Bible Strands
1 Samuel 6:10
So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Philistine priests and diviners instruct their people to prepare the ark for return, and the men execute the command at the moment of departure testing whether the plague originated from God or chance.
The words — עָל֔וֹת (a.Lot) = nursing, describing the specific type of cows selected, and וַ/יַּאַסְר֖וּ/ם (va/i.ya.'as.Ru/m) = and/ they harnessed/ them, indicating the physical act of yoking the animals to the cart.
The thread — The sequence of preparing the cart and loading the ark continues directly into 1 Samuel 6:11, while the method of using unyoked animals to discern divine direction parallels other biblical sign-tests such as Judges 6:37–40.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to observe that obedience to a specific, counterintuitive instruction precedes the verification of God’s action, establishing a pattern where human compliance sets the stage for divine revelation.
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
And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: