1 Samuel 5 – Relating to a Jealous God

by Nate Wilson, delivered 06 Sept. 2020 at Christ the Redeemer Church of Manhattan KS

Introduction

1) vs. 1-2 The Relocation of the Ark

2) vs. 3-5 The Philistine Idol Deposed

3) vs. 6-12 Judgment on the Philistines in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron

Conclusion


1 Samuel 5 - Side-by side comparison of versionsA

Greek OT

Brenton (LXX)

DRB (Vulgate)

KJV

NAW

MT

1 Καὶ ἀλλόφυλοι ἔλαβον τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν αὐτὴν ἐξ ΑβεννεζερB εἰς Ἄζωτον.

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Abenezer to Azotus.

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it from the Stone of help into Azotus.

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.

1 So Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer toward Ashdod,

א וּפְלִשְׁתִּים לָקְחוּ אֵת אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים וַיְבִאֻהוּ מֵאֶבֶן הָעֵזֶר אַשְׁדּוֹדָה.

2 καὶ ἔλαβον ἀλλόφυλοι τὴν κιβωτὸν κυρίου καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν αὐτὴν εἰς οἶκον Δαγων καὶ παρέστησαν αὐτὴν παρὰ Δαγων.

2 And the Philistines took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

2 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

2 and Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon, and they set it beside Dagon.

ב) וַיִּקְחוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים וַיָּבִיאוּ אֹתוֹ בֵּית דָּגוֹן וַיַּצִּיגוּ אֹתוֹ אֵצֶל דָּגוֹן.

3 καὶ ὤρθρισαν οἱ Ἀζώτιοι X [καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰς οἶκον Δαγων καὶ εἶδον καὶ] ἰδοὺ Δαγων πεπτωκὼς X X ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον κιβωτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ· καὶ ἤγειραν τὸν Δαγων καὶ κατέστησαν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ. [καὶ ἐβαρύνθη χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀζωτίους καὶ ἐβασάνισεν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς ἕδρας αὐτῶν, τὴν Ἄζωτον καὶ τὰ ὅρια αὐτῆς.]

3 And the people of Azotus rose early X, [and entered into the house of Dagon; and looked, and] behold, Dagon had fallen on his face Χ Χ before the ark of the Lord: and they lifted up Dagon, and set him X in his place. [And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azoti­ans, & he plagued them, and he smote them in their secret parts, Azotus and her coasts.]

3 And when the Azotians arose early the next day, behold Dagon lay upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord: and they took Dagon, and set him again in his place.

3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

3 But the Ash­dod­ites got up early on the next day and Look! Dagon falling on his face earth­ward before the ark of Yahweh! So they took Dagon and returned him to his position.

(ג) וַיַּשְׁכִּמוּ אַשְׁדּוֹדִים מִמָּחֳרָת וְהִנֵּה דָגוֹן נֹפֵל לְפָנָיו אַרְצָה לִפְנֵי אֲרוֹן יְהוָה וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת דָּגוֹן וַיָּשִׁבוּ אֹתוֹ לִמְקוֹמוֹC.

4 καὶ [ἐγένετο ὅτε] ὤρθρισαν τὸ πρωί XX, καὶ ἰδοὺ Δαγων πεπτωκὼς X X ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον κιβωτοῦ [διαθήκης] κυρίου, καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ Δαγων καὶ ἀμφότερα τὰ ἴχνη χειρῶν αὐτοῦ [ἀφῃρη­μένα] ἐπὶ τὰ ἐμπρόσθια αμαφεθ ἕκαστον, [καὶ ἀμφότεροι οἱ καρποὶ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ πεπτωκότες ἐπὶ τὸ πρόθυρον,] πλὴν ἡ [ῥάχις] Δαγων ὑπελείφθη.

4 And [it came to pass when] they rose early in the morn­ing, XX behold, Dagon had fallen X X on his face before the ark of [the covenant of] the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off [each] before the threshold[, and both the wrists of his hands had fallen on the floor of the porch]; only the [stump] of Dagon was left.

4 And the next day again, when they rose X in the morning, X they found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the thres­hold: 5 And only the [stump] of Dagon re­mained in its [place].

4 And when they arose early on the morrow X X morning, X behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stumpD of Dagon was left to him.

