1 Samuel 6:1-10

The Return of the Ark

1 When the ark of the Lord had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months,

2 the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners and pleaded, "What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we can send it back to its place."

3 They replied, "If you send the ark of Israel's God away, you must not send it without [an offering].^[a] You must return it with a guilt offering, and you will be healed. Then the reason His hand hasn't been removed from you will be revealed."^[b]

4 They asked, "What guilt offering should we send back to Him?" And they answered, "Five gold tumors and five gold mice [corresponding to] the number of Philistine rulers,^[c] since there was one plague for both you^[d] and your rulers.

5 Make images of your tumors and of your mice that are destroying the land. Give glory to Israel's God, and perhaps He will stop oppressing you,^[e] your gods, and your land.

6 Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, didn't they send Israel away, and Israel left?^[f]

7 "Now then, prepare one new cart and two milk cows that have never been yoked.^[g] Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.

8 Take the ark of the Lord, place it on the cart, and put the gold objects in a box beside it, which you're sending Him as a guilt offering. Send it off and let it go its way.

9 Then watch: If it goes up the road to its homeland toward Beth-shemesh,^[h] it is the Lord who has made this terrible trouble for us. However, if it doesn't, we will know that it was not His hand that punished us-it was just something that happened to us by chance."

10 The men did this: They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and confined their calves in the pen.

1 Samuel 6:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 6

In this chapter we are told the Philistines advised with their priests what to do with the ark, and wherewith to send it home, 1Sa 6:1,2 whose advice was to send with it a trespass offering, golden images of emerods and mice, and to put it on a new cart, and the images in a coffer on the side of the ark, and draw it with two cows, 1Sa 6:3-8, and gave them a token whereby they might know whether they had been smitten by the God of Israel or not, 1Sa 6:9 which advice they took, and acted in all things according to it; and the lords of the Philistines accompanied the ark to the border of Bethshemesh, 1Sa 6:10-12, where they of Bethshemesh received it with joy, and offered the kine for a burnt offering to the Lord, and the Levites took care of the ark and presents in it, and the lords of the Philistines returned home, 1Sa 6:13-18, but they of Bethshemesh looking into the ark were smitten of God, upon which they sent to the men of Kirjathjearim to fetch it from them, 1Sa 6:19-21.

Footnotes

• [a] Dt 16:16
• [b] DSS, LXX read healed, and an atonement shall be made for you. Shouldn't His hand be removed from you?
• [c] Jos 13:3
• [d] Many Hb mss, LXX; MT reads them
• [e] Lit will lighten the heaviness of His hand from you
• [f] Ex 4:21; 12:31
• [g] Nm 19:2
• [h] Jos 15:10