1 Samuel - Odessa, Missouri Community of Christ

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26 Dr. Constable's Notes on 1 Samuel 2007 EditionMost of the Israelites evidently thought that since Israel had lost the ark she had lostGod. 69 However, because the people had not lived in proper covenant relationship withHim, Israel had only lost God's blessing. They were disregarding God's Law, so God'sglory had departed from Israel (v. 22; cf. Exod. 19:5-6; Ezek. 10). His people could notenjoy fertility.Someone has said that if you feel far from God, you need to remember that He is not theone who moved. God has promised that if His people will draw near to Him He will drawnear to them (2 Chron. 7:14; James 4:8; Heb. 10:22).B. PAGAN FERTILITY FOILED BY GOD CH. 5The primary purpose of this chapter, I believe, is to demonstrate the superiority ofYahweh over Dagon, the fertility god of the Philistines. 705:1-5 Having captured the ark, the Philistines brought it from Ebenezer to theirmain city, Ashdod, which stood about 30 miles to the southwest and threemiles from the Mediterranean coast. Archaeologists have excavatedAshdod more extensively than any of the five major Philistine cities.Dagon was the principle deity of the Philistines. The popular teaching thatthe Philistines pictured him as being part man and part fish rests on verse4. Dag in Hebrew means fishy part. Dagon (cf. Heb. dagan, grain) was agrain god whom the Philistines worshipped as the source of bountifulharvests (fertility). Worship of him began about 2500 B.C. inMesopotamia, especially in the Middle-Euphrates region. 71The writer clarified that the Philistines regarded the fact that the imagerepresenting Dagon had fallen on its face before the ark as indicatingYahweh's superiority. Falling on one's face was a posture associated withworship. The fact that the Philistines had to reposition the idol is anotherallusion to Dagon's inferiority. He could not act on his own (cf. Isa. 46:7).Later Goliath, the Philistine champion, would also fall on his face beforeDavid, Yahweh's champion (17:49).The following night the symbol of Dagon toppled again before the ark, thesymbol of Yahweh. This time Dagon's head, symbolic of his sovereigncontrol, and his palms, symbolic of his power, broke off (v. 4). In theancient Near East, warring armies cut off and collected the heads and69 For a further discussion of the role of the ark at this time in Israel's history and how Samuel's ministryrelated to it, see Clive Thomson, "Samuel, the Ark, and the Priesthood," Bibliotheca Sacra 118:417 (July-September 1961):259-63. For a more critical study of the ark, see P. R. Davies, "The History of the Ark inthe Books of Samuel," Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 5 (1977):9-18.70 There are several similarities between this chapter and the record of God sending plagues on theEgyptians (Exod. 7—12), an earlier demonstration of His sovereignty.71 New Bible Dictionary, s.v. "Dagon," by Kenneth A. Kitchen.
2007 Edition Dr. Constable's Notes on 1 Samuel 27hands of their enemies to count accurately the number of their slain (cf.29:4; Judg. 8:6). 72 Earlier Samson's defeat had involved the cutting of thehair of his head and the weakening of his hands (Judg. 16:21-30). LaterDavid would cut off Goliath's head (17:51), and the Philistines would cutoff King Saul's head (1 Chron. 10:10).The breaking of Dagon's head and hands on the threshold of his templerendered the threshold especially sacred. From then on the pagan priestssuperstitiously regarded the threshold as holy (cf. Zeph. 1:4). 73 This isanother ironical testimony to the utter folly of idolatry and to Yahweh'ssovereignty (cf. Exod. 20:3).5:6-12 The writer now began to stress the major theme in the ark narrative: thehand of the Lord. 74 There are nine occurrences of this phrase in thissection of 1 Samuel (4:8; 5:6, 7, 9, 11; 6:3, 5, 9; 7:13). The hand of theLord represents Yahweh in action (cf. Exod. 9:3; Jer. 21:5-6). In thebiblical world, people spoke of sickness and death as the bad effects of the"hand" of some god. 75 This was the conclusion of Ashdod's leaders whoattributed their recent calamities to Yahweh (v. 7). God afflicted thePhilistines with tumors, a swelling caused by new tissue growth.Evidently the men of Ashdod believed that it was particularly with theircity that Yahweh felt displeasure. So they moved the ark to Gath (lit.winepress), which was about 12 miles southeast of Ashdod. Dagon couldnot prevent the tumors (lit. buboes) and death with which Yahwehafflicted the Philistines (vv. 6, 9-12). The people of Ashdod should haveturned from worshipping Dagon and put their trust in Yahweh. Deathfollowed because they chose to continue in unbelief in spite of theirconfession of Yahweh's superiority (v. 7).The Hebrew word translated "broke out" occurs only here in the OldTestament (v. 9). The Septuagint translators interpreted it accurately as"groin." These tumors were apparently most prominent in the groin area,hence the translation "hemorrhoids." Tumors in the groin are a symptomof bubonic plague. Since the Philistines associated mice with this plague(6:4-5), and mice carry bubonic plague, it seems clear that the hand ofYahweh sent this particular affliction on them.72 Antony F. Campbell, The Ark Narrative, p. 86, n. 1.73 The ancients commonly treated sanctuary thresholds with respect because they marked the boundary thatdivided the sacred from the profane (Gordon, p. 99). This incident involving Dagon made the threshold tohis sanctuary even more sacred.74 Patrick D. Miller Jr. and J. J. M. Roberts, The Hand of the Lord: A Reassessment of the "Ark Narrative"of 1 Samuel, p. 48.75 See J. J. M. Roberts, "The Hand of Yahweh," Vetus Testamentum 21:2 (1971):244-51.
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