1 Samuel 5:2-3 KJV,NLT

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

The ark returns (5:1-7:1)Although God used the Philistines to judge Israel, he would not allow them to dishonour him. He showed that the capture of the ark did not mean that he was inferior to the Philistine god Dagon (5:1-5). Wherever the ark went it brought trouble to the Philistine people. A plague of mice seems to have spread a painful and deadly disease throughout the country, bringing widespread suffering and death (6-12; cf. 6:5).The Philistines felt fairly certain that the ark was the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Samuel 5:2

Dagon = great fish. read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Samuel 5:3

the morrow. Septuagint adds "and entered into the house of Dagon, they looked and "behold, &c. behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 . the LORD . Hebrew. Jehovah. in contrast with Dagon. App-4 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Samuel 5:3

THE IDOL DAGON BOWS DOWN BEFORE THE ARK"And 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. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place."Apparently, the priests of Dagon had planned some kind of public celebration of their maneuver with the ark, which would account for `the people of Ashdod' getting up early and going to their temple; but what they saw must have shocked them. There was old Dagon lying on... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 5:2

2. the house of Dagon—Stately temples were erected in honor of this idol, which was the principal deity of the Philistines, but whose worship extended over all Syria, as well as Mesopotamia and Chaldea; its name being found among the Assyrian gods on the cuneiform inscriptions [RAWLINSON]. It was represented under a monstrous combination of a human head, breast, and arms, joined to the belly and tail of a fish. The captured ark was placed in the temple of Dagon, right before this image of the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 5:3

3, 4. they of Ashdod arose early—They were filled with consternation when they found the object of their stupid veneration prostrate before the symbol of the divine presence. Though set up, it fell again, and lay in a state of complete mutilation; its head and arms, severed from the trunk, were lying in distant and separate places, as if violently cast off, and only the fishy part remained. The degradation of their idol, though concealed by the priests on the former occasion, was now more... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 5:1-5

Having captured the ark, the Philistines brought it from Ebenezer to their main city, Ashdod, which stood about 30 miles to the southwest and three miles from the Mediterranean coast. Archaeologists have excavated Ashdod more extensively than any of the five major Philistine cities.Dagon was the principle deity of the Philistines. The popular teaching that the Philistines pictured him as being part man and part fish finds support in 1 Samuel 5:4. Dag in Hebrew means fishy part. Dagon (cf. Heb.... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

B. Pagan Fertility Foiled by God ch. 5The primary purpose of this chapter, I believe, is to demonstrate the superiority of Yahweh over Dagon, the fertility god of the Philistines. There are several similarities between this chapter and the record of God sending plagues on the Egyptians (Exodus 7-12), an earlier demonstration of His sovereignty. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 5:1-12

The Ark among the Philistines1. Ashdod] on an elevation overlooking the Philistine plain midway between Gaza and Joppa, and 3 m. from the Mediterranean. Its importance consisted in the fact that it commanded the high road from Palestine to Egypt.2. Dagon] seems to have been worshipped in all the Philistine cities. His name is probably merely the Canaanite pronunciation of the word for ’corn,’ and designates him as the god of agriculture. The Philistines were not a maritime people, like the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 5:2

(2) They brought it into the house of Dagon.—The conquerors, we are told, in the meantime, with triumph, carried the captured Ark from the battle-field to Ashdod. This was one of the capital cities of the five Philistine princes. It is built on a hill close to the Mediterranean Sea, and was in after days known as Azotus (Acts 8:40).In Ashdod they placed it in the temple of the popular Philistine god, Dagon. This was their vengeance for the slaughter of the 3,000 Philistine worshippers in the... read more