1 Samuel 6:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 6:12
And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
Beth-shemesh
שֶׁ֔מֶשׁShe.mesh
H1053
Beth-Shemesh · proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Numbers 20:19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I w…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 6:10-18
We are here told,
I. How the Philistines dismissed the ark, Sa1 6:10, Sa1 6:11. They were made as glad to part with it as ever they had been to take it. As God had fetched Israel out of the house of bondage, so now he fetched the ark out of its captivity, in such a manner as that Egypt was glad when they departed, Psa 105:38. 1. They received no money or price for the ransom of it, as they hoped to do, even beyond a king's ransom. Thus it is prophesied of Cyrus (Isa 45:13), He shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward. Nay, 2. They gave jewels of gold, as the Egyptians did to the Israelites, to be rid of it. Thus the ark that was carried into the land of the Philistines, a trophy of…
the lords of the Philistines went after them--to give their tribute of homage, to prevent imposture, and to obtain the most reliable evidence of the truth. The result of this journey tended to their own deeper humiliation, and the greater illustration of God's glory.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 6:12
Lowing as they went - Calling for their calves.
To the right hand or to the left - Some think they were placed where two roads met; one going to Ekron, the other to Beth-shemesh. It is possible that they were put in such circumstances as these for the greater certainty of the affair: to have turned from their own homes, from their calves and known pasture, and to have taken the road to a strange country, must argue supernatural influence.
The lords of the Philistines went after - They were so jealous in this business that they would trust no eyes but their own. All this was wisely ordered, that there might be the fullest conviction of the being and interposition of God.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 6:12
And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh,.... Though they had none to drive, lead, or guide them, yet they steered their course to the road that led to Bethshemesh, though there were other ways they might have taken; which shows they were under the direction of God himself:
and went along the highway; or, "in one highway", or "post" (t); though they had never been used to a yoke, they drew together in one path; and did not draw one way, and another another, as oxen unaccustomed to a yoke do:
lowing as they went; on account of their calves, which showed their sense of them, and their natural affection for them; and yet went on, did not attempt to go back to them; by whic…
The Church Fathers
But the cows went straight, etc. The teachers went straight through Christ, leading to the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, the way to Beth-shemesh, that is, the house of the sun, is the very same that says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John XIV). And elsewhere: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John VIII).
They journeyed on the same path, progressing and groaning, etc. They walked on the same path of faith and truth, indeed groaning, as people, being separated from those they love; yet they were more willing, when necessity arose, to hasten eagerly to the sacrifice of passion for the ark of the Lord rather than agreeing to lay down the ark out of the weeping of their children. Do you want proof of what we say? When Paul was staying in Caesarea, a prophet coming from Judea declared that he was to be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles (Acts 21). Behold, the cow bearing the ark of the Lord is prophesied to be sacrificed; and whatever concerns these calves, whether they, with dry eyes, expect the departure and death of their parent, let the noblest calf, distinguished by this name among the four great animals, recount what they did. When we heard this, he said, we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem; but because he could not be swayed to the right or to the left by the love or tears of the children through the insistence of the mother, see what he, about to leave, says to the weeping ones: What are you doing, weeping and disturbing my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Truly, mourning for the weak, as if confined at home like calves, which they conceive from the carnal loss of spiritual parents, gradually ceases as they also make progress. Luke says the same: And when we could not persuade him, we ceased, saying: The will of the Lord be done.
15. To go straight along the road that leads to Beth-shemesh is, in the pursuit of heavenly perfection, to maintain affliction of the flesh through the virtue of discretion. For the cows by no means walk in a straight line if discretion is not preserved in the affliction of the flesh. For when the flesh is afflicted beyond measure, that same flesh, utterly spent, is unable to render aid to the spirit. And if it is not worthily afflicted, while it grows proud, it disdains, as though free and untamed, to serve the mind. Rightly therefore, while the cows are reported to go straight along the road to Beth-shemesh, it is added: "They turned aside neither to the right nor to the left." To turn aside to the right is to press immoderately upon the virtue of abstinence: because through what appears to be a good, we abandon the way, when we so pursue the necessary virtue of abstinence that we withdraw from ourselves the other helps that come from the flesh. To turn aside to the left is to indulge the flesh too abundantly. For through the vice of open laxity we are deflected from the road to Beth-shemesh, when we lead the flesh through delights—we who had known that the way to paradise was appointed in affliction. 16. And because there is no sincerity of a more sparing life if the simplicity of purity in good work does not agree with one's intention, it is carefully expressed: "And they went by one path." For he goes by one path who preserves in right intention the virtue that he displays in good work. On the contrary, it is said of every reprobate: "Woe to the sinner who enters the land by two ways" (Sirach 2:14). For the sinner enters the land by two ways when what he does appears to be of God, but from everything that he outwardly exhibits as religious, he inwardly holds a worldly intention. Moreover, the Lord indicates that His elect go by one path, saying: "If your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light" (Matthew 6:22). Hence Paul says: "Our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience" (2 Corinthians 1:12). Hence David: "All the glory of the king's daughter is from within" (Psalm 44:14). Therefore the cows go by one path toward Beth-shemesh, because the elect, hastening to their eternal homeland, do good works outwardly, but from those same good works they do not seek the rewards of the world. 17. But what is it that is said of these same cows,…
Dictionary and topics
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Heifer — Heb. ‘eglah, (Deut. 21:4, 6; Jer. 46:20). Untrained to the yoke (Hos. 10:11); giving milk (Isa. 7:21); ploughing (Judg. 14:18); treading out grain (Jer. 50:11); unsubdued to the yoke an emblem of…
Ark Of The Covenant · Miracles connected with: Manner of its restoration — Miracles connected with: Manner of its restoration
Beth-Shemesh · .On the northern bor — .On the northern bor
Cart · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Cow · Used for pulling — Used for pulling
Highways · Generally straight — Generally straight
Philistines · Lords of — Lords of
Providence Of God, The · Is exercised in: Directing all events — Is exercised in: Directing all events
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The God of Israel actually did what the idolatrous priests hardly considered possible. When the Philistines, in accordance with the advice given them by their priests, had placed the ark of the covenant and the expiatory gifts upon the cart to which the two cows were harnessed, "the cows went straight forward on the way to Bethshemesh; they went along a road going and lowing (i.e., lowing the whole time), and turned not to the right or to the left; and the princes of the Philistines went behind them to the territory of Bethshemesh." בּדּרך ישּׁרנה, lit., "they were straight in the way," i.e., they went straight along the road. The form ישּׁרנה for יישׁרנה is the imperf. Kal, third pers. plur…
Beth-shemesh was the closest Israelite town to Ekron (5:10).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 6:12
Set on a straight course. This word is a grammatical hermaphrodite.2The “י” of וַיִשַּׁרְנָה is the masculine form and the “נה” is indicative of the feminine form. This teaches us that even the young recited a song,3 And, therefore, the combination of the masculine and feminine forms. "Sing aloud, sing aloud, O Ark of acacia wood! Exalt yourself…" as stated in Maseches Avodah Zorah.4 24b. The cows literally sang an intelligible praise to ‘ה. They were given the miraculous power to sing just as Bilam’s donkey was given the power of speech in Bamidbar 22:28-30. According to its simple meaning, 'וַיִשַּׁרְנָה' is an expression meaning 'straight,' i.e. they followed a straight path.
Lowing as t…
