XXVIII FIVE GOLD MICE

HE Philistines had five strong cities, and the strongest of these was Ashdod, which means “the fort.” When they had defeated the Israelites at Beth-shemesh, beside the great rock Ebenezer, and had taken away the Ark of God, they made all haste to get to Ashdod. Down they came along the valley and across the plain till they drew near the sea. And they shut the gates of Ashdod behind them. And the Ark of God they carried to the temple of their own god, Dagon. For many people thought in those days that there were as many gods as there were countries, each having its own. Thus they believed that the Lord was the god of the land of Israel, but that Dagon was the god of the land of the Philistines. So in every city they had a temple of Dagon. Samson had pulled down the one which belonged to the city of Gaza, but they had built it up again.

They carried the Ark of God into Dagon’s temple at Ashdod, and set it down before Dagon’s image. For to this image the Philistines said their prayers, and cried “O Dagon, hear us!” And they thought that the image could hear them. They left the Ark before the Idol, and shut the temple doors that night, and went home. But the next morning, when the Philistines came to the temple at service time to thank Dagon for giving them victory over the Israelites, behold the image of Dagon had fallen down and lay upon the floor. That seemed very strange. But they set the image up again, and shut the temple doors when the sun went down, and left the Ark and the Idol together as before. And the next morning, when they came in, behold, the image of Dagon lay on the floor again before the Ark, and this time his head and both his hands were broken off.

And not only did this strange thing happen, but the people of Ashdod began to feel sick. The plague broke out among them. And at the same time, the mice began to eat the wheat and the vines. The mice came, nibbling and nibbling till they destroyed all that grew in the fields. And wherever the mice went, the plague went with them. And the people of Ashdod said one to another, “It is on account of the Ark of God.” And they took the Ark and sent it to the city of Gath. And at Gath the same thing happened. The mice came and the plague followed them, and everybody was sick. And from this city it was taken

THEY PUT THE ARK UPON A CART, AND THE MICE BESIDE IT

to another and another. And everywhere the mice and the plague appeared.

At last the Ark was brought to Ekron. And there it came to pass that all the city cried out, saying, “They have brought about the Ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.” And that very day the mice came, and the plague. And the men of Ekron sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it go to its own place, that it slay us not and our people.” And the lords of the Philistines sent for the priests and the diviners, for all the wisest people of the land, and said, “What shall we do to the Ark of the Lord? how shall we send it to its place?” And the wise men said, “Make a new cart, and take two cows and tie them to the cart, and bring their calves home from them. And take the Ark of God and lay it on the cart, and in a box beside the Ark put five gold mice, one for each of your cities. And see what the kine will do. If they go back home to their calves, then we shall know that this is all an accident, it just happened so; but if they go straight towards the land of Israel, then we shall know that it is the Lord’s doing.”

So they made a new cart, and five gold mice, and they put the Ark upon the cart and the mice beside it, and they tied the two cows to the cart and took away their calves, and watched to see what they would do. And, behold, the kine went straight towards the land of Israel, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand nor to the left. Along the valley road they went towards Beth-shemesh, and the lords of the Philistines followed after them. And at Beth-shemesh, men were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they lifted up their eyes and saw the Ark and rejoiced to see it. And the cows came into the field of a man named Joshua, and there stood still. And it was the field in which the battle had been fought when the Ark had been taken. And the cart stopped beside the great stone, Ebenezer. And the men of Beth-shemesh took the Ark and put it on the top of the great stone, and the five gold mice beside it. And they took the cart and split it up and made a fire for a sacrifice, and there upon the fire they offered God the kine for a burnt offering. And then they rejoiced and gave thanks unto the Lord.