After seven months, the Philistines, afflicted by the Ark of the LORD, consult their priests and diviners on how to return it. They are advised to send it with a trespass offering of golden emerods and mice, using unyoked milch kine to test if the plagues were from the God of Israel. The kine miraculously transport the Ark directly to Bethshemesh, where the inhabitants rejoice but are smitten by the LORD for looking into the Ark, leading them to send it away.
And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.
And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
¶ And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
Study Notes for 1 Samuel 6
Verse 1
The seven-month period underscores the duration of the Philistine suffering, confirming that the plagues were not random but were divine judgment for possessing the sacred Ark.
Verse 2
The Philistines consult both 'priests' (religious officials) and 'diviners' (interpreters of omens), combining their religious and occult resources to understand the power of the God of Israel.
Verse 3
The requirement for a 'trespass offering' (Hebrew: *’asham*) mirrors Israelite law (Leviticus 5), suggesting the consultants recognized that YHWH required atonement and reparation for the offense against His holiness.
Verse 4
The 'golden emerods' (tumors or hemorrhoids) and 'mice' (likely representing the carriers of the bubonic plague) were votive offerings—replicas of the affliction—intended to appease the offended deity, a common practice in the ancient Near East.
Verse 5
By offering these images, the Philistines implicitly acknowledged YHWH’s supremacy over their own gods and sought to divert His hand of judgment. To 'give glory' here means to recognize His power.
Verse 6
The consultants warn the Philistine lords against hardening their hearts, citing the famous example of Pharaoh and the Exodus plagues, demonstrating that YHWH’s power was known even among their enemies.
Verse 7
The kine (cows) were chosen for two specific reasons: they had never been yoked (making them difficult to control) and they were nursing their calves (creating a strong natural maternal instinct to return home).
Verse 9
This verse sets up the test: if the cows ignore instinct and travel directly to Israelite territory (Beth-shemesh), it proves the plague was divine judgment; otherwise, it was merely 'chance' (*miqreh*).
Verse 12
The straight path taken by the cows, despite their strong instinct to return to their calves, confirmed to the Philistines that the hand of the God of Israel had guided the Ark supernaturally.
Verse 14
The immediate action of offering the cart and the kine as a burnt offering demonstrates the inhabitants' gratitude and recognition that YHWH had delivered His Ark.
Verse 15
The Levites, who were responsible for the proper handling of the Ark, took it down and placed it, along with the offerings, on the great stone, validating the return ritual.
Verse 17
The number five corresponds exactly to the 'five lords' of the Philistine confederation (Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), indicating that the plague had affected the entire ruling structure.
Verse 18
The mention of the golden mice indicates a plague that affected both fortified cities and the surrounding agricultural areas, confirming the widespread nature of the judgment.
Verse 19
The severity of the judgment highlights the absolute holiness of the Ark and the strict prohibition against unauthorized viewing (Numbers 4:20). The casual curiosity of the Beth-shemesh residents was treated as sacrilege.
Verse 20
This exclamation shows the people recognized that YHWH’s holiness (*qadosh*) was terrifying and required a level of ritual purity and reverence they had failed to provide.
Verse 21
The Ark was subsequently taken to Kirjath-jearim, a Gibeonite city, where it remained in the house of Abinadab for twenty years (7:2) until King David moved it to Jerusalem.
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