Analysis of 1 Samuel 5 — Dagon Falls, Tumors Rise: When God Fights His Own Battles
- Pr Enos Mwakalindile
- 2 days ago
- 13 min read
When the ark seems exiled and glory seems gone, God walks into a foreign temple, topples a rival god, and lays his heavy hand on a proud people—without a single Israelite lifting a sword.
1.0 Introduction — When God Seems to Have Lost
If 1 Samuel 4 is an Ichabod chapter, 1 Samuel 5 is the surprise that follows the silence.
The last scene we saw, the ark of God was in Philistine hands, a priestly house lay in ruins, and a dying woman was whispering, “The glory has departed from Israel” (4:21–22). It looked as though Israel had lost—and with Israel, Israel’s God. If the ark is Yahweh’s throne and it sits now in the enemy’s trophy room, has Dagon won?
Chapter 5 refuses that verdict.
The camera follows the ark, now far from Shiloh, into Philistine territory. There is no prophet on the scene, no Israelite army, no prayer meeting. Samuel is silent. Israel is passive. The only active character is Yahweh himself.
The Philistines carry the ark into the temple of Dagon in Ashdod and set it up beside their god (5:1–2). They think they have captured Israel’s deity, tamed him, placed him under the patronage of their national god. By morning, Dagon is lying face down before the ark. By the next morning, his head and hands are severed on the threshold (5:3–5). Meanwhile, tumors and panic spread like wildfire from city to city (5:6–12).
One commentator famously labels this unit “The Harrowing of the Philistines,” and the title fits: what looked like Yahweh’s humiliation becomes a showcase of his unchallengeable kingship over foreign gods and nations (McCarter 1980, 104, 117–126).
This chapter presses questions that cut close to home:
What do we do when it looks as though God has lost—when the church is weak, compromised, or mocked?
What happens when people try to absorb the living God into their own religious or ideological systems, setting him “beside” their other loyalties?
How does God sometimes act without us—to humble idols, expose false security, and clear the stage again for his glory?
If 1 Samuel 4 showed God refusing to be used by his people, 1 Samuel 5 shows God refusing to be captured by his enemies.
2.0 Historical and Literary Context — The Ark in Philistia and the Contest of the Gods
2.1 From Ichabod to Ashdod: The Ark Narrative in Context
Scholars have long recognized that 1 Samuel 4:1b–7:1, together with 2 Samuel 6, forms a distinct “ark narrative” within the Samuel corpus—a series of episodes centering on the capture, exile, and return of the ark (McCarter 1980, 9, 16). Earlier work tended to treat this as an older, self-contained source later stitched into the larger history. More recent discussion, however, emphasizes how deeply this material is now woven into the surrounding narrative, especially the fall of Eli’s house and the emergence of kingship (Firth 2019, 44, 48).
Within that broader arc, 1 Samuel 5 is the second movement. Chapter 4 told of Israel’s defeat, the deaths of Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark’s capture. Chapter 5 follows the ark into Philistine space and shows that Yahweh has not lost control in exile. The pattern continues into 7:2–17, where Yahweh again defeats the Philistines without human aid. One recent study highlights that both 5:1–7:1 and 7:2–17 portray Yahweh routing the Philistines with no human king at the center—before Israel has even asked for monarchy (Firth 2019, 44). Together these scenes quietly raise a question: if Yahweh can defeat the nations alone, what kind of king does Israel really need?
At the same time, there are good reasons to think that older ark traditions about Shiloh, Philistia, and Kiriath-jearim have been drawn together and theologically shaped. One interpreter notes that there was almost certainly a source concerned particularly with the ark, but that in its present form this material functions as part of a unified narrative rather than a separable strand (Firth 2019, 48).
2.2 Dagon, Ashdod, and Philistine Religion
The ark is carried from Ebenezer to Ashdod, one of the five principal Philistine cities (5:1). There it is placed in the “house of Dagon,” beside the image of that god (5:2). Dagon appears elsewhere as a major deity of Philistia; Saul’s head will later be placed in a temple of Dagon as a sign of Philistine victory (1 Chr 10:10). The name is Canaanite in origin, and in this period Dagon likely stood at the head of a pantheon that also included other deities such as Baʿal-zebub (Baldwin 1988, 81).
