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 brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. 3Early the next day the people of Ashdod saw that Dagon had fallen forward on the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the next morning they saw that Dagon had ⌞again⌟ fallen forward on the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. Dagon’s head and his two hands were cut off ⌞and were lying⌟ on the temple’s threshold. The rest of Dagon’s body was intact. 5This is why the priests of Dagon and everyone else who comes into Dagon’s temple in Ashdod still don’t step on the temple’s threshold. 6The Lord dealt harshly with the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them by striking the people in the vicinity of Ashdod with tumors.

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 2:18Then idols will disappear completely.
• Isaiah 27:9In this way the wrongdoings of the descendants of Jacob are covered up. This is the way they will turn from their sins— when they turn all the altar stones into powdered chalk and no poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah or incense altars are left standing.
• Jeremiah 10:11Tell them this: These gods will disappear from the earth and from under heaven because they didn’t make heaven and earth.
• Jeremiah 50:2“Announce this among the nations, and spread the news. Raise a flag, and announce it. Don’t hide anything. Say, ‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be put to shame. Marduk will be filled with terror. Babylon’s statues will be put to shame. Its idols will be filled with terror.’
• Ezekiel 6:4Your altars will be destroyed, and your incense burners will be smashed. I will kill people in front of your idols.
• Daniel 11:8He will take the metal statues of their gods and their precious utensils of silver and gold back to Egypt. He will rule for more years than the northern king.
• Micah 1:7All its idols will be smashed to pieces. All its wages for being a prostitute will be burned. All its statues will be turned into a pile of rubble. Samaria collected its wages for being a prostitute. That money will again pay for prostitutes.

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