1 Samuel 5:3

3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD ! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again.

1 Samuel 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 5:3

And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow,
&e.] Either the people, the inhabitants of the place, who came early to pay their devotions to their idol, before they went on their business; or the priests of the idol, who came to sacrifice in the morning:

and, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark
of the Lord;
as if he was subject to it, and giving adoration to it, and owning it was above him, and had superior power over him:

and they took Dagon, and set him in his place again;
having no notion that it was owing to the ark of God, or to the God of Israel, that he was fallen, but that it was a matter of chance.

1 Samuel 5:3 In-Context

1 After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod.

2 They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon.

3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD ! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again.

4 But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the LORD again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact.

5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold.