1 Samuel 6:13

1Sa 6:13 And [they of] Bethshemesh [were] reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see [it].

Ver. 13. And they of Bethshemesh were reaping, &c.] And so it was in April or May that the ark was brought back, after seven months’ abode among the Philistines. So that it was taken in October, or, as some will have it, in September, which was a solemn month amongst the Hebrews, and, for most part, sacred. For then, besides the new moon feast, were kept the feast of trumpets, of tabernacles, of atonement, &c., {Lev 23:24-32} so that all was full of oblations and sacrifices: which because both priests and people polluted and profaned, therefore was the ark taken, and all lost that month.

Lifted up their eyes … and rejoiced to see it.] This was well done, and had they not fallen under that heavy hand of God for their later sin, they would have found in their hearts to show their joy by dedicating unto God, as those Milesians once did to Apollo, χρυσουν θερος, a harvest of gold, as the Philistines had done mice of gold.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_6:13

And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley.

The harvest field

The words of the text give a harvest scene.

I. Signs from God. Every harvest scene is a new Divine revelation. Thousands of years have rolled away since He promised that while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest shall not fail. In the fulfilment of that promise, how much of God is seen!

1. There is His goodness. Provision is made for man and beast.

2. There is His power.

3. There is His faithfulness.

4. There is His eternity.

He who fulfils today in fields of ripened corn a promise made thousands of years ago, must be independent of the revolutions of times and circumstances. It is said that Dr. Johnson took off his hat whenever he passed a steeple. But he must have a dull soul who feels no reverence when walking through ripened cornfields. In the harvest fields we see--

II. Life from death. The grain which the sower dropped into the soil in spring underwent the process of dissolution and death. For weeks it lay buried in the dust. All this exuberance of the harvest field has come out of apparent death.

1. It symbolises spiritual labour. The true Christian teacher, philanthropist, reformer, minister, like the husbandman, has his seed buried for a time. However, though he dies, the seed lives, and will rise, grow, and ripen to perfection.

2. This exuberance in the harvest field illustrates human life on earth. The harvest field reminds us of the true education of man. Like the seed sown, it is the bringing out of what is in the soul--the moral ego. Some teachers speak of the mind as a vessel, some as a stone. And the idea is to fill up the vessel, to polish the stone. But it is neither stone nor vessel; it is a seed. You cannot fill it, you cannot polish it. You must bring it out. Man at birth is sown into the earth, like seed, in two respects. The seed existed before it was sown. Man existed before he was born into this world. The seed required sowing in order for its development. Man required birth into this world in order for the development of his powers. As a seed, man differs from other germinant existences in two respects:--

(1) He has a self-formative power.

(2) He has boundless possibilities. In the harvest field we see--

III. Like from like. Each seed has come forth in its own kind. Man reaps like what he sows.

1. It is thus in spiritual things.

2. It is thus in bodily development. In the harvest field we see--

IV. Much from little. Each seed is multiplied, some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred fold. So wondrously prolific is the seed that one single grain in the course of time will cover continents. One thought has formed a character and one character has changed the destiny of a nation. Much from little characterises all Gods operations. In the harvest field we see--

V. Blessings from labour. The crops would never have appeared had man not cultivated the soil and sowed the precious grain. Every harvest field is a testimony to the importance of human agency. In the harvest field we see--

VI. Maturity from progress. From the commencement of germination, the seed went on until it appeared in the multiplied grains of harvest. All things tend to ripeness:--

1. All things in nature.

2. All things in society.

3. All classes of character. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:13 Harvesting wheat was usually done in May or June.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(13) And they of Beth-shemesh.—Beth-shemesh, or “House of the Sun,” nearly equivalent to Heliopolis, “City of the Sun,” was a priestly city. It would thus have seemed that this was a fitting home for the Ark of the Covenant to rest in for a time. Shiloh, the old sanctuary, was, we know, now desolate and ruined; but the priests and Levites, from what follows, evidently had forfeited their old position as guides and teachers of the people. Beth-shemesh was no fit permanent dwelling for the Ark of God. The story of the priestly life in the once famous Shiloh during the latter years of Eli indicated how utterly incapable the Levitical families were to influence and guide the people. The subsequent conduct of priestly Beth-shemesh on this memorable occasion, therefore, is not to be wondered at; at first they seem to have rejoiced at the sight of their lost sacred treasure, but an act of careless irreverence called down a swift and unexpected punishment.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest] A description of harvest in Philistia by a modem traveller helps us to realise the scene in the valley of Beth-shemesh, which was suddenly suspended by the appearance of the Ark. “When the fog dispersed the whole plain appeared to be dotted over with harvesting parties, men reaping, women and children gleaning and gathering the grain into bundles, or taking care of the flocks which followed closely upon the footsteps of the gleaners. All seemed to be in good humour, enjoying the cool air of the morning. There was singing alone and in chorus, incessant talking, home-made jokes, and laughter long and loud.” Thomson’s The Land and the Book, p. 543.

This notice fixes the time of year as the end of May or beginning of June. Robinson saw wheat harvest in progress at Gaza on the 19th of May, and just commencing at Hebron on the 4th of June. Bibl. Res. I. 431.

in the valley] Heb. “êmek,” denoting “the long broad sweeps sometimes found between parallel ranges of hills.” Sin. and Pal. p. 481.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley,.... Which began at Pentecost, in the month Sivan, about our May; so that there were many people in the fields, who were eyewitnesses of this wonderful event:

and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it; for though the ark while in the tabernacle was only seen by the high priest, when he went into the holy of holies; yet this having been brought out from thence, and exposed in the camp of Israel, some of this place very probably were there at that time, and had seen it, and knew it again by its form and splendour; and which gave them great pleasure to behold, which had been taken, and had been so long in the hand of the enemy, and the people of Israel deprived of it; which was the symbol of the divine Presence among them, and now restored to them again; and in this wonderful way, without seeking for it, without going to war on account of it, without paying a ransom for it; and was brought to them in a cart drawn by cattle without a driver, the lords of the Philistines with a large retinue following it. This is to be understood not of their looking "into" it, as they afterwards did, and were punished, as Kimchi; but of their looking "on" it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The whole population was in the field. The harvest work was suspended in an instant, and all the workmen ran to where the ark was.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Wheat, about Pentecost, in May; so that the ark must have been taken in November. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

THE ARK AT BETH-SHEMESH (vers. 13-20).

And they of Beth-shemesh. More exactly, "And Beth-shemesh was reaping its wheat harvest," the whole population being in the fields. Though a priestly city, we find in ver. 15 the Levites distinguished from the ordinary inhabitants, as though they and the priests formed only the ruling class. In the valley. Now called the Wady Surar, branching off into another valley on the south. Robinson ("Later Bibl. Res.," 153) speaks of the site of Beth-shemesh as a very noble one, being "a low plateau at the junction of two fine plains." The wheat harvest takes place in Palestine in May, and consequently the disastrous battle of Eben-ezer must have been fought in the previous October.

Ver. 13. (BETH-SHEMESH.)

The ark in harvest.

It was in the time of harvest that the ark was restored to Israel. Whilst the cornfields of the Philistines were wasted by an extraordinary plague, the valley of Beth-shemesh was covered with golden grain, and the men of that city were busily occupied in gathering it in. (Rth_1:6) But at the sight of the sacred symbol they left their secular occupation, gathered around it with great joy, and spent the day in "offering burnt offerings and sacrificing sacrifices to the Lord" (ver. 15). We may regard the harvest as representing material blessings, which are more richly bestowed at this season of the year than any other; the ark as representing spiritual blessings: "the law which came by Moses," and "the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ;" the throne of grace, and the mercy and grace which are there obtained. And the fact just mentioned suggests a comparison between the former and the latter. Both come from the.same hand; but spiritual are superior to material blessings, inasmuch as they

I REVEAL MORE OF THE DIVINE GOODNESS. Consider them

1. In the principle from which they proceed. The one class of benefits from benevolence in general; the other from benevolence in the form of mercy. "According to his mercy he saved us". (Tit_3:5)

2. In the mode by which they are communicated. The operation of the laws of nature (Gen_8:22; Jer_5:21) the gift and sacrifice of his only begotten Son. "Through Jesus Christ.

3. In the nearness with which the great Benefactor comes to us. "Thou visitest the earth"; (Psa_65:9) but "blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee", (Psa_65:4) in that closer fellowship which those who are reconciled in Christ enjoy, and whose hearts are the temple of thine abode, the habitation of thy Spirit. "Revelation is the voluntary approximation of the infinite Being to the ways and thoughts of finite humanity; and until this step has been taken by Almighty grace, how should man have a warrant for loving him with all his mind, and heart, and strength?" (A.H. Hallam).

II INVOLVE MORE VALUABLE GOOD.

1. The one pertains to the body, the other to the soul.

2. The one to man considered simply as a creature, needing support; the other as a sinner, needing forgiveness, renewal, salvation.

3. The one pertains to time, the other to eternity; "bread that perisheth," "bread that endureth to everlasting life"; (Joh_6:27, Joh_6:51) "that good part which cannot be taken away". (Luk_10:42)

III PRODUCE MORE EXALTED JOY. "Rejoiced." "The joy in harvest". (Isa_9:3)

1. In its relation to God. The one is felt less and the other more directly in him. The difference is very much the same as that which exists between the joy felt at receiving a present from a friend at a distance, and that of seeing his face and holding personal intercourse with him. And what are all the harvests which the earth ever produced compared with one smile of the Father"s countenance, one whisper of Divine love?. (Psa_4:6, Psa_4:7)

2. In its influence on the heart; elevating, purifying, enlarging, strengthening, satisfying it.

3. In its power over circumstances. The joy of our harvest may be speedily turned into sorrow by bereavement (ver. 19) and other afflictions; but the joy which is felt in God is independent of outward circumstances, lifts the soul above them, (Hab_3:17, Hab_3:18) lives in death, and is perfected in heavenly bliss.

