Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 6:14
And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where [there was] a great stone: and they cleaved the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
14. Joshua a Beth-shemite ] Joshua the Beth-shemeshite. Our translators have copied the Vulgate in abbreviating the form, as in the case of ‘Benjamite’ for ‘Benjaminite.’
they clave the wood of the cart, &c.] For a similarly extemporised sacrifice see 2Sa 24:22. Cp. also 1Ki 19:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A great stone – (Compare Gen 28:18; Jdg 13:19). This great stone was probably used as an altar on this occasion, and the kine stopping at it of their own accord was understood by the Bethshemites as an intimation that they were to offer sacrifices on it to the Lord God of Israel, who had so wonderfully brought back the ark from its captivity.
And they clave the wood of the cart … – A similar expedient was resorted to by Araunah 2Sa 24:22, and by Elisha 1Ki 19:21.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. They clave the wood of the cart] Both the cart and the cattle having been thus employed, could no longer be devoted to any secular services; therefore the cattle were sacrificed, and the cart was broken up for fuel to consume the sacrifice.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They clave; not the lords of the Philistines, but the Beth-shemites, to wit, the priests that dwelt there.
A burnt-offering to the Lord: there may seem to be a double error in this act. First, That they offered females for a burnt-offering, contrary to Lev 1:3 22:19. Secondly, That they did it in a forbidden place, Deu 12:5,6, into which they might easily be led by excess of joy, and eager desire of returning to their long-interrupted course of offering sacrifices. And some think these irregularities were partial causes of the following punishment. But this case being very extraordinary, may in some sort excuse it, if they did not proceed by ordinary rules. As for the first, though they might not choose females for that use, yet when God himself had chosen, and in a manner consecrated them to his service, and employed them in so sacred and glorious a work, it may seem tolerable to offer them to the Lord, as being his peculiar, and improper for any other use. And for the latter, we have many instances of sacrifices offered to God by prophets and holy men in other places besides the tabernacle, upon extraordinary occasions, such as this certainly was; it being fit that the ark should at its first return be received with thanksgivings and sacrifice; and this place being sanctified by the presence of the ark, which was the very soul of the tabernacle, and that by which the tabernacle itself was sanctified, and for whose sake the sacrifices were offered at the door of the tabernacle.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. and they clavethat is,the Beth-shemites, in an irrepressible outburst of joy.
offered the kineThoughcontrary to the requirements of the law (Lev 1:3;Lev 22:19), these animals mightproperly be offered, as consecrated by God Himself; and though notbeside the tabernacle, there were many instances of sacrificesoffered by prophets and holy men on extraordinary occasions in otherplaces.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite,…. In that part of the valley where they were reaping wheat which belonged to him, whom we nowhere else read; whether a priest or Levite, which is not improbable, since this was a city of the Levites, or a common Israelite, is not certain:
and stood there where there was a great stone; afterwards called the great stone of Abel, 1Sa 6:18. By the providence of God it was so ordered, that the kine made a stop just at this place; and proceeded no further, as if sensible they were come to their journey’s end, and had brought the ark into the hands of its friends, and to a proper place for them to express their thankfulness for it; for this stone seemed designed to be, as it was, the altar on which the burnt offering, by way of thanksgiving for the return of the ark, was to be offered; the Jews say w this stone was the altar built by Abraham:
and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord; the cart they cut in pieces, and laid the wood of it in order upon the stone, and slew the two cows, and laid their pieces on the wood, and set fire to it, and burnt them with it, as expressive of joy and thankfulness that the ark was returned. This was done, not by the lords of the Philistines, as some of the ancient Jews thought, as Kimchi relates, in which they are followed by some Christian interpreters; but by the men of Bethshemesh, as Kimchi, by the priests there; for though this was not the proper and usual place for sacrifice, nor were cows offered in sacrifice; yet this being an extraordinary case, and thank offerings were necessary as soon as the ark was returned, these things were dispensed with; and the rather, since Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, was destroyed; and besides, the ark of the Lord was here present, which sanctified the place, as it did the tabernacle, and made it fit for such service; and as for these cows, they had been employed in sacred service, and the Lord had a right unto them, and claim upon them; and it seemed not fitting that they should be after employed to any other use and service than his own; nor were the men of Bethshemesh blamed or punished for this, though they afterwards were for looking into the ark.
w Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. D.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) The field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite.The great stonemost likely a mass of natural rock rising from the soilwas the occasion of the cart being stopped there, Beth-shemesh and its suburbs being a city of the priests (Jos. 21:16). The presence of Levites, among whom were doubtless priests, is natural. These were, of course, the principal men of the city and its suburbs, and they were familiar with all sacrificial rites prescribed by the Law. The offering of these sacrifices at Beth-shemesh, although the Tabernacle never had been stationed there, was no transgression against the law, for now the Ark of the Covenant was present, the occasional throne of the glory-presence of the Eternal, before which the sacrifices were really offered.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. And they Namely, the Levites mentioned in the next verse, for probably a large proportion of the Beth-shemites were Levites.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(14) And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
Whether the overruling providence of God directed the ark to this spot out of respect to Joshua, whose name corresponds to Jesus, or whether it was because of this great stone typical also of Jesus, I do not presume to say; but from the promptness of the sacrifice instantly offered by the Bethshemites, and the joy beyond the joy of harvest, in leaving their reaping to engage in this holy service, it may serve to teach us how much pious men of Israel longed for the return of the ark. Oh! Reader! if you have ever known the preciousness of our Jesus; and if you have ever known the absence of your beloved; you will better conceive, than I can possibly express, what kind of joy of the soul that is, when after a long night of Jesus’s absence, you have heard his voice, and beheld him again leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills; Son 2:8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 6:14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where [there was] a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
Ver. 14. Where there was a great stone. ] This stone, saith Comestor, is thought by some to have been an altar, which Abraham had set up unto the Lord.
And they clave the wood of the cart.
And offered the kine.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
offered offered up. App-43.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
offered: 1Sa 7:9-17, 1Sa 11:5, 1Sa 20:29, Exo 20:24, Jdg 6:26, Jdg 21:4, 2Sa 24:18, 2Sa 24:22, 2Sa 24:25, 1Ki 18:30-38
Reciprocal: 1Ch 21:23 – the oxen
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 6:14. The cart came into the field of Joshua, and stood there This was another marvellous thing, that the kine went no further, but stood, as soon as they were come into the territory of a city belonging to the priests, (for such Beth-shemesh was,) whose office it was to take care of the ark. Where there was a great stone Which seems to have been the boundary of the two countries. They offered the kine That is, the Beth-shemites, the priests, did this, and not the lords of the Philistines. The great stone probably served for an altar, and on it they offered a whole burnt-offering, in praise to God for his goodness. But was there not a double error in this ?Acts 1 st, In that they offered females for a burnt-offering, contrary to Lev 1:3. 2d, In that they did it in a forbidden place? See Deu 12:5-6. To this it must be answered, that a case so singular is not to be brought to the test of the general rules. These regulations respected only ordinary offerings, and not such as an extraordinary occasion, like this, might require. Besides, the ark being here, and God having not yet appointed any place for its future residence, now Shiloh was destroyed, they thought in reason their sacrifice might be here acceptable to him. And they the rather chose to offer these cows to God, because they considered them as belonging to him, as having drawn his ark, and been particularly directed by him, and therefore to be his sacrifices.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6:14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where [there was] a great stone: and {h} they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
(h) That is, the men of Bethshemesh, who were Israelites.