Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 6:4

"Then said they, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, [according to] the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords." — 1 Samuel 6:4 (ASV)

Five golden emerods, and five golden mice. —It was a general custom among ancient nations to offer to the deity to whom sickness or recovery from sickness was ascribed, likenesses of the diseased parts; similarly, those who had survived a shipwreck would offer pictures, or perhaps their garments, to Neptune, or, according to some accounts, to Isis. (See, for instance, Horace, Carm. i. 5.) Slaves and gladiators would present their weapons to Hercules; captives would dedicate their chains to some deity. This practice has found favor in more recent times. In the fifth century, Christians—Theodoret tells us—would often offer in their churches gold or silver hands and feet, or eyes, as a thank-offering for cures received in answer to prayer. Similar votive offerings are still made in Roman Catholic countries.