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