1 Samuel 6:19

1 Samuel 6:19 to 1 Samuel 7:1. The Penalty of Irreverence. Removal of the Ark to Kirjath-jearim

19. because they had looked into the ark Better, because they had gazed upon the ark. The rendering of the E. V. follows the explanation given by Rabbinic commentators, but the expression used signifies rather "to gaze upon with profane curiosity." The priests of Beth-shemesh must have known that even the Levites were forbidden to look upon the furniture of the Holy of Holies upon pain of death (Numbers 4:19-20), but instead of hastening to cover it with befitting reverence, they left it exposed to the public gaze, and brought down a judgment which was intended to vindicate the holinessof Jehovah. Certainly they were not punished for the unavoidable sight of the Ark as it approached them, at which they justly rejoiced (1 Samuel 6:13).

It seems not improbable, however, that there is some corruption in the Heb. text here. The repetition "and he smote," "even he smote," is somewhat strange, and the Sept. has the following entirely different reading, which may possibly represent an earlier text. "And the sons of Jechonias rejoiced not among the men of Bethsamus because they saw the ark of the Lord: and he smote among them, &c." i.e. either from indifference or irreligion they took no part in the general rejoicing and were punished for their impiety.

fifty thousand and threescore and ten men It is generally agreed that there is some mistake in the text here. (a) The anomalous order of the numerals in the Hebrew (70 men 50,000 men), and the absence of the conjunction andmark corruption, (b) The village of Beth-shemesh cannot possibly have contained such a number of inhabitants. It seems best with Josephus and some Heb. MSS. to omit 50,000 altogether. Possibly the number was originally expressed by a letter used as a numerical sign, and explained once rightly and once wrongly in marginal notes, both of which eventually crept into the text. "A like instance of the intrusion of a number into the text is found in Nehemiah 7:70, where the number 500 is erroneously added to the 30 (or 33) Priests" garments given by Nehemiah, to make up 100 with the 67 given by the congregation. See Ezra 2:69, and Nehemiah 7:72." Speaker's Comm. p. 274.

Many explanations of the passage with the retention of the number 50,000 have been attempted. The only one deserving of notice is that 50,000 is the number of the people, 70 the number of those that were smitten among them. But apart from the improbability that the village contained so many inhabitants, (and 1 Samuel 6:21 implies that the news of the return of the Ark had not spread so as to bring in others from a distance), this meaning can only be imposed upon the Hebrew and not fairly extracted from it.

Such errors as this, to which the text of any ancient book is liable in the process of transmission, do not affect the general historical trust-worthiness of the narrative, and the freest acknowledgment of them in no way precludes a full belief in the Inspiration of Scripture.

had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter Lit., "had smitten the people with a great smiting."