1 Samuel 5:1

The Ark Causes Trouble for the Philistines

5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

1 Samuel 5:3

5:3 When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day, ¹  Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place.

1 Samuel 5:10-11

5:10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

But when the ark of God arrived at Ekron, the residents of Ekron cried out saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel here ²  to kill our ³  people!” 5:11 So they assembled ⁴  all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us ⁵  and our ⁶  people!” The terror ⁷  of death was throughout the entire city; God was attacking them very severely there. ⁸ 

Psalms 78:61

78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; ⁹ 

he gave the symbol of his splendor ¹⁰  into the hand of the enemy. ¹¹ 

[5:3]  ¹ tc The LXX adds “they entered the temple of Dagon and saw.”

[5:10]  ² tn Heb “to me.”

[5:10]  ³ tn Heb “my.”

[5:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they sent and gathered.”

[5:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “me.”

[5:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “my.”

[5:11]  ⁷ tn Or “panic.”

[5:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “the hand of God was very heavy there.”

[78:61]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.

[78:61]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.

[78:61]  ¹¹ sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).