The Ark Returned to Israel
1 Samuel 6Then the ark of YHWH had been in the country of the Philistines for seven months, the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What should we do with the ark of YHWH? Y’all show us how we should send it to its place.”
They said, “If y’all send back the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it back empty. But return-return a guilt offering to ʜɪᴍ. Then y’all will be healed, and it will be known to y’all why ʜɪꜱ hand is not removed from y’all.”
Then they said, “What the guilt offering should we return to ʜɪᴍ?”
They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice corresponding to the number of the lords of the Philistines, since there was one plague on everyone and y’all’s lords. Y’all should make images of your* tumors and your* mice that ravage the land, and y’all must give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps ʜᴇ will release ʜɪꜱ hand from y’all, y’all’s gods, and y’all’s land. Why then do y’all harden your* hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When ʜᴇ afflicted them, didn’t they let the people go, and they departed?
“Now y’all are to take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows that have not been yoked. Tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them. Then y’all are take the ark of YHWH and lay it on the cart. Put the jewels of gold, which you return him for a trespass offering, in a box by its side. Then y’all are to send it off to go. Y’all keep watching it. If it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then ʜᴇ has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it is not his hand that struck us—it was just a chance that happened to us.”
The men did so, and took two milk cows and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. They put the ark of YHWH on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. The cows took the straight way by the way to Beth Shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and didn’t turn away to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh. The people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there, where there was a great stone. Then they split the wood of the cart and offered up the cows for a burnt offering to YHWH. The Levites took down the ark of YHWH and the box that was with it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to YHWH. When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering to YHWH: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone on which they set down the ark of YHWH. That stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of YHWH, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the people mourned, because YHWH had struck the people with a great slaughter. The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before YHWH, this holy God? To whom will it go from us?”
They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of YHWH. Y’all come down and get it.”