“And They Reap the Wheat Harvest”: An Intertextual Investigation into the Meaning of a Small Remark in the Story of the Return of the Ark (I Samuel 6,13)

ABSTRACT The story of the return of the Ark of the Covenant in I Samuel 6 is one with many different events and changes in the storyline. A lot happens at the same time and that is maybe the reason why some information is often overlooked. When the Ark returns to Israel—after a long stay in hostile territory—the people from Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat, so verse 13 states. This remark is usually neglected or taken as a simple statement of time. There is however much more that can be said about the mentioning of the harvest. In this article we will therefore explore seven “lines of associations” that are connected with “harvest” and “wheat.” We will give an overview of this set of meanings which will lead us “outside” the story. By subsequently bringing these associations back into the story, our interpretation of the meaning of the Ark of YHWH returning to its homeland becomes more deepened and profound.