1 Samuel 6:19
Hebrew Bible
18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel. They positioned the ark of the Lord on a rock until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh. 19 But the Lord struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow. 20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX 1 Samuel 6:19
Septuagint
18 And the golden mice according to the number of all the foreigner cities of the five leaders, from the fortified city as far as the village of the Perizzites and as far as the large stone on which they set the ark of the covenant of the Lord, in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh. 19 And the sons of Jechonias were not pleased with the men of Beth-shemesh because they saw the ark of the Lord, and he struck among them fifty thousand and seventy men, and the people mourned because the Lord struck with a very great plague among the people. 20 And the men from Bethshemesh said, “Who is able to pass through before this holy Lord, and to whom shall go up the ark of the Lord from us?”
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... 1 Samuel 6:19 tells about a divine punishment of some people during the return of the ark of the covenant. The Septuagint offers a reading, which is probably the original because it implies an obstacle: “because they saw the ark of the Lord”. NETS has “And the sons of Iechonias were not pleased with the men of Baithsamys when they saw the ark of the Lord, and he smote among them seventy men and fifty thousand men.” In order to avoid such a harsh reaction to an unintended misadventure, both the transmitter of the Masoretic text and the Targumist make a change. According to the Masoretic text, they “looked into the ark” whereas the Targum reads “because they rejoiced, because they looked in the ark of the Lord when it was exposed.“ All these readings “may reflect an attempt to account for the smiting by appeal to cultic taboos”. In rabbinic tradition, reaping and disrespectful language is the reason for punishment, in Christian tradition idolatry or arrogance of the vulgus ignobile ..."
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