4. Then they got up early in the morning of the next day and Look! Dagon falling on his face earth­ward before the ark of Yahweh! And the head of Dagon and both of the palms of his hands were severed at the threshold; only the fish-part of him was left!

(ד) וַיַּשְׁכִּמוּ בַבֹּקֶר מִמָּחֳרָת וְהִנֵּה דָגוֹן נֹפֵל לְפָנָיו אַרְצָה לִפְנֵי אֲרוֹן יְהוָה וְרֹאשׁ דָּגוֹן וּשְׁתֵּי כַּפּוֹת יָדָיו כְּרֻתוֹת אֶל הַמִּפְתָּן רַק דָּגוֹן נִשְׁאַר עָלָיו.

5 διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπι­βαίνουσιν οἱ ἱερεῖς Δαγων καὶ πᾶς ὁ εἰσ­πορευόμενος εἰς οἶκον Δαγων ἐπὶ βαθμὸν οἴκου Δαγων ἐν Ἀζώτῳ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης, [ὅτι ὑπερβαίνοντες ὑπερβαίνουσιν.] --

5 Therefore the priests of Dagon, and every one that enters into the house of Dagon, do not tread upon the thres­hold of the house of Dagon in Azotus until this day[, for they step over].

For this cause neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that go into the temple X X, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Azotus unto this day.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

5 Therefore, to this day, priests of Dagon – and all those who go to the temple of Dagon in Ashdod – do not step upon the thres­hold of Dagon.

(ה) עַל כֵּן לֹא יִדְרְכוּ כֹהֲנֵי דָגוֹן וְכָל הַבָּאִים בֵּית דָּגוֹן עַל מִפְתַּן דָּגוֹן בְּאַשְׁדּוֹד עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.

6 καὶ ἐβαρύνθη χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπὶ Ἄζωτον, καὶ ἐπήγαγενE αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐξέζεσεν αὐτοῖς εἰς τὰς ναῦςF, καὶ μέσον τῆς χώρας αὐτῆς [ἀνεφύησαν μύες, καὶ ἐγένετο σύγχυσις θανάτου μεγάλη ἐν τῇ πόλει.]G

6 And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon Azotus, and he brought [evil] upon them, and it burst out upon them into the ships, [and mice sprang up] in the midst of their country,[ and there was a great and in­discriminate morta­lity in the city.]

6 And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, & he des­troyed them, & afflicted Azotus & the coasts thereof with em­er­ods. And in the vil­lages [& fields in the midst of that coun­try, there came forth a mul­titude of mice, & there was the con­fu­sion of a great mortality in the city.]

6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy uponH them of Ashdod, and he destroyedI them, and smoteJ them with emerodsK, even Ashdod and the coastsL thereof.

6 Also, the hand of Yahweh was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He laid waste to them and struck them – that is, Ashdod and her borderlandswith swellings.

(ו) וַתִּכְבַּד יַד יְהוָה אֶל הָאַשְׁדּוֹדִים וַיְשִׁמֵּם וַיַּךְ אֹתָם בעפליםM אֶת אַשְׁדּוֹד וְאֶת גְּבוּלֶיהָ.

7 καὶ εἶδον οἱ ἄνδρες Ἀζώτου ὅτι οὕτως, καὶ λέγουσιν ὅτι Οὐ καθήσεται κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ Ισραηλ μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν, ὅτι σκληρὰ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ Δαγων θεὸν ἡμῶν.

7 And the men of Azotus saw that it was so, and they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.

7 And the men of Azotus seeing this kind [of plague], X said: The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us: for his hand is heavy up­on us, and upon Dagon, our god.

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was soN, X they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is soreO up­on us, and upon Dagon our god.

7 And the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, and they said, “The ark of the god of Israel should not reside with us, be­cause its agency is firmly against us and against Dagon our god!”

(ז) וַיִּרְאוּ אַנְשֵׁי אַשְׁדּוֹד כִּי כֵן וְאָמְרוּ לֹא יֵשֵׁב אֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עִמָּנוּ כִּי קָשְׁתָה יָדוֹ עָלֵינוּ וְעַל דָּגוֹן אֱלֹהֵינוּ.

