Shmuel I Chapter 6 | The Ark’s Return to Beit Shemesh

In Chapter 6, the Philistines, unable to bear the presence of the Ark, decide to return it to Israel. To determine if the Ark truly caused their suffering, they arrange its return in a way that would work only miraculously – which in fact occurs.

When the Ark arrives in Beit Shemesh, the verses describe a positive scene: there is joy over the Ark’s return, and sacrifices are offered to God. However, we are then surprised by verse 19 which states: “But He struck down the people of Beit Shemesh, for they had looked upon the Ark of the Lord” (6:19). What exactly happened here?

Rav Yuval Cherlow, in his article published in מגדים journal, explains that the story of the plague in Beit Shemesh directly addresses the people's attitude toward the Ark, as seen earlier in Chapter 4. There, the Israelites believed that bringing the Ark to the battlefield guaranteed victory. The defeat and capture of the Ark by the Philistines made it clear that this was not the case. But perhaps the people remained trapped in the same mindset: their spiritual perception of standing before God has not changed, but rather their evaluation of the Ark itself as a magical object. Now they think that perhaps the Ark is not truly an object with extraordinary powers, since it was captured by the Philistines. In Beit Shemesh, the Ark was received with joy but with a certain spiritual and religious indifference. The tone of the verses appears relatively calm and undramatic. Moreover, the Israelites allowed themselves to look at the Ark (a prohibition in Bamidbar 4:20).

The plague in Beit Shemesh ultimately corrected this issue, reminding the people to respect and revere the Ark: “’Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God?’, said the people of Beit Shemesh.” Thus, the Ark returns to be kept in its rightful, sacred place by the Levites.

The story of the plague in Beit Shemesh thus sharpens the message regarding the Mishkan and the Ark: sacred things must be honored and revered, but should not be seen as the totality of religious life. In the next chapter, Shmuel teaches us the proper religious preparation required before going into battle.