Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod.
verse value 2484
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. Verse gematria: 2484 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "have·received" (לָֽקְח֔וּ, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Philistines" (וּפְלִשְׁתִּים֙, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "stone" (מֵאֶ֥בֶן), "to·Ashdod" (אַשְׁדּֽוֹדָה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·brought·him" (root בוא, 161x in I Samuel); "and·Philistines" (root פלשתי, 124x in I Samuel); "God" (root אלהים, 89x in I Samuel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words.
Ralbag
And behold, the Philistines brought the Ark of God into their house of idolatry, in which there was an idol in the form of a human being, whom they called Dagon.
Malbim
Questions (1-2): What is meant by the statement that the Philistines took the Ark of God, and that the Philistines took the Ark of God? This is a repetition.
And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
verse value 3362
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "it" (אֹת֖וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Philistines" (פְלִשְׁתִּים֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 407: it, it. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "and·they·set" (וַיַּצִּ֥יגוּ). The root דגון appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·brought" (root בוא, 161x in I Samuel); "Philistines" (root פלשתי, 124x in I Samuel); "God" (root אלהים, 89x in I Samuel). First appearance of the root דגון ("Dagon") in I Samuel. First appearance of the root אצל ("beside") in I Samuel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Dagon', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקְח֤וּ [and·took] (130) + פְלִשְׁתִּים֙ [Philistines] (860) + אֶת־אֲר֣וֹן [the·chest] (658) + הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים [God] (91) + וַיָּבִ֥אוּ [and·they·brought] (25) + אֹת֖וֹ [it] (407) + בֵּ֣ית [house·of] (412) + דָּג֑וֹן [Dagon] (63) + וַיַּצִּ֥יגוּ [and·they·set] (125) + אֹת֖וֹ [it] (407) + אֵ֥צֶל [beside] (121) + דָּגֽוֹן [Dagon] (63) = 3362.
Rashi
beside Dagon. An image made in the form of a fish.
Radak
And they set it. And they stood it up.
Metzudat Zion
Dagon. The name of an idol.
And they set. They placed.
Malbim
"And they took it from there" — they took it and brought it to the house of Dagon, thinking that Dagon, their god, had triumphed over the God of Israel. In the Midrash, Rabbi Yochanan said: "They honored him," meaning they said, "This is a god and this is a god; let one god come and rest beside the other god." Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: "Is this his reward?" (meaning, why were they punished?) Rather, they said, "This one is victor and this one is vanquished; let the vanquished come and be made servant to the victor."
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of Hashem. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
verse value 4196
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 75 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "prostrate" (נֹפֵ֤ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "Ashdodites" (אַשְׁדּוֹדִים֙, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "Ashdodites" (אַשְׁדּוֹדִים֙), "Dagon" (אֶת־דָּג֔וֹן). The root דגון appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 316x in I Samuel); "to·his·face" (root פנים, 93x in I Samuel); "and·took" (root לקח, 78x in I Samuel). First appearance of the root מחרת ("from·next·day") in I Samuel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Radak
It falls before him. Just as it says "on his face," so too does the Targum render it as "on his face."
Ralbag
And behold, in the manner of a miracle, the Lord acted for His honor, causing Dagon to fall to the ground before the Ark of the Lord, to awaken the realization that there is none other besides Him. Perhaps the Philistines thought that this had occurred by chance, not by the hand of the Lord. Therefore, they took Dagon and restored him to his place, and they did not strive to remove the Ark of God from there. On the second day, they found Dagon fallen before the Ark of the Lord, with the head of Dagon and his two palms cut off upon the threshold; only what remained of Dagon was left before the Ark of the Lord, fallen to the ground. For this reason, the priests of Dagon guarded against treading upon the threshold of Dagon, for they thought that the place was holy in some respect, due to what they found there—the head of Dagon and his two palms. And the judgments that the Lord performed upon their god were not sufficient for Him; rather, He struck the inhabitants of Ashdod and made them desolate and astonished at the plagues that came upon them in a manner such that they could not say that this novelty was a chance occurrence for them, if not because of what they had brought upon themselves by taking the Ark of God.
Metzudat David
Before Him to the ground. On his face, he fell to the ground before the Ark:
And they returned. For they thought that it had fallen by chance.
