Haemorrhoids

"Or Emerods, bleeding piles known to the ancient Romans as" "mariscae, but more probably malignant boils of an infectious and" fatal character. With this loathsome and infectious disease the men of Ashdod were smitten by the hand of the Lord. This calamity they attributed to the presence of the ark in their "midst, and therefore they removed it to Gath (1 Sam. 5:6-8). But" "the same consequences followed from its presence in Gath, and" "therefore they had it removed to Ekron, 11 miles distant. The" "Ekronites were afflicted with the same dreadful malady, but more" "severely; and a panic seizing the people, they demanded that the" ark should be sent back to the land of Israel (9-12; 6:1-9).