To set the ark beside Dagon is a thickly symbolic act. In ancient practice, conquered peoples’ gods could be displayed in the temples of their conquerors as trophies; bringing the “god” of Israel into Dagon’s house visually declares Dagon’s supremacy (McCarter 1980, 17; Baldwin 1988, 81–82). From the Philistine perspective, this is a liturgy of triumph.
From Yahweh’s perspective, it is an opportunity.
2.3 The Ark Narrative as Bridge in Samuel’s Story
The ark cycle is not a side story. It is a theological bridge between the crisis at Shiloh and the later debates over kingship.
The judgment pronounced on Eli’s house in 1 Samuel 2 and confirmed in Samuel’s first vision in chapter 3 finds its historical outworking in the events of chapters 4–7. The fall of Shiloh, the deaths of Eli and his sons, and the ark’s exile all show that corrupt priesthood and presumptuous worship have real consequences.
At the same time, the ark’s journey into Philistia and back, and Yahweh’s later thunder at Mizpah (7:10), demonstrate his capacity to defend his own honor and deliver his people without a human monarch. One recent guide to Samuel underscores that in both 1 Samuel 5:1–7:1 and 7:2–17, Yahweh defeats the Philistines directly, with stones and thunder as the only “weapons,” and that this is crucial background for understanding Israel’s later request for a king (Firth 2019, 44, 62).
The ark narrative thus asks: if Yahweh is already king, what sort of leadership will Israel seek—and why?
3.0 Walking Through the Text — A Toppled Idol and a Heavy Hand
3.1 5:1–2 — The Ark in the House of Dagon
“After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon” (5:1–2).
For the Philistines, this is a victory parade. The ark, token of Israel’s God, is now a spoil of war. Placed “beside Dagon,” it looks like an act of syncretism and subordination: Israel’s God is honored as one more god among many, and a lesser one at that. The image of Dagon dominates the shrine; Yahweh’s ark, in their eyes, has come to bow.
The narrator simply reports the scene. No commentary, no thunder. But the quiet is heavy.
3.2 5:3–5 — Dagon Down: The Contest of the Gods
“When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD” (5:3).
The worshipers arrive for morning devotions and find their god prostrate. The pose—face down before the ark—resembles worship. The statue of Dagon has become, against the will of his devotees, a worshiper of Yahweh.
Embarrassed, they “took Dagon and put him back in his place” (5:3). The line is almost comic: a god who must be helped back into position is no god at all (cf. Isa 46:1–7).
The next morning, things are worse:
“Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him” (5:4).
Now it is not merely a fall but a dismemberment. Head and hands—symbols of authority and activity—are severed and placed on the threshold, as though Yahweh has executed judgment at Dagon’s front door. Only the “trunk” remains.
A major commentator notes that this deliberate decapitation and de-handing recalls the treatment of defeated enemies in ancient warfare; Yahweh has turned Dagon’s own temple into a battlefield trophy room (McCarter 1980, 104).
The narrator then explains a local custom:
“That is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day” (5:5).
A ritual taboo is born out of divine humiliation. The priests remember the event, but they remember it as ceremony rather than repentance. One older commentary observes that the humiliation of Dagon could have led the Philistines to recognize Yahweh’s supremacy; instead, it produced superstition and stubborn loyalty to their crippled god (Nichol 1954, 25–26).
3.3 5:6–8 — A Heavy Hand on Ashdod
“The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors” (5:6).
The phrase “hand of the LORD” echoes earlier references to Yahweh’s mighty acts in exodus and conquest. Here that hand is “heavy” (kāved), a word that sounds like “glory” (kāvōd). The glory that seemed to have “gone into exile” in chapter 4 is now felt as weight in Philistine flesh (Nichol 1954, 24–25).
Tumors (perhaps painful swellings from a plague) break out; terror spreads. In the following chapter, the presence of mice and the association with pestilence will confirm that this is more than coincidence (Nichol 1954, 27–28).
The people of Ashdod read the situation clearly:
“The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god” (5:7).
They see that the disaster comes from “the God of Israel.” They recognize that his hand is against them and their god. Yet their solution is not repentance but relocation: “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” (5:8).
3.4 5:8–10 — Passing the Ark, Passing the Plague
The Philistine rulers gather and decide to send the ark to Gath. Perhaps another city will fare better. But when the ark arrives, Yahweh’s hand is against Gath too: he “inflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them” (5:9).
Gath sends the ark on to Ekron. As it arrives, the Ekronites cry out:
“They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people” (5:10).