Malbim
Questions (3-4): The duplication of the pronoun with the verb, appearing before it in "before the Ark of the Lord," is a foreignness in language:
“Nefal lifanav” means that both of them were standing side by side on the side opposite the entrance. If he had fallen by chance, then if he had fallen on his face, he would have fallen toward the side of the entrance, not before the Ark, which stood on the side. And if he had fallen before the Ark, he would necessarily have fallen on his side, not on his face. But he fell before it, meaning on his face, not on his side, and also before the Ark of the Lord, toward the side of the Ark, not toward the side of the entrance. And from this they saw that he did not fall on his own, but by a miracle. Nevertheless, the first time they did not pay attention and they set him back in his place. (This also indicates, as I explained, that he moved from his place to another place, and therefore they needed to return him to his place. For if, according to the explanation of the commentators, he fell in his usual manner, what need was there for “and they set him up”?)
And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of Hashem; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
verse value 7072
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 93 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 7072 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "only" (רַ֥ק, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·the·threshold" (אֶל־הַמִּפְתָּ֔ן, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 63: Dagon, Dagon, Dagon. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "hands·of" (כַּפּ֣וֹת), "his·hands" (יָדָ֗יו), "cut·off" (כְּרֻתוֹת֙). The root דגון appears 3 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 316x in I Samuel); "upon·him" (root על, 112x in I Samuel); "his·hands" (root יד, 99x in I Samuel). First appearance of the root שאר ("remained") in I Samuel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 11 words.
Rashi
The threshold. Askopah.
Radak
“Only Dagon remained upon it.” This is like the phrase “upon the threshold,” and similarly, “He struck the Philistine upon his forehead,” which means “upon.” The threshold is the lower sill. They stated that Dagon had the form of a fish from his navel downward; therefore, he was called Dagon. From his navel upward, he had the form of a human being, as it says, “And the two palms of his hands were cut off at the threshold.” This is its interpretation: “Only Dagon remained upon it”—the form of a fish remained upon it. And the Targum states simply that Dagon himself remained upon it.
Metzudat David
“Cut off at the threshold.” They were cut off and lying on the threshold:
Only Dagon. The body of the idol, fashioned in the form of a fish:
Metzudat Zion
Severed. Cut off.
The threshold. The doorstep, similarly (Ezekiel 47:1): 'below the threshold of the house'.
Malbim
And behold, Dagon on the following day was a double sign: 1) that he lay on his face and toward the side of the ark, just as on the first day; 2) that the head of Dagon and the palms of his two hands were cut off toward the threshold, not toward the side of the Ark. And from this they saw that initially he fell on the threshold, and there his limbs were cut off, and afterward his body was turned to face the Ark. And this was so that they would not err and think that there was a battle between him and the Ark, and that by virtue of the Ark defeating him, it cut off his head and hands, as is the way of the victor. Therefore, his head and hands were cut off toward the threshold, not toward the side of the Ark, for this indicates that initially he was cut off by himself, and as if after being cut off by himself, he bowed and fell before the Ark.
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
verse value 2380
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·all·who·came" (וְכׇֽל־הַבָּאִ֧ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 63: Dagon, Dagon. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "not·tread" (לֹֽא־יִדְרְכוּ֩), "and·all·who·came" (וְכׇֽל־הַבָּאִ֧ים), "the·house·of·Dagon" (בֵּית־דָּג֛וֹן). The root דגון appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·all·who·came" (root בוא, 161x in I Samuel); "day" (root יום, 154x in I Samuel); "therefore" (root על, 112x in I Samuel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Ashdod', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 3 words. Full calculation: עַל־כֵּ֡ן [therefore] (170) + לֹֽא־יִדְרְכוּ֩ [not·tread] (271) + כֹהֲנֵ֨י [priests·of] (85) + דָג֜וֹן [Dagon] (63) + וְכׇֽל־הַבָּאִ֧ים [and·all·who·came] (114) + בֵּית־דָּג֛וֹן [the·house·of·Dagon] (475) + עַל־מִפְתַּ֥ן [upon·threshold·of] (670) + דָּג֖וֹן [Dagon] (63) + בְּאַשְׁדּ֑וֹד [in·Ashdod] (317) + עַ֖ד [until] (74) + הַיּ֥וֹם [day] (61) + הַזֶּֽה [this] (17) = 2380.
