1Sa 5:6-6:9 | TNotes | STEP | 5:6 tumors: The Hebrew term can mean simply “swellings.” A possible alternative translation is “hemorrhoids.” They were possibly the fatal buboes of bubonic plague, which attack the lower body, especially the rectal area. Rats are known carriers of the plague.

5:6 ^a tumors: The Hebrew term can mean simply “swellings.” A possible alternative translation is “hemorrhoids.” They were possibly the fatal buboes of bubonic plague, which attack the lower body, especially the rectal area. Rats are known carriers of the plague.
5:8 ^b rulers (or overlords): Each of the five major Philistine cities had its own ruler (6:16-18 ^c).

• Move it: Despite the obvious danger, the Philistines relished their captured trophy enough to relocate it rather than return it.

• Gath, one of the five major Philistine cities, was nearby.
5:9 ^d God often used great panic to incapacitate and overwhelm Israel’s enemies (14:15 ^e, 20 ^f; Deut 7:23 ^g; Ezek 22:5 ^h; Amos 3:9 ⁱ).
5:10 ^j Ekron, another of the five major Philistine cities (see 6:17 ^k), was just five miles north of Gath.

‏ 1 Samuel 6:1-9

6:2 ^l priests and diviners: Divination was a part of Philistine religion (cp. 28:7 ^m; Deut 18:10-14 ⁿ).
6:3 ^o It is unlikely the Philistines were aware of Israelite worship regulations. A Philistine guilt offering would have been a payment to the deity in an attempt to avert his wrath (contrast the notion of atonement from Lev 16 ^p).
6:4 ^q rats: See study note on 5:6.
6:6 ^r The Philistines had thought they could overcome the Lord by fighting harder (4:9 ^s). They had defeated the Israelites, but they now realized that they could not defeat Israel’s God.
6:7 ^t shut their calves away: If the cows went against their maternal nature and left their calves to take the Ark to Israel, it would prove that the plague was from Israel’s God (6:9 ^u).
6:9 ^v Beth-shemesh was the closest Israelite town to Ekron (5:10 ^w).