the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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1 Samuel 5:4
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Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the head: Isaiah 2:18, Isaiah 2:19, Isaiah 27:9, Jeremiah 10:11, Jeremiah 50:2, Ezekiel 6:4-6, Daniel 11:8, Micah 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:
וסךופןץע הו ויהןע ום ןיםיךח וטוחףבלחם, טוחלב מוםןם; חליףוח לום דץםח; פן הו ןךןףןם וך לחסשם וע בךסןץע נןהבע, יקטץןע ןץסח בנןפויםופבי. "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, פן לום נסןףשנןם וקוי דץםביךןע, פן הב̓ככן ףשלב נבם יקטץןע. "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: Exodus 20:23 - General 1 Samuel 5:7 - upon Dagon our god 1 Samuel 6:5 - off your Isaiah 40:20 - shall not Hosea 10:2 - break down
Cross-References
God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the eretz, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the eretz."
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth."
God blessed them and said, "Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground."
And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth."
God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
And God blessed them, and God said to them, Bring forth fruite and multiplie, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule ouer the fish of the sea, and ouer the foule of the heauen, & ouer euery beast that moueth vpon the earth.
God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth."
God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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; :-.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 1 Samuel 5:4. Only the stump of Dagon was left — Literally, Only דגן 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.
