Great question. Here’s a quote in NIV, but I agree that KJV says 5,070. KJV is not the most accurate version. Here’s a commentary about the typographical error–it’s thought perhaps that it was meant to say 70 men out of the 50,000 of Beth Shemesh. 1 Samuel 6:19 Commentaries: He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. (biblehub.com)
Why do you think that God would have killed 70 people for looking at the ark?
As a kid, I was told that this was because they may have been drunk or disrespectful–gawking.
That’s a tough one. In context, once the ark was in the Holy of Holies of the temple, a priest was only allowed in once a year (I think), and he had a cord tied to his ankle so that if he was struck down by God for unworthy attitude, they could pull him back without endangering themselves.
I struggle with this a lot.
It’s definitely not the picture you see in Jesus, where we treat our enemies with love despite their abuse, or allow children, the least powerful and weakest (and most likely to die of natural causes) to come to Him in front of others.
Other passages in the OT, I think, reflect the times–they were brutal. In Psalm 137:9 “Blessed by he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”
If you notice people who grow up in grouchy families, they tend to be grouchy. Also, in tough straits, sometimes the parents are pretty strict.
I think that happened in the Old Testament. They considered God to be a “warrior God,” like the surrounding nations’ gods, who fought for them and killed many people.
They inflated ages, like the surrounding folks did, to give their kings and patriarchs dignity.
there are quite a few books out there about horrible things attributed to God. I think that they are from a poor view of God. George MacDonald wrote,
i. If it be said by any that God does a thing which seems to me unjust, then either I do not know what the thing is, or God does not do it…Least of all must we accept some low notion of justice in a man, and argue that God is just in doing after that notion.
I think that that’s a good insight, always keeping in mind that the people of the time judged based on their own limited insight; as we do. Thanks
There is a thread about "Inerrancy and Mass Slaughter" from earlier, that you might find interesting.
Other books are by Greg Boyd as above, and also Paul Copan, “Is God a Moral Monster” (though i don’t agree with Copan, who mainly seems to think that God did them, but not as badly as the numbers imply). Thanks.
I’d be interested in what you think. Thanks.