And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
The cart arrived in the field belonging to Joshua, a man from Beth Shemesh, and stopped there where there was a large stone. The people broke up the wooden cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
The writer is describing how the people used the cart and cows that carried the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel as materials for a sacrifice to honor God.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative of 1 Samuel, the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant during a battle with the Israelites and were plagued with disasters as a result, prompting them to return it. They placed the Ark on a cart pulled by cows as a test from their gods, allowing it to go unsupervised toward Israelite territory. When the cart reached the field of Joshua in Beth Shemesh, the local people, recognizing the Ark's arrival as a divine sign, dismantled the cart and offered the cows as a burnt sacrifice to the Lord.
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