1 Samuel 5:4

1 Samuel 5:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when they arose early on the morrow morning, 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 stump of Dagon was left to him.
• New International Version (NIV)But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it.

Context of 1 Samuel 5:4

2They took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it beside [the image of] Dagon [their chief idol]. 3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had [again] fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and his head and both palms of his hands were [lying] cut off on the threshold; only the trunk [portion] of [the idol of] Dagon was left on him. 5This is the reason neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6Then the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He caused them to be dumbfounded and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.

1 Samuel 5:4 word by word

וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣מוּ בַבֹּקֶר֮ מִֽמָּחֳרָת֒ וְהִנֵּ֣ה דָג֗וֹן נֹפֵ֤ל לְפָנָיו֙ אַ֔רְצָה לִפְנֵ֖י אֲר֣וֹן יְהוָ֑ה וְרֹ֨אשׁ דָּג֜וֹן וּשְׁתֵּ֣י׀ כַּפּ֣וֹת יָדָ֗יו כְּרֻתוֹת֙ אֶל־הַמִּפְתָּ֔ן רַ֥ק דָּג֖וֹן נִשְׁאַ֥ר עָלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when they arose earlyשָׁכַםshâkam · to riseH7925
• on the morrowמׇחֳרָתmochŏrâth mochŏrâthâm · morrowH4283
• morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
• behold, Dagonדָּגוֹןdâgôn · DagonH1712
• fallenנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• upon his faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• to the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• and bothשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• the palmsכַּףkaph · palmH3709
• of his handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
• upon the thresholdמִפְתָּןmiphtân · thresholdH4670
• was leftשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 5:4

• Isaiah 2:18And the idols will completely vanish (be abolished).
• Isaiah 27:9Therefore through this the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of Jacob (Israel) will be atoned for and forgiven; And this will be the full price [that God requires] for taking away his sin: When Israel makes all the stones of the [pagan] altars like crushed chalk stones; When the Asherim and the incense altars will not stand.
• Jeremiah 10:11In this manner you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
• Jeremiah 50:2“Declare among the nations. Lift up a signal [to spread the news]—publish and proclaim it, Do not conceal it; say, ‘Babylon has been taken, Bel [the patron god] has been shamed, Marduk (Bel) has been shattered. Babylon’s images have been shamed, her [worthless] idols have been thrown down.’
• Ezekiel 6:4and your altars will become deserted and your pillars for sun-worship will be smashed in pieces; and I will throw down your slain in front of your idols [that cannot bring them back to life].
• Daniel 11:8Also he will carry off to Egypt their [Syrian] gods with their cast images and their precious and costly treasure of silver and of gold, and he will refrain from waging war against the king of the North for some years.
• Micah 1:7All her idols shall be broken in pieces, All her earnings [from her idolatry] shall be burned with fire, And all her images I shall make desolate; For from the earnings of a prostitute she collected them, And to the earnings of a prostitute they shall return.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 5:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Only the stump of Dagon was left - Literally, Only דגן dagon (i.e., the little fish) was left. It has already been remarked that Dagon had the head, arms and hands of a man or woman, and that the rest of the idol was in the form of a fish, to which Horace is supposed to make allusion in the following words: - Desinat in piscem mulisr formosa superne "The upper part resembling a beautiful woman; the lower, a fish." All that was human in his form was broken…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4his head and his hands broken off: This was a symbol of God's power over the idol (1 Samuel 5:7; see also 17:51).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. they of Ashdod arose early--They were filled with consternation when they found the object of their stupid veneration prostrate before the symbol of the divine presence. Though set up, it fell again, and lay in a state of complete mutilation; its head and arms, severed from the trunk, were lying in distant and separate places, as if violently cast off, and only the fishy part remained. The degradation of their idol, though concealed by the priests on…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 5:4

• Idolatry
• Miracles

In the dictionaries

• Dagon
• Destruction
• Ground
• Samuel, Books of
• Threshold
• Ark of the Covenant
• Elijah
• God
• House
• Judges, Period of

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings