1 Samuel 6:8

In a coffer by the side thereof. — The reverent awe with which these Philistines treated the Ark, which had, they supposed, wrought them such great evil, presents a strong contrast to the careless curiosity of the men of Beth-shemesh with regard to the same sacred object — a careless curiosity, which was punished, as we so often find in the case of acts of sacrilege, with extreme severity.