1 Samuel 5:9
in 1 Samuel 5But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of Jehovah was against the city with a very great discomfiture: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors brake out upon them.
KJV
And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe hand of the Lord was against the city - As it was at Ashdod, so it was at Gath. The Vulgate says, Et computrescebant prominenter extales eorum; which conveys the idea of a bloody flux, dysentery, and ulcerated anus; and it adds, what is not to be found in the Hebrew text, nor many of the versions, except some traces in the Septuagint, Et fecerunt sibi sedes pelliceas, “And they made unto themselves seats of skins;” for the purpose of sitting more easy, on account of the malady already mentioned.
This site's exposition
they called together all the rulers of the Philistines
on 1 Samuel 5:8-9
The rulers of the Philistines meet in council, and their answer, “It must be moved to Gath”, only moves the trouble to another city. The Lord's hand follows it there, “afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors”. Clarke identifies these rulers as the heads of the five federated cities of Joshua 13, who act together in council.
This site's exposition
But after they had moved the ark to Gath
Gath was the city of giants, and Matthew Henry noted that its strength was no defence against this plague. The verse names young and old alike among the stricken. Albert Barnes observed that moving the ark only spread the calamity.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
And their prominent entrails spoiled. And the meditation of their inner heart fell back into blind and dirty matters of the present life, full of foul dung and blood of vices, appearing before all; a type of affliction to which the madness of the heretics …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
9. For the ark is carried around when the mysteries of the faith are preached openly and without fear. And because in the beginnings of the faith countless people were converted, a very great slaughter is reported to have been made throughout each of the cities. Likewise, because not only the simple but also the wise were converted, the same slaughter is declared to have been made from the least even to the greatest. But through that same striking, the intestines are reported to rot away.
However, while they were carrying it around, the hand of the Lord came down, etc. Those who receive faith transiently and without fixed intention not only gain no advantage by believing, but also wretchedly deserve eternal punishment for the price of salvation.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Whether their curiosity led them to open it, and to read what was written with the finger of God on the two tables of stone that were in it, we are not told; perhaps they looked no further than the golden outside and the cherubim that covered it, like children that are more affected with the fine binding of their bibles than with the precious matter contained in them.
), both dwarfs and giants, all alike to God's judgments; none so great as to over-top them, none so small as to be over-looked by them. They were all at last weary of the ark, and very willing to get rid of it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it was so, that after they had carried it about,....
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֞י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י׀ | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הֵסַ֣בּוּ | hesabu | they had brought round | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֹת֗וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וַתְּהִ֨י | vatehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּעִיר֙ | bair | on the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מְהוּמָה֙ | mehumah | panic | H4103 → | 12 times |
| גְּדוֹלָ֣ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מְאֹ֔ד | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וַיַּךְ֙ | vaiyakh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֣י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָעִ֔יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִקָּטֹ֖ן | mikaton | from young | H6996 → | 101 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| גָּד֑וֹל | gadol | [the] old | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַיִּשָּׂתְר֥וּ | vaiyisateru | and they broke out | H8368 → | |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| טְחֹרִֽים׃ | ofalim | tumors | H2914 → | 8 times |
וַיְהִ֞יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אַחֲרֵ֣י׀after
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הֵסַ֣בּוּthey had brought round
hesabuH5437 →161 times
אֹת֗וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וַתְּהִ֨יand it was
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֤ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּעִיר֙on the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
מְהוּמָה֙panic
mehumahH4103 →12 times
גְּדוֹלָ֣הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
מְאֹ֔דexceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
וַיַּךְ֙and he struck
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַנְשֵׁ֣י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
הָעִ֔ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
מִקָּטֹ֖ןfrom young
mikatonH6996 →101 times
וְעַד־and unto
vead-H5704 →1261 times
גָּד֑וֹל[the] old
gadolH1419 →526 times
וַיִּשָּׂתְר֥וּand they broke out
vaiyisateruH8368 →
לָהֶ֖םto <the> them
lahem
טְחֹרִֽים׃tumors
ofalimH2914 →8 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 12:15But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers.
it leads to
- Joshua 24:20
If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”
- Isaiah 1:20
But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Joshua 24:20
Through
Psalms 78:66He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 5:6
Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
- 1 Samuel 5:6
Through
1 Samuel 5:6Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
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…
- Acts 13:11
Now 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,…
- 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
- Deuteronomy 28:27
The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.
- 1 Samuel 5:11
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.