1 Samuël 6:4

4 Toen zeiden zij: Welk is dat schuldoffer, dat wij Hem vergelden zullen? En zij zeiden: Vijf gouden spenen, en vijf gouden muizen, naar het getal van de vorsten der Filistijnen; want het is enerlei plaag over u allen, en over uw vorsten.

1 Samuël 6:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 6:4

Then said they, what shall be the trespass offering which we
shall return to him?
&c.] They paid a great deference to their priests and diviners, and were willing to be directed in all things by them; being ignorant of what was most proper in this case, and might be acceptable to the God of Israel:

they answered, five golden emerods, and five golden mice;
images of these made of gold, as appears from the next verse; the reason of the former is easy, from the above account of the disease they were afflicted with; but of the latter no hint is given before: indeed in the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions of ( 1 Samuel 5:6 ) is inserted a clause, that

``mice sprung up in the midst of their country;''

which is not in the Hebrew text, nor in the Chaldee paraphrase; yet appears to be a fact from the following verse, that at the same time their bodies were smitten with emerods, their fields were overrun with mice, which destroyed the increase of them; wherefore five golden mice were also ordered as a part of the trespass offering, and five of each were pitched upon:

according to the number of the lords of the Philistines;
who were five, and so the principalities under them; see ( Joshua 13:3 )

for one plague was on you all, and on your lords;
the lords and common people were equally smitten with the emerods, and the several principalities were alike distressed and destroyed with the mice; and therefore the trespass offering, which was a vicarious one for them, was to be according to the number of their princes and their principalities; five emerods for the five princes and their people smitten with emerods, and five mice on account of the five cities and fields adjacent being marred by mice.

1 Samuël 6:4 In-Context

2 Zo riepen de Filistijnen de priesters en de waarzeggers, zeggende: Wat zullen wij met de ark des HEEREN doen? Laat ons weten, waarmede wij ze aan haar plaats zenden zullen.

3 Zij dan zeiden: Indien gij de ark des Gods van Israel wegzendt, zendt haar niet ledig weg, maar vergeldt Hem ganselijk een schuldoffer; dan zult gij genezen worden, en ulieden zal bekend worden, waarom Zijn hand van u niet afwijkt.

4 Toen zeiden zij: Welk is dat schuldoffer, dat wij Hem vergelden zullen? En zij zeiden: Vijf gouden spenen, en vijf gouden muizen, naar het getal van de vorsten der Filistijnen; want het is enerlei plaag over u allen, en over uw vorsten.

5 Zo maakt dan beelden uwer spenen, en beelden uwer muizen, die het land verderven, en geeft den God van Israel de eer; misschien zal Hij Zijn hand verlichten van over ulieden, en van over uw god, en van over uw land.

6 Waarom toch zoudt gijlieden uw hart verzwaren, gelijk de Egyptenaars en Farao hun hart verzwaard hebben? Hebben zij niet, toen Hij wonderlijk met hen gehandeld had, hen laten trekken, dat zij heengingen?