walled towns

as well as the country villages.

18. unto the great stone of Abel--Abel, or Aben, means

"stone," so that without resorting to italics, the reading should

be, "the great stone."

19. he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the

ark--In the ecstasy of delight at seeing the return of the ark, the

Beth-shemesh reapers pried into it beneath the wagon cover; and instead

of covering it up again, as a sacred utensil, they let it remain

exposed to common inspection, wishing it to be seen, in order that all

might enjoy the triumph of seeing the votive offerings presented to it,

and gratify curiosity with the sight of the sacred shrine. This was the

offense of those Israelites (Levites, as well as common people), who

had treated the ark with less reverence than the Philistines

themselves.

he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten

men--Beth-shemesh being only a village, this translation must be

erroneous, and should be, "he smote fifty out of a thousand," being

only fourteen hundred in all who indulged this curiosity. God, instead

of decimating, according to an ancient usage, slew only a twentieth

part; that is, according to

JOSEPHUS, seventy out of fourteen hundred

(see

Nu 4:18-22).

21. Kirjath-jearim--"the city of woods," also called Kirjath-baal

(Jos 15:60; 18:14;

1Ch 13:6, 7).

This was the nearest town to Beth-shemesh; and being a place of

strength, it was a more fitting place for the residence of the ark.

Beth-shemesh being in a low plain, and Kirjath-jearim on a hill,

explains the message, "Come ye down, and fetch it up to you."