Saturday, December 19, 2020

Jonathan Wylie on 1 Samuel 5:1-5, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Defeat of Dagon by YHWH (and Implications for the meaning of Exodus 20:3)

In 1 Sam 5:1-5, we read the following:

 

When the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon and they set it up beside Dagon. Early the next day, the Ashdodites found Dagon lying face down on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. They picked Dagon up and put him back in his place; but early the next morning, Dagon was again lying prone on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. The head and both hands of Dagon were cut off, lying on the threshold; only Dagon's trunk was left intact. That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod. (1985 JPS Tanakh)

 

Commenting on this pericope, Jonathan Wylie wrote:

 

. . . the Philistines deposit the ark in Dagon’s temple because they intend to reverse the God of Israel alongside Dagon—not necessarily as an equal to Dagon but as a deity who has partnered with Dagon and promoted his cause. This would be consistent with the Philistine’s respectful attitude toward the ark in 1 Sam 4:6-8, where they realize that the ark has arrived at the battlefield and fear that YHWH will do to them what they did to the Egyptians earlier in Israel’s history. The possibility that the Philistines intend to honor the ark finds lexical support in the fact that they set it up beside the statue of Dagon (‎ויציגו אתו אצל דגון), not in front of or opposite to it (e.g., לפני or מול). The arrangement seems to be one of co-regency, or at least of regent and vice regent . . . The struggle between YHWH and Dagon falls into the [category of “Struggle for rule among the gods between individual competing claimants”], in which “what is at stake is control of the divine realm.” Dagon’s posture following the conflicts supports this conclusion. On both mornings, the priests of Dagon find him “fallen face to the earth before the ark of YHWH” (‎והנה דגון נפל לפניו ארצה לפני ארון יהוה). There are two possible interpretations of this phrase. One interpretation is that Dagon bows in submission to YHWH. The phrase נפל לפני (“fall before”) commonly has this meaning (e.g., Gen 44:14; 50:17; Josh 5:14; 2 Sam 14:4, 22; 19:18; etc. For another text that speaks of YHWH subduing other gods and the resulting submission of those gods and their nations to YHWH’s rule, though with very different language, see Zeph 2:11). Alternatively, and in my view more likely, the phrase indicates that Dagon is dead, even when this phrase describes Dagon’s posture after the first night’s confrontation. All occurrences of נפל ארצה in which נפל is a participle, as in 1 Sam 5:3-4, refers to individuals who have “fallen slain” (See Judg 3:25; 2 Chron 20:24. Even when נפל is not a participle, the phrase נפל ארץ/ארצה frequently [but not always] refers to falling slain, e.g., Lev 26:7-8; 1 Sam 14:13; 17:49; 2 Sam 3:34; etc). Moreover, such a meaning is consistent with the A[rk]N[arrative]’s emphasis on YHWH’s utter sovereignty; there is no theological space in this text for a rival god, even a subordinate one. If the latter interpretation is correct, then Dagon is slain during the ark’s first night in his temple (1 Sam 5:3). YHWH’s victory on the second night is a fait accompli; his dismemberment of Dagon’s statue underscores and proves that has already been achieved (1 Sam 5:4). However, we understand the phrase ‎דגון נפל לפניו ארצה לפני ארון יהוה, there can be no doubt that, by the second morning, headless Dagon is dead. (Jonathan Wylie, “The Victory of YHWH in the Temple of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:1-5),” in Adam Miglio, Caryn A. Reeder, Joshua T. Walton, and Kenneth C. Way, eds., For Us, But Not To Us: Essays on Creation, Covenant, and Context in Honor of John H. Walton [Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick Publications, 2020], 335-50, here, pp. 340, 342-43)

 

Such a narrative, especially in light of the above commentary, adds further light to the meaning of “thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exo 20:3). See:


Is Latter-day Saint Theology Contradicted by Exodus 20:3 in the Decalogue?