The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Show us with which we shall send it to its place."
Evidently the reason the Philistines fashioned images of mice (1 Samuel 6:4) was that there was some connection between rodents and the swellings the Philistines suffered. [Note: John B. Geyer, "Mice and Rites in 1 Samuel V-VI," Vetus Testamentum 31:3 (July 1981):293-304.] This connection has led many interpreters to conclude that perhaps the Philistines had experienced something such as bubonic plague, which fleas living on rodents transmit. Bubonic plague causes swollen buboes or tumors. [Note: See Nicole Duplaix, "Fleas: The Lethal Leapers," National Geographic 173:5 (May 1988):672-94, for more information on bubonic plague.] Josephus diagnosed the problem as dysentery, which may have been an accompanying symptom. [Note: Josephus, 6:1:1.] Probably the Philistines intended that the models would trigger sympathetic magic, that is, that they would accomplish what they wanted when they did a similar thing. By sending the models out of their country they hoped the tumors and mice would depart too.