Dagon Falls Before the Ark and the Threshold of Ashdod

Midrash Shmuel 11:5

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

"And the Ashdodites rose early the next day" and so forth (1 Samuel 5:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: You are not scalded by lukewarm water; rather, only by boiling water. This is what is written, "And they rose early in the morning" and so forth, "only Dagon's trunk was left upon it" (1 Samuel 5:4) — that is, its torso. "Therefore the priests of Dagon do not tread" and so forth "upon the threshold of Dagon" (1 Samuel 5:5). Rabbi Jeremiah in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak: Israel was stricter regarding idolatry than the nations of the world. It is written, "Therefore they do not tread" and so forth; but concerning Israel it is written, "And I will punish all those who leap over the threshold" (Zephaniah 1:9). Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Rabbi Yochanan said, an idol that has been invalidated is forbidden in benefit. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, it is permitted. And they do not disagree: that which Rabbi Yochanan said is where they worshipped it; and that which Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said is where it became despised in their eyes and they did not worship it.

Themes

IdolatryDivine Judgment

Biblical References

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Apocalypse of AbrahamAbraham Sees the Idol of Jealousy in the TempleThe vision shifted. Abraham saw something that struck closer to home than the cosmic sins of Cain and Desire. He saw an idol standing inside a Temple. The idol Testament of SolomonDemons Build the Temple and Solomon Falls Through IdolatryThe thirty-sixth and final zodiac demon, Bianakith, confessed: "I lay waste houses and cause flesh to decay. But if a man writes certain holy names on the frontMidrash Tanchuma Buber, NoachThree Generations That Failed to Learn From the FloodThe Fool in the Mortar "Though you pound the fool in a mortar," says the proverb, "his folly will not leave him." Rabbi Nehemiah, son of Rabbi Samuel bar NahmanMidrash Tanchuma Buber, VayechiWhy Jacob Refused Burial in Egypt and the Idol's Own PunishmentWhy would Jacob beg his sons not to bury him in the land of his exile? Listen, and you will hear a fear older than death. He feared that Egypt, which worshippedMidrash Tanchuma Buber, ShoftimRabbi Simlai Reduces the 613 Commandments Down to OneWhen the nations of the world stand for judgment, they turn upon the very gods they once served. "Come," they say to their idols, "let us bow before the Holy OnMidrash Tanchuma Buber, ShoftimGod's Throne in the Firmament and the Shaming of the Nations' Gods"In the future," taught Rabbi Hanina, "the Holy One will show His glory to all who come into the world. He will lower His throne into the midst of the firmament