Radak
They shall not tread. In a derasha, Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzchak: We find that Israel were more stringent regarding idolatry than the nations of the world. Regarding the nations of the world, it is written, “Therefore they shall not tread” [on the threshold]; but regarding Israel, it is written, “And I will punish every one who leaps over the threshold” [with a full stride].
Metzudat David
Therefore. Because they found his head and the palms of his hands on the threshold, they regarded the threshold as a sacred place, and did not tread upon it.
"And all those who come from the rest of the people:"
The threshold of Dagon. The threshold of the house of Dagon:
Metzudat Zion
They will walk. A matter of stepping, and it is from the word 'path'.
Priests. Ministers, those who know the laws of idol worship.
Malbim
"Therefore." Because they thought that upon the threshold was the victorious God, and that there he bowed down before Him, they showed honour to that place.
But the hand of Hashem was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the borders thereof.
verse value 3426
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 60 letters. Notable word values: "and·He·struck" (וַיַּ֤ךְ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "and·He·struck" (וַיַּ֤ךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·Ashdodites" (אֶל־הָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֖ים, 10 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "to·the·Ashdodites" (אֶל־הָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֖ים), "and·He·destroyed·them" (וַיְשִׁמֵּ֑ם), "Ashdod" (אֶת־אַשְׁדּ֖וֹד). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·hand·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 316x in I Samuel); "to·the·Ashdodites" (root איל, 238x in I Samuel); "and·He·struck" (root נכה, 52x in I Samuel). First appearance of the root טחר ("with·the·tumors") in I Samuel. First appearance of the root גבול ("and·her·borders") in I Samuel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·He·destroyed·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַתִּכְבַּ֧ד [and·it·was·heavy] (432) + יַד־יְהֹוָ֛ה [the·hand·of·Hashem] (40) + אֶל־הָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֖ים [to·the·Ashdodites] (401) + וַיְשִׁמֵּ֑ם [and·He·destroyed·them] (396) + וַיַּ֤ךְ [and·He·struck] (36) + אֹתָם֙ [them] (441) + (בעפלים) [tumours] (232) + בַּטְּחֹרִ֔ים [with·the·tumors] (269) + אֶת־אַשְׁדּ֖וֹד [Ashdod] (716) + וְאֶת־גְּבוּלֶֽיהָ [and·her·borders] (463) = 3426.
Rashi
And He made them desolate. The language of desolation.
with tumors. Chilchulat, kerkeisha — the plague of the privy parts. Mice enter into their privy parts and remove their intestines, and they come out.
Radak
Regarding "afulim": There is a written and vocalized text discrepancy; it is written as "afulim" but read as "batichorim" (hemorrhoids). The written form is a euphemism for the lower parts of the body, for "afulim" is a term denoting heights, like "afal" (height) and "bachan" (a tower), whereas the euphemism is the opposite [of the actual meaning]. The vocalized reading is the name of the disease.
Ralbag
And this plague was that they were struck with hemorrhoids, which is a very painful illness, and much blood issues from them. All the more so did these [hemorrhoids] come upon them from God to afflict them greatly. For this reason, they were compelled to remove the Ark of God from Ashdod and send it to Gath. And it seems that God performed these miracles through Samuel, who was a prophet; or this was done without a prophet, by His providence over Israel, that the Ark of God should not be lost to them.
Metzudat David
"And He made them desolate." By means of the boils with which He struck them, they were in the form of hemorrhoids.
Metzudat Zion
And He made them desolate. From the word 'desolation'.
With tumors. So the name of the affliction is, and because they are in the rectum in a covered place, they are called 'afolim,' from the word 'ofel' (darkness), similarly (II Kings 5:24): 'and he went into the dark place,' and it is like 'to the darkness' with an alef. And the reading is hemorrhoids, and it is the name of a type of creature, and they resembled them.
Malbim
"And it was heavy." After they gave no heed to the smiting of their god, they were smitten in their own bodies.
And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said: ‘The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.’
verse value 3897
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 72 letters. The shortest word is "his·hand" (יָדוֹ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·men·of·Ashdod" (אַנְשֵֽׁי־אַשְׁדּ֖וֹד, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 166: with, upon·us. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "the·men·of·Ashdod" (אַנְשֵֽׁי־אַשְׁדּ֖וֹד), "that·so" (כִּי־כֵ֑ן), "not·shall·dwell" (לֹֽא־יֵשֵׁ֞ב). The root אלהים appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·shall·say" (root אמר, 418x in I Samuel); "the·men·of·Ashdod" (root איש, 201x in I Samuel); "that·so" (root כי, 161x in I Samuel). First appearance of the root קשה ("for·was·hard") in I Samuel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'that·so', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 12 words.
Metzudat David
"Thus did the ark deal with them in judgments, and with their gods:"
They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said: ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ And they answered: ‘Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about to Gath.’ And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
verse value 6758
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 101 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "winepress" (גַּ֣ת, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·lords·of" (אֶת־כׇּל־סַרְנֵ֨י, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel, Israel. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "turned" (יִסֹּ֔ב), "and·they·turned" (וַיַּסֵּ֕בּוּ). The root ארון appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 418x in I Samuel); "Philistine" (root פלשתי, 124x in I Samuel); "Israel" (root ישראל, 102x in I Samuel). First appearance of the root אסף ("and·they·gathered") in I Samuel. First appearance of the root סרן ("all·the·lords·of") in I Samuel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 4 words.
Radak
"Gath shall it be carried about." [That is,] to Gath; and there are many like it.
"And they surrounded the ark of the God of Israel." With a dagesh in the samekh and the bet:
Metzudat Zion
It will go around. He means, it will be brought.
Malbim
Gath: The lords attributed the matter to chance, and therefore they said that he would detour to Gath to see whether He would send His rod there also. They did not send him to a city near Ashdod, but only to Gath, which was distant, as it is stated: “He detoured” (as it is stated: “And God detoured the people”), because they assumed that the plague was a naturally contagious illness and would not spread to a distant place.
And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of Hashem was against the city with a very great discomfiture; and He smote the men of the city, both small and great, and emerods broke out upon them.
verse value 4561
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 85 letters. Notable word values: "and·He·struck" (וַיַּךְ֙) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "him" (אֹת֗וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·unto·great" (וְעַד־גָּד֑וֹל, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "the·men·of" (אֶת־אַנְשֵׁ֣י), "and·they·were·burst·out" (וַיִּשָּׂתְר֥וּ), "tumours" ((עפלים)). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·hand·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 316x in I Samuel); "the·men·of" (root איש, 201x in I Samuel); "and·it·was" (root היה, 167x in I Samuel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·unto·great', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 4 words.
Rashi
And they were hidden. Like 'va'yasteru.' For it is in the Masorah written with a shin, and explained with a samekh — the plague of the hidden places.
Radak
"And they were afflicted with hemorrhoids." It is written with a Shin, and it is equivalent to being written with a Samekh. Its meaning is that they suffered from hemorrhoids in a concealed place, internally, and it was more painful for them than if it had been in an exposed place. The Targum translates it as: "And they were afflicted with hemorrhoids."
Ralbag
And behold, after they had carried it about to Gath, the plague of God, blessed be He, was a great tumult in the city; not one remained there who was not struck with the plague of tumors. And the tumors were hidden, and therefore they were more severe and more difficult to heal. And when they saw this, they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. And immediately when it came there, God, blessed be He, brought a tumult of death upon the entire city. And those who remained among them who did not die were struck with tumors. Behold, all this happened to the Philistines because of the Ark of God within seven months.
Metzudat David
The hand of the Lord is in the city. The smiting hand of the Lord is in the city of Gath:
"And they were stretched out." The afflicted ones: there were many hidden ones within them, the more painful ones.
Metzudat Zion
And they were hidden. Like 'they were hidden' with a samekh.
Malbim
Questions (9–12): Why did he add the blow specifically after “they turned him around,” and why did he not say briefly, “and he smote the men of the city with tumours”? And why did the Gittites send him out themselves, rather than gathering the lords of the Philistines? And the Ekronites returned and gathered the lords of the Philistines. And why did the text elaborate in verses 11 and 12 regarding the striking of the Ekronites?
