Tevet 16 – He struck the men of the city, both small and great…

Tevet 16, 5785; from sunset January 15, 2025, to sunset January 16, 2025

(The sixteenth day of the tenth month)

This is the name “Shemu’el” (שְׁמוּאֵל – Samuel) as seen in the Aleppo Codex, written over one thousand years ago.

The Philistines held the Ark of the Covenant for seven months before it was returned during the wheat harvest (May/June). Today’s date was chosen at random to look in on its journey back to Israel.

A few months ago, we studied the story of Eli and Samuel and the battle that took the lives of Eli’s sons Hophni and Phineas. The Ark of the Covenant was captured and taken away by the Philistines to the temple of Dagon in Ashdod. The LORD turned the tables on Dagon and he ended up in pieces. The people of Ashdod were inflicted with tumors and a council of Philistine chieftains decided to move the Ark to Gath. We now pick up the story where we left off.

Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away.

So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors – broke out on them. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. – 1 Samuel 5:8-10a (NKJ)

Gath did not fare any better than Ashdod. The tumors that ran rampant in Ashdod continued in Gath. The city of Gath is first mentioned in the book of Joshua chapter 11. Joshua led a group of Israelites who pushed the Anakim out of the hill country of Judah and into the cities of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.

And at that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. – Joshua 11:21-22 (NKJ)

The Anakim were a race of giants descended from Anak. The name Anak comes from a root meaning “neck” or “long neck” as one source describes it. Their long neck could have added to their height, thus enhancing their giant status. Goliath is a descendant of the Anakim and he lived in Gath. It is likely that some of his ancestors died of the plague during the days that the Ark resided there. Perhaps even he was afflicted with the tumors as a child.

We’ll catch up with the Ark in a few weeks and see if the people of Ekron fare any better.

To read all of our posts on Samuel, the Philistines, and the Ark of the Covenant, click on the name Shemu’el above.