Bible Strands
1 Samuel 6:17
As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The five Philistine rulers, having witnessed the ark's devastating effect, send back a restitution payment before returning to Ekron that same day.
The words — The Hebrew אָשָ֖ם ('a.Sham) means guilt offering, and טְחֹרֵ֣י (te.cho.Rei) means tumors. The text states the Philistines sent back one gold tumor per city to atone for their transgression.
The thread — The five listed cities appear elsewhere as Philistine territories (Judges 1:18; 2 Samuel 1:20) or as sites of later confrontation (Judges 16:1).
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that even hostile political powers must render material restitution when confronted by divine judgment.
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 these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 1:20 Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
- Judges 1:18 And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory.
- Judges 16:1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.
- Judges 16:21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.
- 1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,
- 1 Samuel 5:8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” “It must be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they carried away the ark of the God of Israel.
- 1 Samuel 5:10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!”
- 1 Samuel 6:4 “What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
- 2 Samuel 21:22 So these four descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.
- 2 Kings 1:2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”