Bible Strands
1 Samuel 5:2
carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the Philistines' actions immediately after capturing the ark of God in 1 Samuel 5:1. They transport it to Ashdod and place it inside the temple of their deity Dagon.
The words — The text uses וַ/יָּבִ֥יאוּ (va/i.ya.Vi.'u) for "and/ they brought" [H935] and בֵּ֣ית (beit) for "house of" [H1004]. These terms frame the deliberate movement of the captured object into a foreign sanctuary.
The thread — The motif of placing captured items before a foreign deity appears in Judges 16:23; 1 Chronicles 10:10; and Daniel 5:2. Each reference records victors displaying spoils or trophies in the temples of their gods.
Why it lands — The text records the Philistines positioning a captured sacred object beside a pagan statue before describing the statue's fall. A reader notes the immediate narrative setup for a confrontation between the ark and Dagon's image.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
Cross-references
- Judges 16:23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”
- 1 Chronicles 10:10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.
- Daniel 5:2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
- Daniel 5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
- Habakkuk 1:11 Then they sweep by like the wind and pass through. They are guilty; their own strength is their god.”
- Habakkuk 1:16 Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich.