1 Samuel 5:7-9

The Ark in Gath, 1 Samuel 5:7-9

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that is was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

9 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.

5.

Where was Gath? 1 Samuel 5:8

Gath was also one of the cities of the Philistine pentapolis. The name means wine press. The site has not been uncovered, and the city probably disappeared because of the disaster hinted at in Amos 6:2. Many archaeologists favor a site at Telles-Safiyeh; ten miles east of Ashdod and ten miles southeast of Ekron. The Crusaders stopped here, and Richard the Lionhearted made his raids on caravans near Beersheba from this point. The city was the nearest of the large Philistine towns to Hebrew territory. It is known as the home of Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Achish was king of the city at the time of David and befriended him during Saul's persecution. David later captured the city (1 Chronicles 18:1).

6.

What were Emerods? 1 Samuel 5:9

The Hebrew word signifies a tumor (Deuteronomy 28:27). An affliction of emerods was considered a painful disease. It was especially promoted by the sedentary habits of the Orientals and hence very common among them. Although the affliction is rather easily cured by the advanced skill of the Western people, the popular medicine of the East had no cure for it. It was therefore a very terrible visitation. The affliction struck the men in their secret parts and made them very uncomfortable.