8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
For he selected this one nation to teach the knowledge of God to all the others.… The Philistines also testified to this. They feared the presence of the ark and said to one another, “This is the God who struck Egypt. Woe to us Philistines.” Then God gave the ark to the Philistines to convict his people of transgressing the law. For he could not make those who flagrantly broke the law its upholders. But in giving the ark he safeguarded his majesty, teaching the Philistines that it was sinful men they had conquered and not God.
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on 1 Samuel 4:8