Year of the Bible
1 Samuel 6
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Commentary on the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 6:
The Philistine religious leaders concoct a plan to send the Ark of the Covenant back to the Israelites. Because of the destruction God has brought to their land, they suggest the Ark should be returned with an offering of gold in hopes that the Lord will cease the disasters. The priests also determine the Ark should be on a cart pulled by cows that would want to return home! If the cows do so, then the gold is safe with the Philistines and the Israelite God is not all powerful. But if the cows do get to Israel, then the Lord is in control. The Ark makes it to Israel, and the Israelites worship before it. When some people disobey Lord’s laws about the Ark, the Lord destroys them, reminding the Israelites of His power.
The First Book of Samuel, Chapter 6:
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords. 5 So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. 6 Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made sport of them, did not they let the people go, and they departed? 7 Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows upon which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart, and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off, and let it go its way. 9 And watch; if it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us, it happened to us by chance.”
10 The men did so, and took two milch cows and yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the people of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh, and stopped there. A great stone was there; and they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the LORD. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
17 These are the golden tumors, which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; 18 also the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone, beside which they set down the ark of the LORD, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
The Ark at Kiriath-jearim
19 And he slew some of the men of Bethshemesh, because they looked into the ark of the LORD; he slew seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the LORD had made a great slaughter among the people. 20 Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to you.”
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
What severe consequences for looking into the Ark of the Lord! “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?” (vs.20a) Were they being too familiar or irreverent and careless with holy things? Care for the Ark was the role of the priesthood. Were they being presumptuous and disrespectful? How should we conduct ourselves in our church and in receiving the Eucharist?
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc or online.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
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1 El arca del Señor estuvo en territorio filisteo
durante siete meses, 2 hasta que
los filisteos convocaron a sus sacerdotes y
adivinos para consultarles:
–¿Qué hemos de hacer con el arca
del Señor? Indicadnos cómo podemos
devolverla.
3 Y respondieron:
–Si devolvéis el arca del Dios de Israel,
no la devolváis de vacío. Debéis devolverla
con una ofrenda de reparación;
sólo entonces quedaréis curados y sabréis
por qué la mano del Señor no se
apartaba de vosotros.
4 Entonces preguntaron:
–¿Qué ofrenda de reparación debemos
entregar?
Y respondieron:
–Ofreceréis cinco tumores de oro y
cinco ratas de oro según el número de
los príncipes filisteos, porque ha caído
la misma plaga sobre vosotros y sobre
vuestros príncipes. 5 Construiréis unas
figuras de los tumores y de las ratas que
devoran la tierra, y daréis gloria al Dios
de Israel. Quizás aligere su mano sobre
vosotros, sobre vuestros dioses y sobre
vuestra tierra. 6 ¿Por qué vais a endurecer
vuestro corazón como lo endurecieron
los egipcios y el faraón, que sólo
cuando Dios los maltrató, les dejaron
salir? 7 Ahora, pues, preparad una carreta
nueva y dos vacas que estén criando
sobre las que nunca se haya puesto un
yugo, y uncidlas a la carreta. A sus becerros
llevadlos al establo. 8 Tomad luego
el arca del Señor y ponedla sobre la
carreta. Los objetos de oro que habéis
ofrecido como reparación ponedlos en
un cofre junto al arca, y dejadla marchar.
9 Miradlo bien: si al dirigirse a su
territorio sube a Bet-Semes, es que Dios
nos ha causado este grave daño; si no,
conoceremos que no ha sido su mano
la que nos ha herido, sino que ha sido
algo casual.
10 Así lo hicieron. Tomaron dos vacas
que estaban criando y las uncieron
a una carreta, dejando a los becerros en
el establo. 11 Pusieron sobre la carreta el
arca del Señor y el cofre con las ratas de
oro y las figuras de los tumores. 12 Las
vacas se fueron derechas por el camino
hacia Bet-Semes manteniendo siempre
la misma ruta, e iban mugiendo sin desviarse
ni a derecha ni a izquierda. Los
príncipes de los filisteos las siguieron
hasta el límite de Bet-Semes.
13 Los de Bet-Semes estaban segando
trigo en el valle. Al levantar la vista,
vieron el arca y se alegraron. 14 La
carreta entró hasta el campo de Josué,
el de Bet-Semes, y se detuvo. Había
allí una gran piedra; así que partieron
la carreta para hacer leña y ofrecieron
las vacas en holocausto al Señor. 15 Los
levitas bajaron el arca del Señor y el
cofre que había a su lado con las figurillas
de oro y lo depositaron todo sobre
la gran piedra. Los de Bet-Semes
ofrecieron aquel día holocaustos y sacrificios
de comunión al Señor. 16 Los
cinco príncipes filisteos contemplaron
todo eso y volvieron a Ecrón el
mismo día.
17 Éstos son los tumores de oro que
los filisteos ofrecieron en reparación al
Señor: uno por Asdod, uno por Gaza,
uno por Ascalón, uno por Gat y uno por
Ecrón; 18 y las ratas de oro correspondían
al número de las ciudades filisteas
de los cinco príncipes, tanto las amuralladas
como las desguarnecidas. Testigo
es la piedra grande sobre la que depositaron
el arca del Señor y que hasta el
día de hoy está en el campo de Josué de
Bet-Semes.
19 Sin embargo los hijos de Jeconías,
que habitaban en Bet-Semes, no se alegraron
como los demás al ver el arca del
Señor, por lo que el Señor castigó a setenta
de sus hombres. El pueblo hizo
duelo porque el Señor los había castigado
con dureza; 20 y decían los de Bet-Semes:
–¿Quién podrá resistir ante el Señor,
ante este Dios santo? ¿A quién le corresponderá
tenerla después de nosotros?
21 Mandaron mensajeros a los habitantes
de Quiriat-Yearim diciendo:
–Los filisteos han devuelto el arca
del Señor. Bajad y subidla con vosotros.
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
¡Qué consecuencias tan severas por mirar en el Arca del Señor! "¿Quién es capaz de estar ante el Señor, este Dios santo?" (vs.20a) ¿Estaban siendo demasiado familiares o irreverentes y descuidados con las cosas sagradas? El cuidado del Arca era la función del sacerdocio. ¿Estaban siendo presuntuosos e irrespetuosos? ¿Cómo debemos comportarnos en nuestra iglesia y al recibir la Eucaristía?
La Biblia de Navarra
Permiso para usar esta versión de la primera edición de la Biblia de Navarra
para el Año de la Biblia del Obispo
dado por Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A. (EUNSA).