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1 Samuel 6

the first book of samuel
Samuel (with Nathan and Gad contributing) · c. 1010 BC
Chapter the Sixth
And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.
And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.
And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.
And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
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Chuck Smith on 1 Samuel 6

Verse by verse, the C2000 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
Verses 1-18 So they called some of their diviners and seers and all, and they said, "What shall we do with this thing? So they said, Well the thing is, send it back to the people of Israel. But don't send it back without an offering. So make some golden things like boils, because of the boils that broke out, and make little mice, golden mice also and put it with the ark of the covenant. And take two cows, and take a new cart, and put it on the cart. And let these two cows take the young away from them. And let these two cows go, and let them take it back to the children of Israel. Now if the cows make a direct line for the camp of Israel, then you know that it was the Lord in all this thing. But if the cows just don't seem to know where to go, and start to wander in the fields, or turn back for their calves, then you'll know that it was just an accident, [some kind of a weird coincidence that it happened]. And so they made this cart, and they got these two cows, and they took them from their calves, and harnessed them to this cart with the little golden emerods, or boils, and the little golden mice as an offering unto the Lord. And they set them loose and the cows made a direct line for the camp of Israel, just sort of mooing all the way. And so the lords of the Philistines followed to see the thing [and of course] as the ark came and approached the camp of Israel again the people shouted for joy there around Bethshemesh, where the ark was returning... So when the lords of the Philistines saw it, [they went back and they said, Boy it was, they went right there. And they recognized that it was the hand of the Lord that was against them.] Now the men of Bethshemesh were curious and they began to look into the ark ( 1 Samuel 6:1-19 ). Now this is something that was strictly forbidden under the law of God to look into the ark of God. Only the priests were allowed to see the ark of God, and before they would remove it out of the Holy of Holies they would cover it with these blankets. But these men, out of curiosity began to peer at it, and actually seventy of them died who curiously were looking at the ark of God. Now there is a statement here which is a difficult translation in verse nineteen. And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men ( 1 Samuel 6:19 ): Verse 19 Actually it should read, "Of the city, or of the people of fifty thousand, seventy were slain, seventy men were slain." In other words, of that population of the area, approximately fifty thousand people, seventy of them were slain. and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten the people with this great slaughter. And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us ( 1 Samuel 6:19-20 )?

Commentary on 1 Samuel 6

Whosoever Will · the Seven Threads Commentary

1 Samuel 6:1

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:2

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:3

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:4

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:5

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:6

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:7

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:8

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:9

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:10

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:11

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:12

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:13

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:14

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:15

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:16

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:17

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:18

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:19

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:20

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19

1 Samuel 6:21

Israel goes to war against the Philistines and loses badly, 4,000 dead. The elders decide to bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, thinking it will give them victory as it gave Joshua victory at Jericho. But the ark is not a talisman. It is the throne of the holy God who will not be manipulated into battle by those who have abandoned his covenant. The second battle is worse: 30,000 infantry dead, including Hophni and Phinehas. The ark is captured. When the messenger reaches Shiloh with the news, Eli falls backward from his seat and breaks his neck at ninety-eight. Phinehas's wife, in labor when the news arrives, gives birth and names the child Ichabod, no glory, saying the glory has departed from Israel. But the Philistines discover that keeping the ark is not the same as keeping YHWH. In Ashdod the statue of Dagon falls before the ark. Then falls again, this time with its head and hands broken off, leaving only the trunk, the posture of a helpless, armless god prostrating before the ark of Israel's God. Tumors break out across the city. The ark is moved city to city and disease follows. After seven months the Philistines send it back on a cart pulled by two milk cows, who head straight to Beth-shemesh without deviation, lowing as they go. Thread 2 is the ark itself, the throne of the covenant God, being treated as a military asset and failing, because the covenant community's relationship with the God who sits enthroned there has broken down. Thread 5 is the dispensational diagnosis: the Mosaic administration is failing not because the law is wrong but because the hearts of the people are unchanged.
Ichabod, the glory has departed. The ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines is the OT's first major Shekinah-crisis before Ezekiel; and the Philistines discover that you cannot keep the ark without the God who inhabits it.
גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (galah kavod mi-Yisrael): the glory has departed from Israel: galah kavod (the glory has gone into exile, galah is the exile word; the same verb used for the deportation of captive populations; the kavod has been exiled from Israel just as Israel will later be exiled from the land; Phinehas's wife names the child Ichabod, i-kavod, no glory, the glory is gone)
threads t2 · t5 · see 1 Samuel 6:1-16 · Psalm 78:60-61 · Ezekiel 10:18-19
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