"And it came to pass after they had moved it around" — this implies: "Since they had moved it around, the fire of the Lord burned against them all the more," and He added to their punishment in three ways: 1) There was a very great tumult, namely the terror and dread that fell upon them; 2) "And He struck the men of the city, both small and great," which had not been the case initially; 3) "And He caused their sores to break out," meaning that the boils were concealed within their entrails, and thus their affliction was more internal and grievous.
So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying: ‘They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.’
verse value 5745
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 98 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלַי֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·Ekronites" (הָעֶקְרֹנִ֜ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 658: the·ark·of, the·ark·of. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "the·Ekronites" (הָעֶקְרֹנִ֜ים). The root ארון appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 418x in I Samuel); "and·it·was" (root היה, 167x in I Samuel); "as·came" (root בוא, 161x in I Samuel). First appearance of the root עקרון ("Ekron") in I Samuel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ekron', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 15 words.
Radak
"To kill me and my people." The leaders of the city of Ekron said this.
Metzudat David
"And My people." For the leaders of the people were those who were crying out.
Malbim
“And they sent”: They did not gather the lords on this occasion; rather, they sent it away of their own accord, after the lords had already advised sending it from the place of the plague to another place. But the Ekronites, to whom the Ark came, raised a great cry, because until now there had only been plague and sickness, but now there was a deadly panic. Therefore, they cried out, “Turn back, etc., to kill us, etc.”
They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said: ‘Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, that it slay us not, and our people’; for there was a deadly discomfiture throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
verse value 8226
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 115 letters. Verse gematria: 8226 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "hand" (יַ֥ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·lords·of" (אֶת־כׇּל־סַרְנֵ֣י, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "send·away" (שַׁלְּח֞וּ), "and·let·it·not·kill" (וְלֹא־יָמִ֥ית), "for·was" (כִּֽי־הָיְתָ֤ה). The root שלח appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 418x in I Samuel); "for·was" (root היה, 167x in I Samuel); "Philistine" (root פלשתי, 124x in I Samuel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·my·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 8 words.
Rashi
A panic of death. All panics are through thunder, and this is their source (below, 7:10): 'And the Lord thundered on that day with a great voice upon the Philistines, and He threw them into confusion.' So it is explained in the aggadah of 'Thirty-Two Measures' of Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosi the Galilean.
Ralbag
Then the Philistines called their priests and their diviners, to take counsel from them, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Shall we return it to the Israelites, or not?” And if their counsel was that they should send it back to the Israelites, in what manner should they send it, and with what, so that the anger of the Lord might depart from them?
Metzudat David
"The tumult of death." Besides the plague of the tumors, there was among them the Lord's pestilence:
Malbim
And they said, “Send,” etc., and he returned to his place—not as heretofore, when he was sent from place to place. And they explained that it was there that the fire of His anger was kindled: 1) because there was a tumult of death in the city, for the hand of God was heavy there, and many sick people died immediately.
And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
verse value 3884
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·men" (וְהָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Samuel. Unique to this verse in I Samuel (hapax): "maid-servant" (לֹא־מֵ֔תוּ), "they·were·struck" (הֻכּ֖וּ), "and·went·up" (וַתַּ֛עַל). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 229x in I Samuel); "and·the·men" (root איש, 201x in I Samuel); "and·went·up" (root עלה, 81x in I Samuel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·the·tumors', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְהָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ [and·the·men] (412) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + לֹא־מֵ֔תוּ [maid-servant] (477) + הֻכּ֖וּ [they·were·struck] (31) + (בעפלים) [tumours] (232) + בַּטְּחֹרִ֑ים [with·the·tumors] (269) + וַתַּ֛עַל [and·went·up] (506) + שַֽׁוְעַ֥ת [cry·of] (776) + הָעִ֖יר [the·city] (285) + הַשָּׁמָֽיִם [heaven] (395) = 3884.
Metzudat David
"Who did not die. In the plague:"
"the heavens." This is an expression of hyperbole, and he intended to say that it grew exceedingly high, up to the heavens.
Metzudat Zion
The cry. The outcry.
Malbim
b) And as for the men, even that which had occurred in Gath was here a matter of question: since they did not die, they were smitten with tumours, and thus all of them were afflicted, and the cry of the city rose up, for they cried out for salvation, because their distress was exceedingly great.
Ralbag
Malbim