IV INCITE TO MORE COMPLETE CONSECRATION.

1. With respect to the Giver. His bestowment of "fruitful seasons, filling our heart with food and gladness," incites to some return to him; (Exo_23:14-17) but his bestowment of mercy and grace, to the "whole burnt offering" of the man himself. (Rom_12:1)

1. With respect to our fellow men. The one incites to the giving of "those things which are necessary for the body"; (Exo_23:11) the other incites (and effectually constrains) to the giving of what is good for the whole man, body and soul; to self-sacrifice, and the "peace offerings" of brotherly kindness, and of charity toward all men.

2. The whole course of life; not in one or two acts merely, but in a continued service of love to be completed in eternity.

Conclusion.

1. If God has bestowed upon you temporal good, rejoice not in it so much as in spiritual.

2. If he has withheld it, rejoice in the higher good which is yours.

3. "Seek first the kingdom of God," etc.. D. (Mat_6:33)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The inhabitants of Bethshemesh were busy with the wheat-harvest in the valley (in front of the town), when they unexpectedly saw the ark of the covenant coming, and rejoiced to see it. The cart had arrived at the field of Joshua, a Bethshemeshite, and there it stood still before a large stone. And they (the inhabitants of Bethshemesh) chopped up the wood of the cart, and offered the cows to the Lord as a burnt-offering. In the meantime the Levites had taken off the ark, with the chest of golden presents, and placed it upon the large stone; and the people of Bethshemesh offered burnt-offerings and slain-offerings that day to the Lord. The princes of the Philistines stood looking at this, and then returned the same day to Ekron. That the Bethshemeshites, and not the Philistines, are the subject to ויבקּעוּ, is evident from the correct interpretation of the clauses; viz., from the fact that in Sa1 6:14 the words from והעגלה to גּדולה אבן are circumstantial clauses introduced into the main clause, and that ויבקּעוּ is attached to לראות ויּשׂמחוּ, and carries on the principal clause.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The Ark Accepted, but the People Slain

v. 13. And they of Beth-shemesh, which was a city set aside for priests on the boundary between Judah and Dan, Jos 15:10; Jos 21:16, were reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley, about the beginning of June; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it, very much pleased to know that it had been returned to Israel.

v. 14. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone, the cows came to a halt there of their own free will; and they, the inhabitants of the city, clave the wood of the cart and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord.

v. 15. And the Levites, who also were living in the city, took down the ark of the Lord, had taken it down as soon as they received news of the joyful happening, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh, in a second sacrificial act, offered burnt offerings, thus consecrating themselves anew to the service of the Lord, and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord, the sacrificial meals being intended to renew their fellowship with Jehovah, who had proved Himself such a mighty God, the only true Lord.

v. 16. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, being witnesses of this Revelation of the God of Israel, they returned to Ekron the same day, having followed the instructions of their priests.

v. 17. And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering unto the Lord, as expiatory gifts: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one, these being the five city-states of the Philistines;

v. 18. and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities and of country villages, every city and town in the five states thus being represented by a figure, evidently because the plague of the mice had extended over the entire country, even unto the great stone of Abel, that mighty attar like ledge in the field of Joshua, whereon they set the ark of the Lord; which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite, a mute witness and monument of the event as here recorded.

v. 19. And he, God, smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they, overcome by a blasphemous curiosity, had looked into the ark of the Lord, in a manner which did not agree with the holiness of Jehovah, to whom the ark was dedicated, even He smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men. And the people lamented because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter Apparently the presence of the ark attracted a great many sightseers from the entire surrounding country, who came with anything but a reverent mind and were therefore punished by Jehovah.

v. 20. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall He go up from us? They were afraid to keep the ark in their own midst after the great tragedy had occurred.

v. 21. And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, a city of Judah somewhat farther to the east, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye down and fetch it up to you. The Beth-shemites felt that they were no better than the men who had been killed, and they dreaded a recurrence of the tragedy. All those who dare to draw near to the means of grace, the Word and the Sacrament, with fleshly minds, with sacrilegious hearts, will receive no blessing, but only God’s judgment and condemnation.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now

The writer is introducing a new part of the story. If your language has a way of marking the beginning of a new part of the story, you could use it here.

people of Beth Shemesh

These were Israelites.

lifted up their eyes

This is an idiom. AT: "looked up" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

harvest

wheat

joy

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And they rejoiced to see. They were going to see how it came alone, and out of their joy, they behaved with levity, for they did not gaze at it with awe and respect.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.