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 carried it into the temple of Dagon, their god. They put the box next to the idol of Dagon. 3The next morning, the people in Ashdod got up early. They saw that Dagon had fallen down in front of the Lord's Covenant Box. The idol's face was touching the ground. So they took Dagon and they put him back in his place. The next morning, they got up early again. They saw that Dagon had fallen down in front of the Lord's Covenant Box again! His head and both his hands had broken off. They were lying on the step of the temple's door. Only his body remained together. 5Because of that, even today Dagon's priests and other people never walk on the step of Dagon's temple in Ashdod. 6The Lord punished the people who lived in Ashdod. He caused them to have a lot of pain, as well as the people in the places near Ashdod. He caused tumours to grow on their bodies.

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 2:18All the useless idols will be there no more.
• Isaiah 27:9In that way the Lord punished Jacob's descendants for their sins. They are no longer guilty. This will be the result when God has taken away Jacob's sin completely: All the stones in their altars will become small pieces of chalk. There will be no Asherah pole or altars for incense that continue to stand.
• Jeremiah 10:11Tell the nations this: ‘Your gods did not make the earth or the sky. They will disappear completely from everywhere on earth and everywhere in the sky.’
• Jeremiah 50:2‘Tell this news to the nations! Wave a flag to make sure that people listen! Do not try to hide anything. Say this: “Enemies will take Babylon. Bel will become ashamed. Yes, Marduk will be afraid. All Babylon's disgusting idols will be ashamed.”
• Ezekiel 6:4I will destroy your altars for sacrifices and your altars for incense. I will kill the people who worship there and put them in front of their idols.
• Daniel 11:8He will take the images of their gods back to Egypt with him. He will also take away valuable things that they had made from gold and silver. Then for several years, he will not attack the king of the north again.
• Micah 1:7I will break all the false gods into pieces and I will destroy them. I will burn all the gifts that the people brought for those false gods. The people have paid so that they could have sex with bad women in those places. Your enemies will come and they will take away this money. They will give it to their gods in the same way.’

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