The narrative has become darkly humorous. The ark is a burning coal no city wants to hold, an untamable presence that refuses to be absorbed into Philistine religious life. The Philistines know that Yahweh is real and dangerous, yet they will do anything except turn to him in humility.
An older exposition remarks that, much like Pharaoh in Exodus, the Philistine leaders are convinced against their will and remain of the same opinion still. Instead of seeking the God whose power they clearly see, they treat his presence only as a dangerous object to be passed along (Nichol 1954, 25–27).
3.5 5:11–12 — A City’s Cry to Heaven
Finally, the Philistine lords are summoned again. The verdict is unanimous:
“Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people” (5:11).
The chapter closes with a stark summary:
“There was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven” (5:11–12).
The same language that elsewhere describes oppressed Israelites crying out in slavery (Exod 2:23–25) is now used of Philistine cities under judgment. God hears. Chapter 6 will show that he also provides a way for them to send the ark back with offerings, acknowledging his hand (Baldwin 1988, 81–83).
4.0 Theological Reflection — The Untamable God and the Futility of Idols
4.1 Yahweh vs. Dagon: The Polemic in Stone and Plague
The most obvious theological theme is the contest between Yahweh and Dagon. Dagon’s posture before the ark—face down, then decapitated and de-handed—visually proclaims what psalms and prophets will later say in words:
Idols are powerless; they must be carried, propped up, defended (Ps 115:4–7; Isa 46:1–2; Jer 10:3–5).
Yahweh cannot be carried, propped, or defended by human hands; he is the one who carries, sustains, and judges (Isa 46:3–4; Deut 1:31; Ps 68:19).
One modern commentary notes that the narrative deliberately undercuts Dagon’s dignity: a god who must be set upright by his devotees and who ends up shattered on his own threshold is exposed as an illusion (Baldwin 1988, 81–82; McCarter 1980, 104). Yet the people cling to him anyway. Revelation does not automatically produce repentance.
4.2 The God Who Is Free, Even in Exile
In chapter 4, Eli’s daughter-in-law named her son Ichabod because “the glory has departed from Israel,” literally, “has gone into exile” (Nichol 1954, 24). But 1 Samuel 5 shows that Yahweh is not a helpless exile; he is a sovereign missionary.
He walks into the house of Dagon not as a prisoner but as judge.
He makes his “hand heavy” in Philistine cities not out of mere whim but to reveal himself as the living God.
He demonstrates that his reign extends beyond Israel’s borders and beyond the security of Israel’s institutions.
A recent guide to Samuel stresses that the whole arc of 1 Samuel 4–7 underlines Yahweh’s kingship over the nations; he defeats the Philistines by his own power, long before any human king leads Israel in battle (Firth 2019, 44, 62, 76).
4.3 Judgment as Unwanted Grace
For Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron, Yahweh’s heavy hand feels like pure curse: tumors, panic, death. Yet the narrative suggests that it is also a severe mercy.
The Philistines are being confronted with the living God:
Their main deity is publicly humiliated.
Their cities experience a power clearly beyond their local gods.
They are given, in chapter 6, the chance to respond with offerings that acknowledge Yahweh’s hand (Baldwin 1988, 82–83; McCarter 1980, 117–120).
Judgment, in biblical perspective, is not only retribution; it is also revelation. It unmasks idols, exposes false security, and calls even enemies to recognize the true King.
4.4 When God Acts Without Us
A striking feature of 1 Samuel 5 is Israel’s absence. No priest intercedes, no prophet speaks, no army fights. Yahweh is not dependent on his people in order to act.
One recent discussion underlines that both 5:1–7:1 and 7:2–17 emphasize Yahweh defeating the Philistines without human assistance, and that this is part of the narrator’s preparation for the later critique of Israel’s demand for a king (Firth 2019, 44, 62). The God of the ark can defend his honor, topple idols, and deliver his people even when they are silent and compromised.
This is humbling and comforting at once:
Humbling, because God can and sometimes does work without our strategies, programs, or leadership. He is not stuck when we are confused or divided.
Comforting, because the apparent failure of God’s people is not the same thing as the failure of God’s purposes. Even when the ark is in foreign hands, Yahweh is still writing the story.
5.0 Life Application — Where Our Idols Fall and God’s Hand Feels Heavy
5.1 Identifying Our Modern Dagons
We may not bow before carved stone, but we all have our Dagons—things we trust to give security, identity, and victory:
national power, political parties, or ethnic pride;
economic success, professional status, or ministry reputation;
religious systems and traditions that slowly drift from the living God while still carrying his name.
