1 Samuele 6:17 Commento

In this chapter we have the return of the ark to the land of Israel, whither we are now gladly to attend it, and observe, I. How the Philistines dismissed it, by the advice of their priests (Sa1 6:1-11), with rich presents to the God of Israel, to make an atonement for their sin (Sa1 6:3-5), and yet with a project to bring it back, unless Providence directed the kine, contrary to their inclination, to go to the land of Israel (Sa1 6:8, Sa1 6:9). II. How the Israelites entertained it. 1. With great joy and sacrifices of praise (Sa1 6:12-18). 2. With an over-bold curiosity to look into it, for which many of them were struck dead, the terror of which moved them to send it forward to another city (Sa1 6:19-21).

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 6 In this chapter we are told the Philistines advised with their priests what to do with the ark, and wherewith to send it home, Sa1 6:1 whose advice was to send with it a trespass offering, golden images of emerods and mice, and to put it on a new cart, and the images in a coffer on the side of the ark, and draw it with two cows, Sa1 6:3, and gave them a token whereby they might know whether they had been smitten by the God of Israel or not, Sa1 6:9 which advice they took, and acted in all things according to it; and the lords of the Philistines accompanied the ark to the border of Bethshemesh, Sa1 6:10, where they of Bethshemesh received it with joy, and offered the kine for a burnt offering to the Lord, and the Levites took care of the ark and presents in it, and the lords of the Philistines returned home, Sa1 6:13, but they of Bethshemesh looking into the ark were smitten of God, upon which they sent to the men of Kirjathjearim to fetch it from them, Sa1 6:19.

And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord,.... Along with the ark: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon, one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; which were the five principalities of the Philistines that belonged to the five lords before mentioned; and each of these were at the expense of a golden emerod, and sent it along with the ark to make atonement for the offence they had been guilty of in taking and detaining it.

29. What all these things signify has been set forth at length above. But what does it mean that when the debt owed to the ark is commanded to be paid for sin, five golden hemorrhoids and five mice are named together; yet when what was owed is declared to have already been paid, individual cities are reported to have each paid one separately? But they are named together above because the adornment of all members was being shown together, in the exchange of good works; but here, when the debt paid to the ark is described, it is carefully shown that individual cities offered one golden hemorrhoid each and one mouse each: so that indeed it may be suggested to the converted sinner that he should abandon sins once for all, and not seek again through habitual depravity what he has left behind. For individual cities pay back one hemorrhoid and one mouse each, when converted sinners do not repeat sins once washed away by the tears of repentance. Whence also Sacred Scripture admonishes, saying: "Do not repeat a word in your prayer" (Sirach 7:15). For he repeats a word in prayer who has tried to purge sins by prayers, yet does not cease to commit others for which he must pray. He indeed does not offer one hemorrhoid and one mouse to God for his offense: because even if he is pricked with repentance, he multiplies the foul deeds which, in confessing to God, he presents before Him. When therefore the cities of the Philistines, or individual provinces, are described as having paid back one hemorrhoid and one mouse, what else does this signify but the perfection of true conversion? For he is perfectly converted who, once he has lamented what he had done wickedly, does not repeat what he would have to lament again. Therefore he offers one hemorrhoid and one mouse for sin who so mourns past deeds committed that he perfectly guards against future ones. And because this form of conversion must be observed in the holy Church by the wise as much as by the unlearned, by the strong as much as by the weak, the payment of this debt is rightly said to extend from the walled city even to the village without a wall. For no one established within the holy Church is free to sin, for no one is it harmless to commit wicked deeds. Wherefore the Lord threatens through the prophet, saying: "The soul that sins, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). For walled cities are minds surrounded by the learning of the Holy Scriptures. But villages without a wall are simple minds. Therefore not only do individual cities pay back one golden hemorrhoid, but also villages; so that whoever is converted to a religious life, by God's guidance, once the stench has been washed away, may not be defiled further. And because no one is so holy that he does not have in himself something foul to lament, the payment of this debt extends even to Abel the Great, upon which they had placed the ark of God. For Abel is interpreted as "mourning." By which name, of course, the stone on which they had placed the ark of God was called. But this name indeed befits our Redeemer: because, even though He had no sins of His own to weep over, yet He purged our sins by daily prayers and weeping. There are also in the holy Church perfect men, joined to that supreme Stone by the consummation of charity. For he was united to this Stone who said: "No one separates me from the love of Christ" (Romans 8:35); let us hear whether he pays the debt to the ark: "At first," he says, "I was a blasphemer and a persecutor" (1 Timothy 1:13). Then again confessing, he says: "I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God" (1 Corinthians 15:9). It should also be noted that the debt of the ark is read to have extended to the stone which is recorded as remaining to that day in the field of Joshua, and upon which the ark of God was placed. In this matter, what else do we hold but what we observe in the holy Church: that those also make satisfaction to God for their fault who have not only been rescued from sins by the grace of God, but have also been taken up into His tabernacle through the great heights of holy virtues?

