5:8 lords of the Philistines. The reference is apparently to the rulers of the Philistine league (4:1 note), who could cooperate in times of emergency.

Gath. The location of Gath is debated, but the best candidate is Tel es-Safi, about twelve miles east of Ashdod. Possibly the Philistine plan was to move the ark to another town in the hope that the plague would not break out there, showing that it had been a coincidence that a plague had broken out in Ashdod. This hope was dramatically dashed (v. 9).