Daily Tanach, Thursday: Shmuel 1 Chapter 5: The punishments that the Ark of G-d struck upon the Philistines  

Chapter 5: The punishments that the Ark of G-d struck upon the Philistines  

1.      The Philistines place the Ark of G-d by their idol and suffer the consequences:

• Bringing the Ark to Ashdod by the idol Dagon: The Philistines took the Ark of G-d and brought it from Even Haozer to Ashdod. The Philistines took the Ark of G-d and placed it by their idol called Beis Dagon, [being that it was in the shape of a huge fish[1]].
• The ark destroys the idol: The residents of Ashdod woke up the next morning and they saw that their idol Dagon had fallen to the ground in front of the Ark of G-d, so they took the idol and replaced it in its original place. They again woke up the next day and saw that Dagon was fallen on the ground in front of the Ark of G-d. Its head, as well as its two arms, had been severed and thrown by the entranceway. Only its body remained. For this reason, the priests of Dagon as well as all the visitors to Dagon will not step by the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, until this very day [out of respect for its holiness in their eyes[2]].
• The Philistines are struck with hemorrhoids: The hand of G-d was very heavy on the residents of Ashdod and its surrounding neighborhoods, and He struck them with hemorrhoids.

2.      The attempts to get rid of the Ark:

• Sending the Ark away to the city of Gat: The residents of Ashdod saw that the hand of G-d was against them and they therefore said that they can no longer remain with the Ark of the G-d of Israel amongst them. So, they summoned all of the leaders of the Philistines and discussed what they should do with the Ark of the G-d of Israel. It was decided that it would be brought to the city of Gat, and so was done.
• The residents of Gat suffer the same fate as the city of Ashdod: After the Ark was brought to the city of Gat, the hand of G-d fell upon the city and there was a great plague in the city. All the residents of the city, from young to old, were struck with hemorrhoids.
• Sending the Ark away to the city of Akron: They sent the Ark of G-d to the city of Akron. When the Ark of G-d arrived there, the residents of Akron protested saying that we have been brought the Ark of G-d to put us and our nation to death.
• Sending the Ark of G-d back to the Jews: The leaders of the Philistines gathered together and decided to send the Ark of G-d back to its original place of residence [back to the Jews] in order so they and their nation do not die, as there was tremendous death in every city, as the hand of G-d was very heavy upon them.
• The people who did not die were nonetheless stricken with hemorrhoids, and the pain and screaming of the residents of the city reached the heavens.

[1] Rashi 5:2

[2] Metzudos Dovid 5:5