I Sam 6:19

[Reynolds]

Some translations say 70 men were killed, some say 50,070 were killed. Which is correct?

 

[Reformed]

That has been a troubling passage for many for a long, long time. I have always liked how the great Baptist theologian John Gill handled it:

but as Bethshemesh was but a small place, a village, as Josephus calls it, and it seems not likely that there should be such a number of persons in it, and especially that should look into the ark; or that God, who is good and merciful, should destroy so large a number for this offence, however he might think fit to make an example of some, it is thought that the case was not as our version represents it. Some who think there were so many slain, yet distinguish them, seventy of the elders of the people, and 50,000 of the congregation, or common people, as the Targum; which accounts not for the difficulty at all: others think that only seventy of the men of Bethshemesh died, and that 50,000 were such as flocked out of the country on this occasion; but as this was on the same day the ark came into those parts, it can hardly be thought that so great a number should be got together so soon; and still less that they should all of them open the ark, and look into it. Abarbinel is of opinion that only seventy men of Bethshemesh were slain, and that the other 50,000 were the Philistines that died on account of the ark while it was among them; and reads the words, "with the men of Bethshemesh he smote--even he smote of the people seventy"; that is, of the men of Bethshemesh; 50,000, that is, of the Philistines, and so this gives the sum of all that died on account of the ark, both while it was in the hands of the Philistines, and when returned to Bethshemesh, which is not an improbable sense: but others, and perhaps more truly, think that only seventy persons were smitten with death; for the order in which this account is given is different from all others in the Hebrew text, the lesser number being put first with a considerable distinguishing accent upon it, whereas the greater number is always expressed first; it stands thus, "of the people seventy men; 50,000 men": 5000, according to the Syriac and Arabic versions. Josephus is express for it that only seventy men were slain, and so some of the ancient Jews; who say that these seventy were equal to 50,000, because of their superior excellency and dignity, as Ben Gersom observes, being the priests of the Lord, or the sanhedrim; but Bochart's sense seems to be preferable to all others, that there is a defect of the particle (m) , "out of"; and so to be read, either seventy men out of fifty thousand; that out of the 50,000 that flocked on this occasion from various parts, seventy were smitten for the reason before given; or rather seventy men, fifty out of 1000 men; that is, a twentieth part of the number of them, so that, out of 1400, seventy men were struck with death for their curiosity. Something of this story seems to be retained by tradition among the Heathens; we are told that when Troy was taken an ark was found, in which was the image of Bacchus; which being opened by Eurypylus, he was struck with madness as soon as he saw the image

 

[TCassidy]

Probably should read, “he smote fifty out of a thousand,” Which would be 70 out of 1400.

The words translated 70 is before the 50,000, which is unusual, but what is even more unusual is that the copula before the second number is missing.

And, of course 50,000 could not possibly live either in or round the small village of Bethshemesh, nor even in the immediate neighborhood.

 

[Van]

The NASB goes with 50,070 but the LEB (and NIV) goes with 70. Basically we do not know whether the 50,000 is a corruption or not. Best to put 50,070 in the main text, but with a footnote indicating the uncorrupted number may have been 70. As Gill and TC have noted, the town was probably too small to have 50,000 in it, let alone 50,000 who could look into the Ark of the Covenant. TC also noted an oddity in the Hebrew grammar, again suggestive of corruption.