Hemorrhoids(emerods, piles)
Summary
A painful affliction (also called emerods or tumors) that God sent upon the Philistines when they captured the Ark of the Covenant, forcing them to return it.
☩The Plague
When the Philistines captured the Ark in battle and placed it in Dagon's temple, God struck them with tumors (Hebrew 'ophalim' or 'techorim'). The affliction spread from Ashdod to Gath to Ekron as the Ark was moved (1 Samuel 5:6-12). The nature of the disease has been debated: the KJV 'emerods' suggests hemorrhoids, while the plague's association with mice (1 Samuel 6:4-5) has led some to connect it with bubonic plague, which causes swollen lymph nodes.
☩Resolution
The Philistine priests advised returning the Ark with guilt offerings: five golden tumors and five golden mice representing each Philistine city (1 Samuel 6:4-5, 11, 17-18). Deuteronomy 28:27 lists 'emerods' among the curses for covenant disobedience, using the same Hebrew term. The incident proved that Israel's God was supreme and that foreign gods could not protect those who defied Him.
