1 SAMUEL 6:9 — KING JAMES VERSION 0 0
“And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth–shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.”
And watch: if it goes up on the road to its own territory toward Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm; but if not, then we shall know that it was not his hand that struck us; it was a chance that happened to us—the *sakh* (sign, test) is empirical: the cows will naturally return to their calves, so if they go to Beth-shemesh (Israel), it proves divine agency; if they do not, then the plague was mere chance (*mikreh*), not divine judgment. This *peh* (condition) allows the Philistines to verify God's hand scientifically.
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