After seven difficult months, the Philistines are ready to send the ark back to Israel (6:1–9). But they want to make sure they do not offend the Lord any further, so they consult with their religious leaders. The leaders urge them to send a gift with the ark to compensate for the way they have dishonored Israel’s deity. This guilt offering consists of “five gold tumors and five gold rats” (6:4), representing the five main cities of the Philistines and reflecting the symptoms and likely medium of the plague (that is, the rats may have carried the disease as a bubonic plague). Through this offering and the return of the ark, the Philistines hope to bring an end to the plague.

To carry the ark, the priests suggest that a new cart be used, one that is “ceremonially clean.” The cart is to be…