The ark of Yahweh was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
The priests and the diviners.  The priests were the ones in charge of the ceremonies connected with their worship of Dagon, and the diviners were the practitioners of all kinds of superstitious and magical maneuvers that were falsely alleged to reveal future events or answer difficult questions. In ancient times, such deceivers were widely trusted; and even today one cannot fail to be aware that palm readers, phrenologists, fortune-tellers, etc. are still operating in every great city on earth.