The Meaning of 1 Samuel 6:1 Explained

1 Samuel 6:1

KJV: And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

YLT: And the ark of Jehovah is in the field of the Philistines seven months,

Darby: And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

ASV: And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the ark  of the LORD  was in the country  of the Philistines  seven  months. 

What does 1 Samuel 6:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The writer added further evidence of the Philistines" reverence for Yahweh and the Israelites" spiritual blindness in this section.

Context Summary

1 Samuel 6:1-12 - Returned With A Trespass-Offering
There is reason to suppose that when the Philistines got possession of the Ark, they destroyed Shiloh. See Psalms 78:60; Psalms 78:64; Jeremiah 26:9. They could not imagine how to rid themselves of the sacred emblem, which brought only destruction in its train, until they had consulted the priests. These priests appear to have been well acquainted with the previous history of the Israelites, though centuries had passed since the passage of the Red Sea. How ignorantly men think of God! He is not their enemy, but the enemy of their sin.
What a striking illustration is afforded by these lowing kine! Their maternal instincts yearned for their young, detained behind; but they were urged forward by a supernatural impulse. So the missionary may leave wife and child, that he may carry the Gospel to the heathen; so the slum-worker may abandon all that others hold dear, in order to change some wretched district into a city of God. Our weak heart clings, but the love of Christ constrains us, and we go forward, urged by a divine and overmastering motive. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 6

1  After seven months the Philistines take counsel how to send back the ark
10  They bring it on a new cart with an offering unto Beth Shemesh
19  The people are smitten for looking into the ark
21  They send to them of Kiriath Jearim to fetch it

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 6:1 mean?

And was the ark of Yahweh in the country of the Philistines seven months
וַיְהִ֧י אֲרוֹן־ יְהוָ֛ה בִּשְׂדֵ֥ה פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים שִׁבְעָ֥ה חֳדָשִֽׁים

וַיְהִ֧י  And  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
אֲרוֹן־  the  ark 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: אֲרֹון  
Sense: chest, ark.
יְהוָ֛ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בִּשְׂדֵ֥ה  in  the  country 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים  of  the  Philistines 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
שִׁבְעָ֥ה  seven 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁבַע  
Sense: seven (cardinal number).
חֳדָשִֽׁים  months 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Samuel 6:1?

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