Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 5:4
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.
4. cut off upon the threshold ] i.e. cut off and lying upon the doorsill, probably not of the main entrance to the temple, but of the chapel or recess in which the statue stood. In this position they would be liable to the indignity of being trampled upon by the priests and worshippers who entered the shrine.
only the stump of Dagon was left to him ] Lit., only Dagon was left upon him. Either some word for ‘trunk’ or ‘body’ has been lost in the original, or ‘Dagon’ is used to denote the fish-shaped body of the idol, from which the god derived his name.
“Next came one
Who mourned in earnest, when the captive ark
Maimed his brute image, head and hands lopped off
In his own temple, on the grunsel edge,
Where he fell flat, and shamed his worshippers.”
Paradise Lost, I. 457.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 4. Only the stump of Dagon was left] Literally, Only 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 off from what resembled a fish. Here was a proof that the affair was not accidental; and these proofs of God’s power and authority prepared the way for his judgments.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The
head is the seat of wisdom; the hands, the instruments of action: both are cut off, to show that he had neither wisdom nor strength to defend himself nor his worshippers. This the priests, by concealing Dagons shame before, make it more evident and infamous.
Only the stump of Dagon, Heb. only Dagon, i.e. that part of it from which it was called Dagon, to wit, the fishy part, for dag in Hebrew signifies a fish. And hence their opinion seems most probable, that this idol of Dagon had in its upper parts a human shape, and in its lower parts the form of a fish; for such was the form of divers of the heathen gods, and particularly of a god of the Phoenicians, (under which name the Philistines are comprehended,) as Diodorus Siculus and Lucian both witness, though they call it by another name.
Was left to him, or, upon it, i.e. upon the threshold; there the trunk abode in the place where it fell, but the head and hands being violently cut off, were flung to distant and several places.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And when they arose early on the morrow morning,…. For the same purpose as before; unless they had any curiosity to indulge, to see whether the ark and Dagon agreed better together, if they had any suspicion that the former mischance was to be attributed to some variance and disagreement between them:
behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord: again, and in a worse condition than before:
and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold; of the temple, upon which he fell with such force, that the threshold cut off his head, and both his hands; which signified he had neither wisdom to contrive for his own safety, nor strength and power to defend himself; and therefore of what advantage could he be to his votaries? This may be an emblem of the fall of idolatry in the Gentile world, before the preaching of Christ and his Gospel in it; or of the idol of man’s righteousness, which is set up, though it cannot stand, against the righteousness of Christ, and of man’s renouncing that, when convinced of the weakness and insufficiency of it, and submitting to the righteousness of Christ:
only the stump of Dagon was left to him: his body, as the Targum, his head and hands being cut off; or, as it is in the Hebrew text, only Dagon was left; that is, the fishy part of this idol; for “Dag” signifies a fish; and, as Kimchi relates, this idol, from the navel upwards, had the form of a man, and from thence downwards the form of a fish; and it was the lower part that was left; [See comments on Jud 16:23].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But they were obliged to give up this notion when they found the god lying on his face upon the ground again the next morning in front of the ark of Jehovah, and in fact broken to pieces, so that Dagon’s head and the two hollow hands of his arms lay severed upon the threshold, and nothing was left but the trunk of the fish ( ). The word Dagon, in this last clause, is used in an appellative sense, viz., the fishy part, or fish’s shape, from , a fish. is no doubt the threshold of the door of the recess in which the image was set up. We cannot infer from this, however, as Thenius has done, that with the small dimensions of the recesses in the ancient temples, if the image fell forward, the pieces named might easily fall upon the threshold. This naturalistic interpretation of the miracle is not only proved to be untenable by the word , since means cut off, and not broken off, but is also precluded by the improbability, not to say impossibility, of the thing itself. For if the image of Dagon, which was standing by the side of the ark, was thrown down towards the ark, so as to lie upon its face in front of it, the