8 καὶ ἀποστέλλουσιν καὶ συνάγουσιν X τοὺς σατράπας τῶν ἀλλοφύλων πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ λέγουσιν Τί ποιήσωμεν κιβωτῷ θεοῦ Ισραηλ; καὶ λέγουσιν οἱ Γεθθαῖοι Μετελθέτω κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ X X πρὸς ἡμᾶς· καὶ μετῆλθεν κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ X X εἰς Γεθθα.

8 And they send and gather the lords of the Philis­tines to them, and say, What shall we do to the ark of the God of Israel? and the Gittites say, Let the ark of God X X come over to us; and the ark of the God of Israel came to Geth.

8 And sending, they gathered together all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said: What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And the Gethites answered: Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about.

8 They sent there­fore and gath­ered all the lords of the Phil­istines unto them, 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 aboutP unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

8 So they sent for - and gathered together to them - all the Philistine lords, and they said, “What should we do about the ark of the god of Isra­el?” And the Gath­ites said, “They should turn over the ark of the God of Israel to us!” So they sent the ark of the god of Israel around to Gath.

(ח) וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ וַיַּאַסְפוּ אֶת כָּל סַרְנֵיQ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֲלֵיהֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ מַה נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמְרוּ גַּתR יִסֹּבS אֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵלT וַיַּסֵּבּוּ אֶת אֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵלU.

9 καὶ ἐγενήθη μετὰ τὸ μετελθεῖν αὐτὴν καὶ γίνεται χεὶρ κυρίου ἐν τῇ πόλει, τάραχος μέγας σφόδρα, καὶ ἐπάταξεν τοὺς ἄνδρας τῆς πόλεως ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου καὶ ἐπάταξενV αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς ἕδραςW αὐτῶν[, καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς οἱ Γεθθαῖοι ἕδρας].

9 And it came to pass after it went about [to Geth], that the hand of the Lord comes upon the city, a very great confusion; and he smote the men of the city small and great, and smote them in their secret parts: [and the Git­tites made to them­selves images of emerods].

9 And while they were carrying it about, X the hand of the Lord came upon [every] city [with] an exceed­ing great slaugh­ter: and he smote the men of every city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. [& the Gethites con­sul­t­ed together, & made them­selves seats of skins.]

9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, X the hand of the LORD was against the city [with] a very great destruc­tionX: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.

9 And it hap­pened after they sent it around, that the hand of Yahweh brought about a really big panic in that city, and He struck the men of the city from the smallest person even to greatest person so that swellings erupted on them.

(ט) וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי הֵסַבּוּ אֹתוֹY וַתְּהִי יַד יְהוָה בָּעִיר מְהוּמָה גְּדוֹלָה מְאֹד וַיַּךְ אֶת אַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר מִקָּטֹן וְעַד גָּדוֹל וַיִּשָּׂתְרוּ לָהֶם עפליםZ.

10 καὶ ἐξαποστέλλ­ουσιν τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς Ἀσκαλῶνα, καὶ ἐγενήθη ὡς εἰσῆλθεν κιβωτὸς θεοῦ εἰς Ἀσκαλῶνα, καὶ ἐβόησαν οἱ Ἀσκαλωνῖται λέγοντες Τί ἀπεστρέψατε πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ Ισραηλ θανατῶσαι ἡμᾶς καὶ τὸν λαὸν ἡμῶν;

10 And they send away the ark of God to Ascalon; and it came to pass when the ark of God went into Ascalon, that the men of Ascalon cried out, saying, Why have ye brought back the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people?

10 Therefore they sent the ark of God into Ac­caron. And X when the ark of God was come into Accaron, X the Ac­caronites cried out, saying: They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.

10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.

10 So they sent off the ark of God to Ekron, but what happened, as the ark of God was coming to Ekron, was that the Ek­ron­ites cried out, saying, “What? Have y’all sent the ark of the god of Israel around to me to kill me and my people?!”

(י) וַיְשַׁלְּחוּ אֶת אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִיםAA עֶקְרוֹן וַיְהִי כְּבוֹא אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים עֶקְרוֹן וַיִּזְעֲקוּ הָעֶקְרֹנִים לֵאמֹר AB הֵסַבּוּ אֵלַי אֶת אֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַהֲמִיתֵנִי וְאֶת עַמִּי.