After the ark had been seven months in the land of the Philistines, they consult their priests and diviners about sending it to Shiloh, Sa1 6:1, Sa1 6:2. They advise that it be sent back with a trespass-offering of five golden emerods, and five golden mice, Sa1 6:3-6. They advise also that it be sent back on a new cart, drawn by two milch kine from whom their calves shall be tied up; and then conclude that if these cows shalt take the way of Beth-shemesh, as going to the Israelitish border, then the Lord had afflicted them, if not, then their evils were accidental, Sa1 6:7-9. They do as directed; and the kine take the way of Beth-shemesh, Sa1 6:10-13. They stop in the field of Joshua; and the men of Beth-shemesh take them, and offer them to the Lord for a burnt-offering, and cleave the wood of the cart to burn them, and make sundry other offerings, Sa1 6:14, Sa1 6:15. The offerings of the five lords of the Philistines, Sa1 6:16-18. For too curiously looking into the ark, the men of Beth-shemesh are smitten of the Lord, Sa1 6:19, Sa1 6:20. They send to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, that they may take away the ark, Sa1 6:21.

These are the golden emerods - Each of these cities, in what may be called its corporate capacity, sent a golden emerod.

THE PHILISTINES COUNSEL HOW TO SEND BACK THE ARK. (Sa1 6:1-9) the ark . . . was in the country of the Philistines seven months--Notwithstanding the calamities which its presence had brought on the country and the people, the Philistine lords were unwilling to relinquish such a prize, and tried every means to retain it with peace and safety, but in vain.

And these are the golden emerods . . . and the mice--There were five representative images of the emerods, corresponding to the five principal cities of the Philistines. But the number of the golden mice must have been greater, for they were sent from the walled towns as well as the country villages.

The Ark of God Sent Back. - Sa1 6:1-3. The ark of Jehovah was in the land (lit. the fields, as in Rut 1:2) of the Philistines for seven months, and had brought destruction to all the towns to which it had been taken. At length the Philistines resolved to send it back to the Israelites, and therefore called their priests and diviners (see at Num 23:23) to ask them, "What shall we do with regard to the ark of God; tell us, with what shall we send it to its place?" "Its place" is the land of Israel, and בּמּה does not mean "in what manner" (quomodo: Vulgate, Thenius), but with what, wherewith (as in Mic 6:6). There is no force in the objection brought by Thenius, that if the question had implied with what presents, the priests would not have answered, "Do not send it without a present;" for the priests did not confine themselves to this answer, in which they gave a general assent, but proceeded at once to define the present more minutely. They replied, "If they send away the ark of the God of Israel (משׁלּחים is to be taken as the third person in an indefinite address, as in Sa1 2:24, and not to be construed with אתּם supplied), do not send it away empty (i.e., without an expiatory offering), but return Him (i.e., the God of Israel) a trespass-offering." אשׁם, lit. guilt, then the gift presented as compensation for a fault, the trespass-offering (see at Lev. 5:14-6:7). The gifts appointed by the Philistines as an asham were to serve as a compensation and satisfaction to be rendered to the God of Israel for the robbery committed upon Him by the removal of the ark of the covenant, and were therefore called asham, although in their nature they were only expiatory offerings. For the same reason the verb השׁיב, to return or repay, is used to denote the presentation of these gifts, being the technical expression for the payment of compensation for a fault in Num 5:7, and in Lev 6:4 for compensation for anything belonging to another, that had been unjustly appropriated. "Are ye healed then, it will show you why His hand is not removed from you," sc., so long as ye keep back the ark. The words תּרפאוּ אז are to be understood as conditional, even without אם, which the rules of the language allow (see Ewald, 357, b.); this is required by the context. For, according to Sa1 6:9, the Philistine priests still thought it a possible thing that any misfortune which had befallen the Philistines might be only an accidental circumstance. With this view, they could not look upon a cure as certain to result from the sending back of the ark, but only as possible; consequently they could only speak conditionally, and with this the words "we shall know" agree.