pieces that were broken off, viz., the head and hands, could not have fallen sideways, so as to lie upon the threshold. Even the first fall of the image of Dagon was a miracle. From the fact that their god Dagon lay upon its face before the ark of Jehovah, i.e., lay prostrate upon the earth, as though worshipping before the God of Israel, the Philistines were to learn, that even their supreme deity had been obliged to fall down before the majesty of Jehovah, the God of the Israelites. But as they did not discern the meaning of this miraculous sign, the second miracle was to show them the annihilation of their idol through the God of Israel, in such a way as to preclude every thought of accident. The disgrace attending the annihilation of their idol was probably to be heightened by the fact, that the pieces of Dagon that were smitten off were lying upon the threshold, inasmuch as what lay upon the threshold was easily trodden upon by any one who entered the house. This is intimated in the custom referred to in 1Sa 5:5, that in consequence of this occurrence, the priests of Dagon, and all who entered the temple of Dagon at Ashdod, down to the time of the historian himself, would not step upon the threshold of Dagon, i.e., the threshold where Dagon’s head and hands had lain, but stepped over the threshold (not “leaped over,” as many commentators assume on the ground of Zep 1:5, which has nothing to do with the matter), that they might not touch with their feet, and so defile, the place where the pieces of their god had lain.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(4) When they arose early on the morrow.Strange to say, on the next day a new and startling circumstance aroused and disturbed the exultant Philistines. The idol was again fallen, but this time broken. No mere accident could account for what had happened. The head and hands were severed from the image, and thrown contemptuously on the threshold of the temple, upon which the foot of every priest or worshipper as he passed into the sacred house must tread.
Only the stump of Dagon.The Hebrew, rendered literally, would run, only Dagon was left to him: that is to say, only the fish, the least noble part of the idol image, was left standing; the human head and hands were tossed down for men as they passed in to trample on; only the form of a fish was left in him.R. D. Kimchi.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him , only Dagon was left upon him; Septuagint, only the spine ( ) of Dagon was left; marginal reading, only the fishy part was left. Those parts of the idol which resembled man, namely, the head and hands, were smitten off by Jehovah’s power, and thrown upon the sill of the door which led into the apartment of the temple where the idol stood; so there was left upon the pedestal only that part of the image which resembled a fish, and from which the idol received its characteristic name, Dagon.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 5:4. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him In the Hebrew it is, only Dagon remained to him; where Dagon, says Houbigant, is taken for the principal part of his statue, or the trunk of his body. Kimchi says, nothing but the form of a fish remained to him. Thus the Lord shewed that there was no God besides him. His ark, though taken captive and carried into a strange land, threw down their idol twice; thereby demonstrating that the Israelites were not overthrown for want of any power in their God to defend them, but for the iniquity of those who worshipped him. See Bishop Patrick, and St. Chrysostom’s Orat. 5: adversus Jud.
REFLECTIONS.Though Israel seem utterly to have neglected the ark of God, and neither by force nor treaty seek to recover it, yet God will not suffer the ungodly to triumph for ever. We have here,
1. The Philistines triumphing over their prisoner. With solemnity they carry it down to their principal city Ashdod, and place it in the temple of their great idol Dagon, as a trophy of the glorious victory obtained under his auspices. Note; (1.) The cause of God is often sunk so low, that it seems past recovery, and given up into the enemy’s hand. (2.) God does then more gloriously display his power, and make it appear how vain a thing they imagine, who shout, Down with it, down with it, even to the ground.
2. Little honour does Dagon get from the vicinity of his captive. When his devotees arose to worship him, or his priests to rehearse the praises of his victory, behold the miserable idol on his face in the dust, prostrate before the ark, as if confessing his own vanity, and directing them to that God who is the only true object of worship. Thus shall all the powers of darkness, error, and corruption, fall before the bright beams of truth, and the mighty work of God’s spirit on the hearts of men. Let the oppressed church be comforted, and the soul that is fainting under the power of corruption hang still upon God: their distress shall but magnify his glory and grace in their deliverance.
3. In vain his worshippers seek to repair his disgrace, by fastening him again in his place: the next morning presents him still more despicable; his stump, the fishy tail, joined to the human body, only remained; his head and hands cut off lay on the threshold, presenting him a headless monster, emblem of their folly who worshipped him; and handless, to intimate the impotence of his arm to save himself or them. Note; (1.) The papist who worships the images of saints that never lived, is more culpable and abominable, in the eyes of God, than the Philistines who worshipped monsters that never existed. (2.) All the devices of wicked men and devils against the church of God shall, in the issue, prove as impotent as this attempt to fasten Dagon in his place again.
4. The folly of worshipping such a wretched god, who could not help himself, one should think, must now have appeared: yet, strange to tell! they reverence the very place of his disgrace, and honour that threshold where his mutilated limbs were laid. Note; Where superstition reigns, nothing is so absurd or impious but it may be consecrated into an act of religion, as we see in the church of Rome, even to the paying of respect unto dead men’s bones, and the very broken pieces of their wretched images.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(4) 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. (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.
The repetition of this judgment, and with yet more decided marks of a supernatural power, ought to have arrested their minds. Alas! we see so far from this, that they now proceeded to the consecration of the very floor, because that Dagon had fallen upon it. Reader! we sadly overlook the gracious design of the Holy Ghost, in causing these records to have been made and transmitted to us, if it doth not lead both you and me to the conviction of the universal condition of all men by the fall, in gross blindness and ignorance; and that it is the grace of God which makes all the difference between them and us. 1Co 4:7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 5:4 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.
Ver. 4. Behold, Dagon was fallen, &c. ] This second fall convinced them that it was no chance, but the very finger of God. 1Sa 5:7 Woe, woe to our stupidity. Vae, vae stupori nostro.
And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands.
Upon the threshold.
Only the stump of Dagon was left to him,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
only . . . Dagon. The hands and feet being gone, only Dagon (the fish part) remained.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the head: Isa 2:18, Isa 2:19, Isa 27:9, Jer 10:11, Jer 50:2, Eze 6:4-6, Dan 11:8, Mic 1:7
of Dagon: The name of this idol, Dagon, signifies a fish, and it is supposed to be the Atergatis of the Syrians, corruptly called Derceto by the Greeks, which had the upper part like a woman, and the lower part like a fish; as Lucian informs us:
, , . “In Phoenicia I saw the image of Derceto; a strange sight truly! For she had the half of a woman, but from the thighs downward a fish’s tail.”
Diodorus (1. ii.) describing the same idol, as represented at Askelon, says, , . “It had the head of a woman, but all the rest of the body a fish’s.”
Probably Horace alludes to this idol, in De Art. Poet. 4; Desinat in piscem, mulier formosa superne.” “The upper part a handsome woman, and the lower part a fish.” If such was the form of this idol, then everything that was human was broken off from what resembled a fish.
the stump: or, the fishy part
Reciprocal: Exo 20:23 – General 1Sa 5:7 – upon Dagon our god 1Sa 6:5 – off your Isa 40:20 – shall not Hos 10:2 – break down
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 5:4-5. Behold Dagon was fallen &c. Which showed that his former fall was not by chance, but by the power of God, before whom he could not stand. The head of Dagon, and both his hands, were cut off The head is the seat of wisdom; the hands the instruments of action; both are cut off, to show that he had neither wisdom nor strength to defend himself or his worshippers. Thus the priests, by concealing Dagons shame before, make it more evident and infamous. The stump Hebrew, only Dagon; that is, saith Rabbi Kimchi, that part of it from which it was called Dagon, namely, the fishy part; for dag, in Hebrew, signifies a fish. Upon it Upon the threshold; there the trunk abode in the place where it fell, but the head and hands were flung to distant places. Neither the priests tread on the threshold of Dagon Out of reverence to it, looking upon it as a holy thing, by the touch of Dagons head and hands. So foolishly did they pervert the meaning of God, that instead of being convinced that Dagon was no god, they even honoured the threshold which his broken limbs had fallen upon! Unto this day When this history was written, which, if written by Samuel toward the end of his life, was a sufficient ground for this expression.