{"id":57099,"date":"2019-06-09T21:58:39","date_gmt":"2019-06-09T18:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57099"},"modified":"2023-01-01T15:35:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T13:35:22","slug":"the-ark-as-booty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-ark-as-booty\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ark As Booty"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[670,864,434],"acf":{"old_id":"57099","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":56490,"related_cahpter":"237","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Philistines v. Israelites: 1:0; Yahweh v. Dagon: Knockout","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the previous chapter, 1 Samuel, ch. 4, the Philistines defeated the Israelites in battle and captured the Ark of the Covenant. \u00a0In this chapter, 1 Samuel, ch. 5, the Philistines bring the Ark from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod and position it before the statue of Dagon in the temple to Dagon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This action is consistent with ancient Near Eastern practice, for the sources reveal that booty and trophies captured during warfare were placed within the temples of the victorious nation. \u00a0For a famous example, note Hammurabi\u2019s Code (now in the Louvre), not an idol or a statue <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">per <\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">se<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but rather a stele on which was inscribed the famous collection of laws. \u00a0It was written by Hammurabi, king of Babylon, c. 1750 B.C.E., but it was discovered by archaeologists in the Elamite city of Susa (modern-day southwestern Iran), as it was carried off to Susa by Shutruk-Nakhunte (1185\u20131155 B.C.E.), the Elamite conqueror of Babylon, along with a statue of Marduk and other items. \u00a0In light of such parallels, it is no surprise that the Philistines placed the captured Ark of the Covenant in the temple of Dagon in the city of Ashdod.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nowhere does the book of Samuel refer to further Philistine penetration into Israelite territory, but presumably such must have occurred. \u00a0Both Jeremiah 7:12-14 and Psalm 78:60 refer to the destruction of Shiloh in days past, and while neither text provides a date for this event, nor the name of those responsible, scholars assume that the devastation was wrought by the Philistines. \u00a0It would have been quite natural for the Philistines to continue eastward after the battle of Eben-Ezer across the tribal allotment of Ephraim en route to Shiloh. If it did not happen on this occasion, then perhaps such occurred during or after a different conflict between the two neighboring peoples. \u00a0To be sure, the archaeological excavations at Shiloh reveal that the city was abandoned in the 11th century B.C.E., the chronological setting of our story in the book of Samuel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back to the main story in 1 Samuel, ch. 5: \u00a0the Philistines presumably believed that their defeat of the Israelites and their capture of the Ark implied that their god Dagon (or gods generally) had defeated Yahweh the god of the Israelites. \u00a0The biblical writer will have none of this, though, for as 1 Samuel 5 demonstrates, he believes that the Ark of Yahweh has special qualities which override the powers of the Philistine cultic objects, and hence Yahweh remains supreme over Dagon and any other deities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fresco<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Philistine captivity of the ark, in the Dura-Europos synagogue \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57100,"id":57100,"title":"isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon","filename":"isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-ark-as-booty\/isam4-durasyn-ark_and_temple_of_dagon\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam4-durasyn-ark_and_temple_of_dagon","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57099,"date":"2019-06-09 18:57:26","modified":"2019-06-09 18:58:35","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1758,"height":1087,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon-300x185.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":185,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon-768x475.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":475,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon-1024x633.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":633,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":950,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon.jpg","2048x2048-width":1758,"2048x2048-height":1087,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon-1200x742.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":742,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam4-DuraSyn-Ark_and_Temple_of_Dagon-679x420.jpg","home_baner-width":679,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"The Ark As Booty","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Philistines v. 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