1 Samuel 5:10
in 1 Samuel 5So 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!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
KJV
Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 5
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the Ekronites cried out
on 1 Samuel 5:10-12
Ekron cries out when the ark arrives, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people”, certain of their fate after Ashdod and Gath. The rulers assemble again and agree to send it home, for “the hand of God was heavy upon it”. Even those who survive are struck, and “the outcry of the city went up to heaven”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
11. The satraps, as we have said, are understood as the holy preachers. The Ekronites, who are interpreted as "barren," designate the unconvertible Gentiles. These indeed gave the preachers the counsel of releasing the ark, so that if they refused their own salvation from the divine preaching, they would not stand in the way of the faithful who were journeying toward the eternal homeland with the sacraments of faith.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): They have sent it to us to slay us and our people. The ark had the tables of the law in it; and nothing more welcome to faithful Israelites than the word of God (to them it is a savour of life unto life ), but to uncircumcised Philistines, that persist in enmity to God, nothing more dreadful nor unwelcome: to them it is a savour of death unto death.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Deadly upheaval. All upheavals [mentioned in Scripture] are caused by thunder. The following is the origin: "Adonoy thundered with a great noise on that day against the Philistines, making them panic. 3 Below:10. It is so explained in the Aggadah of Thirty-Two Rules of R.
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֛וּ | vayshalechu | and they sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֥וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עֶקְר֑וֹן | ekron | Ekron | H6138 → | 22 times |
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּב֨וֹא | kevo' | when went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֲר֤וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִים֙ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עֶקְר֔וֹן | ekron | Ekron | H6138 → | 22 times |
| וַיִּזְעֲק֨וּ | vaiyizaku | and they cried out | H2199 → | 73 times |
| הָֽעֶקְרֹנִ֜ים | haekronim | the Ekronites | H6139 → | |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֵסַ֤בּוּ | hesabu | they have brought round | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֵלַי֙ | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲרוֹן֙ | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לַהֲמִיתֵ֖נִי | lahamiteni | to kill me | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמִּֽי׃ | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֛וּand they sent
vayshalechuH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲר֥וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
עֶקְר֑וֹןEkron
ekronH6138 →22 times
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּב֨וֹאwhen went
kevo'H935 →2568 times
אֲר֤וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָאֱלֹהִים֙<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
עֶקְר֔וֹןEkron
ekronH6138 →22 times
וַיִּזְעֲק֨וּand they cried out
vaiyizakuH2199 →73 times
הָֽעֶקְרֹנִ֜יםthe Ekronites
haekronimH6139 →
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הֵסַ֤בּוּthey have brought round
hesabuH5437 →161 times
אֵלַי֙to me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲרוֹן֙[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לַהֲמִיתֵ֖נִיto kill me
lahamiteniH4191 →839 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עַמִּֽי׃people my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 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
Amos 1:8I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 25:16
therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant along the coast.
- Isaiah 14:29–31
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
- Zephaniah 2:4–7
For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
- Ezekiel 25:16
Through
2 Kings 1:2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 1:16
And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to…
- Matthew 10:25
It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his…
- 2 Kings 8:7–10
Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”
- Mark 3:22
And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”
- 2 Kings 1:16
Through
Judges 1:18And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory.
it leads to
- Joshua 11:22
No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.
- Joshua 11:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.