1 Samuel 5:4 BSB — MannaFest

1 Samuel 5:4

But 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.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

KJV

And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

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Commentary

4 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Only the stump of Dagon was left - Literally, Only דגן dagon (i.e., the little fish) was left. It has already been remarked that Dagon had the head, arms and hands of a man or woman, and that the rest of the idol was in the form of a fish, to which Horace is supposed to make allusion in the following words: - Desinat in piscem mulisr formosa superne “The upper part resembling a beautiful woman; the lower, a fish.” All that was human in his form was broken off from what resembled a fish.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Thus the priests by concealing Dagon's shame before, make it more evident and infamous. The stump - Hebrew. only dagon, that is, that part of it from which it was called Dagon, namely the fishy part, for Dag in Hebrew signifies a fish.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Well, the misshapen monster is by this fall made to appear, (1.) Very ridiculous, and worthy to be despised. A pretty figure Dagon made now, when the fall had anatomized him, and shown how the human part and the fishy part were artificially put together, which perhaps the ignorant devotees had been made to believe was done by miracle!

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1342: “Dagon's Ups and Downs” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1877)

The Ark of the Lord was captured by the Philistines though it was guarded by all the men of arms that Israel could muster for the battle. It came to no hurt when it was surrounded by unarmed priests—although the times were exceedingly disturbed and perilous all through the dreary period of the Judges, yet never was the Ark a captive till it was protected by carnal weapons. When those whom God had ordained to take care of the Ark of the Covenant had it in their charge, it was safe enough.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

23 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣מוּ	vai.yash.Ki.mu	and they rose early	H7925 →
בַבֹּקֶר֮	va.bo.Ker	in the morning	H1242 →
מִֽמָּחֳרָת֒	mi.mo.cho.Rat	from [the] next day	H4283 →
וְהִנֵּ֣ה	ve.hi.Neh	and there!	H2009 →
דָג֗וֹן	da.Gon	Dagon	H1712 →
נֹפֵ֤ל	no.Fel	[was] fallen	H5307 →
לְפָנָיו֙	le.fa.Nav	to face its	H6440 →
אַ֔רְצָה	'Ar.tzah	[the] ground towards	H776 →
לִפְנֵ֖י	lif.Nei	<to> before	H6440 →
אֲר֣וֹן	'a.Ron	[the] ark of	H727 →
יְהוָ֑ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
וְרֹ֨אשׁ	ve.Rosh	and [the] head of	H7218 →
דָּג֜וֹן	da.Gon	Dagon	H1712 →
וּשְׁתֵּ֣י׀	u.she.Tei	and [the] two	H8147 →
כַּפּ֣וֹת	ka.Pot	[the] palms of	H3709 →
יָדָ֗יו	ya.Dav	hands its	H3027 →
כְּרֻתוֹת֙	ke.ru.tOt	were cut off	H3772 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
הַמִּפְתָּ֔ן	ha.mif.Tan	the threshold	H4670 →
רַ֥ק	rak	only	H7535 →
דָּג֖וֹן	da.Gon	Dagon	H1712 →
נִשְׁאַ֥ר	nish.'Ar	it remained	H7604 →
עָלָֽיו׃	'a.Lav	on it	H5921 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Jeremiah 10:11
Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
leads to
- Psalms 96:5
  For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.
- Isaiah 2:18
  and the idols will vanish completely.
- Lamentations 3:66
  You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
- Jeremiah 10:15
  They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.
- Zephaniah 2:11
  The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.
Through
Jeremiah 50:2
“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced,…
leads to
- Isaiah 46:1
  Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Isaiah 21:9
  Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
Through
Micah 1:7
All her carved images will be smashed to pieces; all her wages will be burned in the fire, and I will destroy all her idols. Since she collected the wages of a prostitute, they…
leads to
- Deuteronomy 23:18
  You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.

Featured studies on this passage

On 1 Samuel 5:4

The Ark and Dagon — 1 Samuel 4–6

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David Slays Goliath — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

1 Samuel: the study guide →Read chapter 5 →The featured study →

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Samuel

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Samuel