I Samuel 5:9
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But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
But when the ark was brought to Gath, the hand of Jehovah came upon that city also with very great alarm. גּדולה מהוּמה is subordinated to the main sentence either adverbially or in the accusative. Jehovah smote the people of the city, small and great, so that boils broke out upon their hinder parts.
Open source ↗It is now time to enquire what has become of the ark of God; we cannot but think that we shall hear more of that sacred treasure. I should have thought the next news would have been that all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, had gathered together as one man, with a resolution to bring it back, or die in the attempt; but we find not any motion made of that kind, so little was there of zeal or courage left among them. Nay, we do not find that they desired a treaty with the Philistines about the ransom of it, or offered any thing in lieu of it. "It is gone, and let it go." Many have softness enough to lament the loss of the ark that have not hardiness enough to take one step towards the recovery of it, any more than Israel here. If the ark will help itself it may, for they will not help it. Unworthy they were of the name of Israelites that could thus tamely part with the glory of Israel. God would therefore take the work into his own hands and plead his own cause, since men would not appear for him. We are told in this chapter, I. How the Philistines triumphed over the ark (Sa1 5:1, Sa1 5:2), and, II. How the ark triumphed over the Philistines, 1. Over Dagon their god (Sa1 5:3-5). 2. Over the Philistines themselves, who were sorely plagued with emerods, and made weary of the ark; the men of Ashdod first (Sa1 5:6, Sa1 5:7), then the men of Gath (Sa1 5:8, Sa1 5:9), and lastly those of Ekron, which forced them at length upon a resolution to send the ark back to the land of Israel; for when God judgeth he will overcome.
Open source ↗5:9 God often used great panic to incapacitate and overwhelm Israel’s enemies (14:15, 20; Deut 7:23; Ezek 22:5; Amos 3:9).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished.
So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped invading the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers.
He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.
It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.
Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors.
Then the Ekronites assembled all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was heavy upon it.