Is Bubonic Plague in the Bible?
It was Divine Punishment
Bubonic Plague Today
Recently a case of Bubonic plague was detected in Oregon. The person contracted the disease from a pet cat which eventually died from the disease. But fortunately, the person who contracted the plague is recovering.
Bubonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium. It can be transmitted to humans through flea bites, eating animal flesh contaminated with the bacteria, human fleas and lice, or contact with an infected person.
Unfortunately, it’s right at home in mammals. And we all are mammals.
Bubonic Plague Stats
The Worldwide Health Organization (WHO) classified plague as a reemerging disease almost thirty-five years ago. Between 2010 and 2015, there have been 3,248 worldwide documented plague cases.
Every year in America there are, on average, seven cases of plague. Thanks to advances in the medical sciences, doctors know that rounds of promptly administered antibiotics can prevent death in someone who has contracted the disease.
However, there are still some people who die from Bubonic plague. Just last year there was a fatality in Colorado. Each year 584 people worldwide die from plague.
Bubonic Plague Yesteryear
We are fortunate to have access to antibiotics that can treat plague. However, hundreds of years ago that wasn’t the case.
Bubonic Plague, also infamously known as ‘the Black Death,’ wiped out more than 25 million people in Europe in the fourteenth century.
The Philistines, one-time arch enemy of the Israelites, had to deal with the plague centuries before it ravaged Europe.
Where in the Bible?
Plague in the Bible is often used as divine judgment.
Sometimes the plague comes in the form of calamity like the ten plagues delivered upon Egypt when Pharaoh refused to release the Hebrews. Other times, like in the Book of Numbers, the God of Israel sent disease — a ‘plague’ to punish the people.
But was it the Bubonic plague?
Well, what scholars know is that Bubonic plague is an endemic disease today in parts of Africa and the Middle East just like it was during the time when many events of the Bible occurred.
In fact, the Book of 1 Samuel may actually record multiple cases of Bubonic plague.
It all started when the Philistines — one of Israel’s arch enemies — captured the Ark of the Covenant.
The Philistines Messed Up
The Philistines routed the Israelites on the battlefield and captured the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was a wood box overlaid with gold and topped with two gold angels.
From the Israelite’s point of view, the Ark of the Covenant represented God’s presence among the Israelites.
From the Philistine’s point of view, the Ark was Israel’s God. So, when they defeated Israel, the Philistines also considered themselves victors over Israel’s God.
Wrong.
In their arrogance, the carted the Ark into the temple of Dagon, their false god, for overnight storage.
It was the Philistines’ crude way of broadcasting that Dagon had overpowered the God of Israel.
In the morning, the Philistines discovered the Dagon statue flat on its face before the Ark. Undaunted, they put the statue back in place.
But the next morning the Philistines discovered the statue decapitated and with both hands snapped off. It was a visible declaration that Israel’s God, the true God, had defeated Dagon.
The Lord wasn’t finished. After destroying the pagan statue on its home turf, He also tormented the citizens of the town with plague:
The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” — 1 Samuel 5:6–7 New International Version
Some scholars hypothesize that the tumors were actually swollen lymph nodes — the hallmark symptoms of the Bubonic plague.
The Philistines soon realized that though they had defeated Israel, they had not conquered Israel’s God.
They moved the Ark to another town. However, upon its arrival, the plague of tumors struck there as well:
But after they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. — 1 Samuel 5:9 New International Version
And then the Philistines moved the Ark again.
Once again, the Lord sent a deadly plague complete with tumors, to the place where the Ark had been moved. Bodies piled up and the people in that town were terrified:
As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven. 1 Samuel 5:10–12 New International Version
The Philistines kept the Ark for seven months. They were more than ready to send it back to Israel’s God. But how to do it? The Philistines consulted their priests:
They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”
The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”
They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land.”
— 1 Samuel 6:3–5 New International Version
In the end, the Philistines sent the Ark of God back to Israel.
If you enjoyed this article, then consider reading ‘She was a Human Blanket for the King’ here or try ‘Bible Study vs Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll’ here. You may also want to consider ‘He Ticked Off the Queen and Got Beheaded’ here. Thanks for your time. Thanks for reading.
Sources
- Holy Bible, NLT Translation, NLT Study Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois, 2008, pp. 476, 2276.
- NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2019, pp. 472–474, 2361.
- Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Harper Collins Publishers, 1989.
