The Ark Afflicts the Philistines
The ark is brought into Dagon’s temple in Ashdod, but Dagon falls before it twice, and on the second morning his head and hands lie broken on the threshold. The scene leaves a lasting mark on the temple’s custom.
A1fter the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, 2carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue. 3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. 4But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained. 5That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the threshold.
The LORD’s hand then falls heavily on Ashdod and its surrounding area with devastation and tumors. The people recognize the source of their trouble and call their rulers together to decide what to do with the ark.
6Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon our god Dagon.” 8So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”
When the ark is sent on to Gath and then Ekron, the same heavy judgment follows, bringing confusion, disease, and fear. By the end, the Philistines are no longer asking where to place the ark, but how to send it away.
9But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!” 11Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” 12For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.