carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Philistines took God’s ark, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
- KJV When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
- NKJV When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon.
- NASB Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon.
- NLT They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Philistines place the ark in the temple of their god Dagon, as if subordinating Yahweh to their deity. They treat the ark as a prize honoring Dagon.
Overview
Setting the ark beside Dagon's image was a way of declaring Dagon's supposed supremacy over Israel's God. This act sets up a direct contest between the living God and a lifeless idol. God will swiftly demonstrate that He alone is Lord, exposing the emptiness of all idols (Psalm 115:4-8).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Judg 16:23Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”
- Dan 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
- 1 Chr 10:10They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.
- Dan 5:2Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
- Hab 1:11Then they sweep by like the wind and pass on through. They are guilty; their own strength is their god.”
- Hab 1:16Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 5:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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