1 Samuel6

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.

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The Philistines Seek to Return the Ark

And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah? show us wherewith we shall send it to its place.

And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but by all means 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? And they said, Five golden tumors, 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 tumors, 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 take and prepare you a new cart, and 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 Jehovah, 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 its own border to Beth-shemesh, 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.

The Ark's Miraculous Journey to Beth-shemesh

And the men did so, and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home;

and they put the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their tumors.

And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they 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 Beth-shemesh.

And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.

And the Levites took down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto Jehovah.

And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

And these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering unto Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon 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 fortified cities and of country villages, even unto the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of Jehovah, which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

Judgment on Beth-shemesh and the Ark's Relocation

And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah, he smote of the people seventy men, andfifty thousand men; and the people mourned, because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter.

And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of Jehovah; 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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1 Samuel6

The Philistines Seek to Return the Ark

The Ark's Miraculous Journey to Beth-shemesh

Judgment on Beth-shemesh and the Ark's Relocation

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