11 καὶ ἐξαποστέλλ­ουσιν καὶ συνάγουσιν X τοὺς σατράπας τῶν ἀλλοφύλων καὶ εἶπον Ἐξαποστείλατε τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ Ισραηλ, καὶ καθισάτω εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς καὶ οὐ μὴ θανατώσῃ ἡμᾶς καὶ τὸν λαὸν ἡμῶν· ὅτι ἐγενήθη σύγχυσιςAC θανάτου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ πόλει βαρεῖα σφόδρα, ὡς εἰσῆλθεν κιβωτὸς θεοῦ [Ισραηλ] ἐκεῖ,

11 And they send and gather X the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it lodge in its place; and let it not slay us and our people. 12 For there was a very great confusion in all the city, when the ark of the God [of Israel] entered there;

11 They sent therefore, and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines: and they said: Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return into its own place, and not kill us and our people. 12 For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy.

11 So they sent and gathered to­gether all the lords of the Phil­istines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a dead­ly destruc­tion through­out all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

11 And they sent for and gathered together the Phil­is­tine lords and said, “Send away the ark of the god of Israel, and let it go back to its place so it doesn’t kill us and our people!” It was so serious when the ark of God came there, that there was a dead­ly pan­ic through­out all the city.

יא וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ וַיַּאַסְפוּ אֶת כָּלAD סַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיֹּאמְרוּ שַׁלְּחוּ אֶת אֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיָשֹׁב לִמְקֹמוֹ וְלֹא יָמִית אֹתִי וְאֶת עַמִּיAE כִּי הָיְתָה מְהוּמַת מָוֶתAF בְּכָל הָעִיר כָּבְדָה מְאֹד יַדAG הָאֱלֹהִים שָׁםAH.

12 [καὶ οἱ ζῶντες] καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανόντες ἐπλήγησαν εἰς τὰς ἕδραςAI, καὶ ἀνέβη ἡ κραυγὴ τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν.

and those, [who lived and] died not were smitten with emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The men also that did not die, were afflicted with the emerods: and the cry of every city went up to heaven.

12 And the men that died not were smittenAJ with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

12 And the men who didn’t die were stricken with swellings. And the hollering of the city went up to the heavens!

(יב) וְהָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר לֹא מֵתוּ הֻכּוּ בעפלים AK וַתַּעַל שַׁוְעַת הָעִיר הַשָּׁמָיִםAL.



1An estimation by a man named Bunting quoted by John Gill in his commentary.

2Some commentators debate the fish connection and suggest that the name ‘dagon’ was instead related to grain (Tsumura, Gill) , but I haven’t found their arguments convincing.

3“Since Dagon is Semitic and the Philistines were not, they presumably adopted Dagon sometime after their arrival, but how soon is not known.” ~Tsumura

4Tsumura quoted McCarter quoting a 1964 paper by M. Delcour on this: Jahweh et Dagon ou le Jahwisme face a la religion des Philistines d’apres 1 Sam V

5Antiquities. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 1

6Again, computed by Bunting and quoted by Gill.

7Deut. 30:12; Job 20:6; Ps. 107:26; Prov. 30:4; Isa. 14:13; Jer. 51:53, Amos 9:2

8Cf. Henry: "'the cry went up to heaven,' that is, it might be heard a great way off…"
Cf. Gill: “up to heaven; not that it was heard and regarded there, but the phrase is used to denote the greatness of it, how exceeding loud and clamorous it was...

AMy original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright restrictions have forced me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB, or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scroll containing any part of 1 Samuel 2 is 4Q51Samuela, which contains fragments of vs. 1-10 and 16-36 (highlighted in purple), and which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS supports the LXX with text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English.

BAquila & Theodotian, Jewish translators of the OT into Greek in the first couple of centuries AD chose to translate q. & Θ = λιθου της βοηθειας) rather than transliterate (LXX = Αβενεζερ) this place-name.

CThe LXX adds a sentence which is an almost-exact match to the entirety of v.6, but it’s not in the Vulgate. Unfortunately, no DSS of this verse has survived for comparison. But since the extra statement in the LXX is repeated in v.6, it doesn’t actually add anything to the story.

