1 Samuel 5:1
in 1 Samuel 5After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod.
KJV
And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben–ezer unto Ashdod.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the Philistines took the ark of God,.... Which fell into their hands, Israel being beaten, and caused to flee, and the priests that had the care of the ark slain; and when possessed of it, they did not destroy it, nor take out of it what was in it, only took it up: and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. Ebenezer was the place where the camp of Israel was pitched, 1Sa 4:1 and near to which the battle was fought. Ashdod was one of the five principalities of the Philistines, the same with Azotus, Act 8:
This site's exposition
brought it from Eben–ezer unto Ashdod
on 1 Samuel 5:1-2
The ark travels as plunder here, carried by no priest and no army of Israel, from the field where the battle was lost to a Philistine city. It is set inside the house of Dagon, beside Dagon, so that the God of Israel and the god of Ashdod share one roof for a night. This opens the thread that runs from Shiloh to Zion across both books, and its first move is that the ark needs no defender to make its own case.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
The Philistines took the Ark of God, etc. The Gentiles received the word of the Gospel from Judea, where the Lord was born in the flesh, lived, and suffered, leaving the places of His dispensation sacred to the mysteries to this day. And they carried …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
1. What does it mean that the ark is carried away from the Stone of Help, except that the heralds of truth take away the mysteries of the Scriptures from that Christ whom the Jews await with a false expectation? For while they turn the testimonies of Holy Scripture toward the knowledge of the true Redeemer, they indeed take the ark away from him in whom the Jews had placed the hope of their help. And because the mysteries of faith are entrusted to the Gentiles, the ark of God is brought to Azotus.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ashdod--or Azotus, one of the five Philistine satrapies, and a place of great strength. It was an inland town, thirty-four miles north of Gaza, now called Esdud.
Brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod - Ashdod or Azotus was one of the five satrapies or lordships of the Philistines.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Beside Dagon. The idol was made in the form of a fish. 1 From the word דָג [=fish]. Some say that from the waist up it had a human form with hands, and from the waist down it looked like a fish.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפְלִשְׁתִּים֙ | ufelishtim | and [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| לָֽקְח֔וּ | lakechu | they took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֣וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיְבִאֻ֛הוּ | vayviuhu | and they brought it | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֵאֶ֥בֶן | meeven | from Eben- | H72 → | 6 times |
| הָעֵ֖זֶר | haezer | <the> -ezer | H72 → | 6 times |
| אַשְׁדּֽוֹדָה׃ | ʾashdodah | Ashdod towards | H795 → | 17 times |
וּפְלִשְׁתִּים֙and [the] Philistines
ufelishtimH6430 →287 times
לָֽקְח֔וּthey took
lakechuH3947 →966 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲר֣וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וַיְבִאֻ֛הוּand they brought it
vayviuhuH935 →2568 times
מֵאֶ֥בֶןfrom Eben-
meevenH72 →6 times
הָעֵ֖זֶר<the> -ezer
haezerH72 →6 times
אַשְׁדּֽוֹדָה׃Ashdod towards
ʾashdodahH795 →17 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 7:12Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
- Joshua 4:9
Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.
- Acts 26:22
But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
- Genesis 22:14
And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
- Genesis 35:14
So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
Through
1 Samuel 4:11The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:34
And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
- Psalms 78:64
His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.
- 1 Samuel 2:34
Through
1 Samuel 4:1Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 29:1
Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.
- 1 Samuel 29:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.