1 Samuel 5:6
in 1 Samuel 5Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with tumors, even Ashdod and the borders thereof.
KJV
But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseSmote them with emerods - The word עפלים apholim, from עפל aphal, to be elevated, probably means the disease called the bleeding piles, which appears to have been accompanied with dysentery, bloody flux, and ulcerated anus.
This site's exposition
smote them with emerods
on 1 Samuel 5:6-7
The hand of the Lord falls on Ashdod itself, and the emerods spread through the city, striking small and great alike. The men of Ashdod read the sign correctly and want the ark gone, saying plainly that his hand is sore upon them and upon Dagon their own god. Clarke takes their own words as the proof: they do not conclude that Israel's army beat them, they conclude that Israel's God beat their god in his own city.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites, etc. Those who, having taken up the ark of God, grieve for Dagon's destruction and set up his ruin, are struck in their hind parts, and their land is ravaged by mice. For those …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
5. The hand of the Lord is the power of divine might. And because in the Azotians the beginnings of paganism are signified, what does it mean that the hand of the Lord is said to have been made heavy upon the Azotians? But He made His hand heavy upon Azotus when He moved the hearts of the Gentiles to conversion by the power of His might. For when through inward inspiration He made known to them the force of eternal death, He struck the minds of the Gentiles with wondrous terror over the iniquities they had committed.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He destroyed them, that is, cut many of them off by sudden death, those, we may suppose, that had most triumphed in the captivity of the ark. This is distinguished from the disease with which others were smitten. At Gath it is called a great destruction (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
But the hand of the Lord was heavy on them of Ashdod,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod--The presumption of the Ashdodites was punished by a severe judgment that overtook them in the form of a pestilence. smote them with emerods--bleeding piles, hemorrhoids (Ps 78:66), in a very aggravated form.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Emerods - A corruption of “hemorrhoids.” It is mentioned Deu 28:27 among the diseases with which God threatened to punish the Israelites for disobedience.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּכְבַּ֧ד | vatikhbad | and it was heavy | H3513 → | 113 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֖ים | haashdodim | the Ashdodites | H796 → | |
| וַיְשִׁמֵּ֑ם | vayshimem | and he devastated them | H8074 → | |
| וַיַּ֤ךְ | vaiyakh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֹתָם֙ | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּטְּחֹרִ֔ים | batchorim | with <the> tumors | H2914 → | 8 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַשְׁדּ֖וֹד | ʾashdod | Ashdod | H795 → | 17 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גְּבוּלֶֽיהָ׃ | gevuleiha | territories its | H1366 → | 240 times |
וַתִּכְבַּ֧דand it was heavy
vatikhbadH3513 →113 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֖יםthe Ashdodites
haashdodimH796 →
וַיְשִׁמֵּ֑םand he devastated them
vayshimemH8074 →
וַיַּ֤ךְand he struck
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
אֹתָם֙<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
בַּטְּחֹרִ֔יםwith <the> tumors
batchorimH2914 →8 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַשְׁדּ֖וֹדAshdod
ʾashdodH795 →17 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
גְּבוּלֶֽיהָ׃territories its
gevuleihaH1366 →240 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
Psalms 32:4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 5:11
Then the Ekronites assembled all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 38:2–8
For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me.
- Job 33:7
Surely no fear of me should terrify you; nor will my hand be heavy upon you.
- Psalms 39:10–11
Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
- 1 Samuel 5:11
Through
Acts 13:11Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him,…
it leads to
- Exodus 9:3
then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
- Psalms 32:4
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah
- Exodus 9:3
Through
Exodus 9:3then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
it leads to
- Exodus 7:4
Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land…
- Exodus 7:4
Through
Deuteronomy 28:27The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.
it leads to
- Exodus 15:26
saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then…
- Exodus 15:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.