1 Samuel 5:3
in 1 Samuel 5When 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
KJV
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 5
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThey of Ashdod arose early on the morrow - Probably to perform some act of their superstition in the temple of their idol. Dagon was fallen upon his face - This was one proof, which they little expected, of the superiority of the God of Israel. Set him in his place again - Supposing his fall might have been merely accidental.
This site's exposition
set him in his place again
on 1 Samuel 5:3-5
On the first morning Dagon is found fallen before the ark, and the priests set him up again, treating the fall as an accident their own god could suffer and recover from. On the second morning he is fallen a second time, and now his head and both hands lie cut off on the threshold, so the idol that is set back up is a stump with nothing left to reach or bow with. Henry reads the two mornings together as the kingdom of an idol giving way before the ark it was set beside, not by any hand in the room. The threshold custom that follows keeps the memory in the temple's own practice: neither priest nor worshipper will tread where Dagon's head and hands were cut off, unto the day the text was written.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Down he comes before the ark, directly towards it (though the ark was set on one side of him), as it were, pointing to the conqueror, to whom he is constrained to yield and do homage. Note, The kingdom of Satan will certainly fall before the kingdom of Christ, error before truth, profaneness before godliness, and corruption before grace in the hearts of the faithful.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
on 1 Samuel 5:2-4
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.
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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּשְׁכִּ֤מוּ | vaiyashkimu | and they rose early | H7925 → | 65 times |
| אַשְׁדּוֹדִים֙ | ʾashdodim | [the] Ashdodites | H796 → | |
| מִֽמָּחֳרָ֔ת | mimochorat | from [the] next day | H4283 → | 32 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֣ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| דָג֗וֹן | dagon | Dagon | H1712 → | 13 times |
| נֹפֵ֤ל | nofel | [was] fallen | H5307 → | 435 times |
| לְפָנָיו֙ | lefanav | to face its | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אַ֔רְצָה | ʾartzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לִפְנֵ֖י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲר֣וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיִּקְחוּ֙ | vaiyikchu | and they took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דָּג֔וֹן | dagon | Dagon | H1712 → | 13 times |
| וַיָּשִׁ֥בוּ | vaiyashivu | and they returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לִמְקוֹמֽוֹ׃ | limkomo | to place its | H4725 → | 401 times |
וַיַּשְׁכִּ֤מוּand they rose early
vaiyashkimuH7925 →65 times
אַשְׁדּוֹדִים֙[the] Ashdodites
ʾashdodimH796 →
מִֽמָּחֳרָ֔תfrom [the] next day
mimochoratH4283 →32 times
וְהִנֵּ֣הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
דָג֗וֹןDagon
dagonH1712 →13 times
נֹפֵ֤ל[was] fallen
nofelH5307 →435 times
לְפָנָיו֙to face its
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
אַ֔רְצָה[the] ground towards
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
לִפְנֵ֖י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
אֲר֣וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיִּקְחוּ֙and they took
vaiyikchuH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דָּג֔וֹןDagon
dagonH1712 →13 times
וַיָּשִׁ֥בוּand they returned
vaiyashivuH7725 →1056 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
לִמְקוֹמֽוֹ׃to place its
limkomoH4725 →401 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
Mark 3:11And when the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”
it leads to
- Luke 4:41
Demons also came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked the demons and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Christ.
- Luke 8:28
When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You…
- Mark 1:23–24
Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:
- Matthew 8:29
“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- James 2:19
You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
- Luke 4:41
Through
Isaiah 46:7They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not…
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:20
Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- Jeremiah 10:5
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any…
- Isaiah 45:20
Through
Isaiah 19:1This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will…
it leads to
- Exodus 12:12
On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am…
- Exodus 12:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1342: “Dagon's Ups and Downs” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.