DNASB & ESV = “trunk” NIV = “body” following the LXX. MT = “only Dagon remained”

EAquilla’s Greek version (& Theodotion’s) is more like the MT εφαγεδαινισεν “divinely consumed”

FAq. (επαταξεν αυτους εν ταις ‘εδραις) & Sym. (επληξεν αυτους κατα των κρθπτων) are more like the MT

Gneither the Syriac nor Targum Jonath. has this clause” ~K&D

HESV = against (also in v.7)

INASB = “ravaged,” NIV = “brought devastation upon,” ESV = “terrified”

JNIV & ESV = “afflicted”

KLXX = “ships” NASB, NIV, ESV = “tumors” (also in v.12)

LLXX = “country,” NASB/ESV = “territories,” NIV = “vicinity

MQere is בַּטְּחֹרִים (“in the hemhorroids /tumors”) There are only two places in the Hebrew Bible where this alternate word occurs in the original, and that is 1 Sam. 6:11&17, where the Philistines make images of this affliction. In 6 other places in the Hebrew Bible, Masorite scribes also suggested this word be substituted for *עפל (Deut. 28:27; 1 Sam. 5:9, 12; 6:4-5). The Deuteronomy passage is a prophecy of this disease as a covenant curse befalling those who disobey God.

NNIV = “what was happening” ESV = “how things were”

ONASB = “severe,” NIV = “heavy,” ESV = “hard”

PNASB/ESV = “brought around,” NIV = “moved” (also in v.9)

QGoldman and Tsumura commented that this word is not Hebrew but Philistine.

RDSS has extra room in this obliterated part to support extra letters that would turn “Gath” into “Gathites,” which is the reading of the LXX and Vulgate. The location of this word in the plural after the verb “they said” also would fit Hebrew grammar better than would the placement of a place name (without any preposition or directional He) as an indirect object at the beginning of a sentence, as the MT has it. The location of the city of Gath is the subject of some debate. Tsumura favored Rainey’s identification of it with “Tel es-Safi on the southern bank of Wadi Elah, where it enters the Shephelah… about 12 miles east of Ashdod and about 6 miles west of Asekah.”

SDSS adds a vav to the end of this word, making it plural, “Let them rotate...” It also has a word between “rotate” and “ark” which starts with an aleph, presumably the sign of the direct object, which would make no difference in translation. The choice of the word “rotate/send around” could perhaps connote that the carrier route to Gath was circutious (the position Gill took), but I think it more likely that it connotes that some sort of rotation among the pentapolis was intended.

TDSS has extra space in this obliterated section to support the LXX “to us.”

UDSS has the letter gimmel after “Israel” followed by obliterated text, matching the LXX “to Gath.”

VΑq. = περιλυθησαν

WAq. supported the LXX, but Σ. rendered it Κρυπτα/ων (“privates”)

XNASB = “confusion,” NIV/ESV = “panic” (also in v.11)

YI’m not sure why scholars believe that the DSS reads “to Gath” here instead of “it,” for, as best I can tell, there is no DSS with this part of this verse legible, and the word spacing would be about the same. Perhaps because the Lucian rescension of the LXX reads προς τους Γεθθαιοθς (“to Gath”)?

ZQere is טְחֹרִים (see M above)

AADSS adds “of Israel,” but it’s not in the LXX or Vulgate (although it is in the Lucian rescension of the Greek). It makes no change in meaning, seeing as it has already occurred.

ABDSS & LXX begin this quote with “Why...” and there is a tav followed by obliterated letters at the end of the ensuing verb, matching the 2nd person plural in the LXX.

ACΑq. = φαγεδαινα (“supernatural consuming disease”?), Σ. = ταραχη (“irritation”), Θ. = εκστασις (“dysfunction”)

ADThere is not enough space in this obliterated section of the DSS to support all the words in the MT. This supports the omission of “all” in the LXX. It doesn’t change the story, though.

AEUnlike the MT singular suffixes “me and my,” the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate all read plural “us and our.” The DSS is obliterated at this point, but there is extra space on the line for the two extra letters this would require.

AFDSS reads “confusion of Yahweh,” but LXX and Vulgate support the MT “deadly confusion.”

AGDSS is obliterated here, but has too much space for the wording of the MT, supporting the longer reading of the LXX, “when came the ark...” There may or may not be enough space for “of Israel” in the DSS lacuna.

AHDSS ends this word with a directional he

AIΑq. φαγεδαινης εσχηκασιν ελκος (on account of the supernatural consuming disease, they having had a wound”)

AJNIV = “afflicted,” ESV = “struck”

AKQere is בַּטְּחֹרִים (see M above)

ALKittel noted that some Hebrew manuscripts end this word with a directional he “heavenward.”