And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
And the golden mice matched the number of all the Philistine cities that belonged to the five rulers—both the fortified cities and the country villages. They brought these offerings all the way to the great stone of Abel, where they set down the ark of the LORD. That stone is still there today in the field of Joshua from Beth Shemesh.
This verse records that the Philistines made golden mice offerings equal to the number of their cities, and describes the landmark stone where they placed God's ark when returning it to Israel.
📚 Historical Context
The Philistines had captured the ark of the covenant but experienced plagues, so they decided to return it with guilt offerings of golden tumors and mice. The five Philistine rulers each governed major city-states, and they made offerings representing all their territories. Beth Shemesh was an Israelite border town where the ark was received back from Philistine territory.
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