Like the Philistines, we may try to set God “beside” these idols, assuming he will bless and protect them. We can decorate party offices with crosses, weave Bible verses into our slogans, and stamp “In God we trust” over systems that deny justice.
1 Samuel 5 warns that God will not stand as a junior partner in the temple of our idols. In mercy and judgment, he may let them fall—sometimes dramatically, with their “head and hands” broken off, their power and work exposed as empty.
5.2 Recognizing the Heavy Hand
There are seasons when God’s hand feels “heavy”—not in literal tumors and plagues, but in convictions we cannot shake, in the collapse of structures we thought would save us, in the exposure of patterns we preferred to hide.
Questions to ponder:
Where might God’s heavy hand be at work in your life or community—not to destroy, but to expose what cannot stand beside him?
Are there areas where you respond like Ashdod and Ekron, simply trying to “move the ark on,” to get rid of discomfort, rather than asking what God is revealing?
5.3 Trusting God’s Work Beyond Our Borders
Israel is absent in this chapter, but God is not. That should widen our imagination.
God is at work in places where the church seems weak or nonexistent.
God is confronting idols in cultures that do not yet name him.
God is weaving his purposes even through the judgments and crises of societies that ignore his word.
Instead of assuming that God’s work is limited to our ministries or structures, we are invited to trust that the Lord of hosts is active in the wider world, often in hidden ways—toppling Dagons we have never heard of and making room for mercy we have not yet imagined.
6.0 Reflection Questions
Where are you tempted to set God “beside” another loyalty or source of security—as the Philistines set the ark beside Dagon?
Can you name a time when something you had trusted (a relationship, institution, ideology, or plan) “fell on its face” before God? How did you respond—by propping it back up, or by letting it go?
Are there ways in which God’s hand currently feels “heavy” in your life—through conviction, disruption, or loss? What might he be exposing or inviting you to release?
How does it change your view of God’s mission to realize that, in 1 Samuel 5, he acts entirely outside Israel’s visible structures? Where might you need to trust that God is at work beyond your control or awareness?
If you are in an “Ichabod” season—grieving the failures of the church or of Christian institutions—how does this chapter encourage you about God’s ongoing sovereignty?
7.0 Response Prayer
God of Israel and Lord over all nations,
You are not a statue we carry,not a slogan we carve above our doors.You are the living Godwho makes idols fall on their facesand whose hand is heavy when we cling to false saviors.
Where we have set you beside our Dagons—our pride, our politics, our success, our religious systems—forgive us.Topple what cannot stand in your presence.Break the head and handsof every power that pretends to rule beside you.
When your hand feels heavy,teach us not just to move the ark on,not just to escape discomfort,but to ask what you are revealing.
In the places that feel like exile,remind us that you are not a captive God.You walk into foreign temples,you confront hidden idols,you hear the cries of cities that do not yet know your name.
Lord Jesus,you entered the world’s temple of power and violence,you fell down into death,and yet it was the rulers and idols of this agethat were disarmed at your cross.Let your victory over the powersshape our trust today.
Holy Spirit,search our houses and hearts.Show us where we are propping up what you have already overthrown.Give us courage to let idols fall,to bow low before the true ark of your presence—the crucified and risen Christ.
May our communities become placeswhere your presence is not domesticated,your glory is not shared with rivals,and your heavy hand becomes for usthe weight of mercy,pressing us into freedom.
Amen.
8.0 Window into the Next Chapter
The cry of Ekron has reached heaven. The Philistine lords are desperate. The ark has toppled their god and terrified their cities.
But how do you send away the God you cannot control?
1 Samuel 6 — Cows, Gold Tumors, and a Road Home: When Pagan Priests Try to Appease the Holy God. We will watch Philistine diviners improvise a guilt offering, see untrained cows walk straight toward Israel, and wrestle with the danger of treating holy things lightly—even when they come home.
9.0 Bibliography
Baldwin, Joyce G. 1 and 2 Samuel. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1988.
Firth, David G. 1 & 2 Samuel: A Kingdom Comes – An Introduction and Study Guide. T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament. London: T&T Clark, 2019.
McCarter, P. Kyle Jr. I Samuel: A New Translation with Introduction, Notes and Commentary. Anchor Bible 8. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980.
Nichol, Francis D., ed. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Vol. 2. Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1954.
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