SEV Biblia, Chapter 5:4
Y volviéndose a levantar de mañana el siguiente día, he aquí que Dagón había caído postrado en tierra delante del arca del SEÑOR; y la cabeza de Dagón, y las dos palmas de sus manos estaban cortadas sobre el umbral, habiéndole quedado a Dagón el tronco solamente.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 5:4
Verse 4. Only the stump of Dagon was left] Literally, Only gd dagon (i.e., the little fish) was left. It has already been remarked that Dagon had the head, arms and hands of a man or woman, and that the rest of the idol was in the form of a fish, to which Horace is supposed to make allusion in the following words:- Desinat in piscem mulisr formosa superne "The upper part resembling a beautiful woman; the lower, a fish." All that was human in his form was broken off from what resembled a fish. Here was a proof that the affair was not accidental; and these proofs of God's power and authority prepared the way for his judgments.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 4. And when they arose early on the morrow morning , etc.] For the same purpose as before; unless they had any curiosity to indulge, to see whether the ark and Dagon agreed better together, if they had any suspicion that the former mischance was to be attributed to some variance and disagreement between them: behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord : again, and in a worse condition than before: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold ; of the temple, upon which he fell with such force, that the threshold cut off his head, and both his hands; which signified he had neither wisdom to contrive for his own safety, nor strength and power to defend himself; and therefore of what advantage could he be to his votaries? This may be an emblem of the fall of idolatry in the Gentile world, before the preaching of Christ and his Gospel in it; or of the idol of man’s righteousness, which is set up, though it cannot stand, against the righteousness of Christ, and of man’s renouncing that, when convinced of the weakness and insufficiency of it, and submitting to the righteousness of Christ: only the stump of Dagon was left to him : his body, as the Targum, his head and hands being cut off; or, as it is in the Hebrew text, only Dagon was left; that is, the fishy part of this idol; for “Dag” signifies a fish; and, as Kimchi relates, this idol, from the navel upwards, had the form of a man, and from thence downwards the form of a fish; and it was the lower part that was left; (see Gill on “ Judges 16:23”).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-5 - See the ark's triumph over Dagon. Thus the kingdom of Satan wil certainly fall before the kingdom of Christ, error before truth profaneness before godliness, and corruption before grace in the heart of the faithful. When the interests of religion seem to be ready to sink, even then we may be confident that the day of their triumph wil come. When Christ, the true Ark of the covenant, really enters the heart of fallen man, which is indeed Satan's temple, all idols wil fall, every endeavour to set them up again will be vain, sin will be forsaken, and unrighteous gain restored; the Lord will claim an possess the throne. But pride, self-love, and worldly lusts, thoug dethroned and crucified, still remain within us, like the stump of Dagon. Let us watch and pray that they may not prevail. Let us seek to have them more entirely destroyed.
Original Hebrew
וישׁכמו 7925 בבקר 1242 ממחרת 4283 והנה 2009 דגון 1712 נפל 5307 לפניו 6440 ארצה 776 לפני 6440 ארון 727 יהוה 3068 וראשׁ 7218 דגון 1712 ושׁתי 8147 כפות 3709 ידיו 3027 כרתות 3772 אל 413 המפתן 4670 רק 7535 דגון 1712 נשׁאר 7604 עליו׃ 5921
