The First Book of Samuel

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- Chapter 4 -

And it happened that, in those days, the Philistines assembled to fight. And Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and he made camp beside the Stone of Assistance. But the Philistines went to Aphek,(a)

and they positioned their troops against Israel. Then, when the conflict began, Israel turned his back to the Philistines. And they were cut down in that conflict, in various places in the fields, about four thousand men.

And the people returned to the camp. And those greater by birth of Israel said: “Why has the Lord struck us today before the Philistines? Let us bring to ourselves the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. And let it enter into our midst, so that it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”

Therefore, the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, sitting upon the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of the covenant of God.

And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord had arrived in the camp, all of Israel shouted with a great clamor, and the land resounded.

And the Philistines heard the voice of the clamor, and they said, “What is this voice of a great clamor in the camp of the Hebrews?” And they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived in the camp.

And the Philistines were afraid, saying, “God has entered into the camp.” And they groaned, saying:

“Woe to us! For there was no such great exultation yesterday, or the day before. Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these sublime gods? These are the gods who struck Egypt with all the plagues, in the desert.”(b)

“Be strengthened, and be manly, O Philistines! Otherwise, you may serve the Hebrews, as they also have served you. Be strengthened and wage war!”

Therefore, the Philistines fought, and Israel was cut down, and each one fled to his own tent. And an exceedingly great slaughter occurred. And thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell.(c)

And the ark of God was captured. Also, the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

Now a man of Benjamin, rushing from the troops, arrived at Shiloh on the same day, with his clothing torn, and with his head sprinkled with dust.

And when he had arrived, Eli was sitting on a seat opposite the way, gazing out. For his heart was fearful on behalf of the ark of God. Then, after this man entered the city, he announced it to the city. And the entire city wailed.

And Eli heard the sound of the outcry, and he said, “What is this sound, this tumult?” And the man hurried, and he went and announced it to Eli.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had dimmed, so that he was not able to see.

And he said to Eli: “I am the one who came from the battle. And it is I who fled from the troops today.” And he said to him, “What has happened, my son?”

And responding, the man reported and said: “Israel has fled before the Philistines. And a great ruin has happened to the people. Moreover, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also have died. And the ark of God has been captured.”

And when he had named the ark of God, he fell from the seat backwards, toward the door, and, having broken his neck, he died. For he was an old man of great age. And he judged Israel for forty years.(d)

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, and her delivery was near. And upon hearing the news that the ark of God had been captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she bent down and went into labor. For her pains rushed upon her suddenly.

Then, when she was near death, those who were standing around her said to her, “You should not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond to them, and she did not notice them.

And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory of Israel has been taken away,” because the ark of God was captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.(e)

And she said, “The glory has been taken away from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured.

Footnotes

(a)4:1 The Stone of help:In Hebrew Eben-ezer; so called from the help which the Lord was pleased afterwards to give to his people Israel in that place, by the prayers of Samuel, chap. 7.12.(Challoner)

(b)4:8 The Philistines substantially misunderstood the one God of Israel, thinking Him to be just like their idols, and so the text has the word ‘gods’ with all lowercase letters.(Conte)

(c)4:10 The expression “each one fled to his own tent” is like the expression “every man for himself”. It indicates that they no longer acted as a body, but were scattered.(Conte)

(d)4:18 Named the ark, etc:There is great reason, by all these circumstances, to hope that Heli died in a state of grace; and by his temporal punishments escaped the eternal.(Challoner)

(e)4:21 Ichabod:That is, Where is the glory? or, there is no glory. We see how much the Israelites lamented the loss of the ark, which was but the symbol of God’s presence among them. How much more ought Christians to lament the loss of God himself, when by sin they have driven him out of their souls.(Challoner)

The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.

When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let’s get the ark of the LORD’s covenant out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come among us and save us out of the hand of our enemies.”

So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Armies, who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the ark of the LORD’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.

When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” They understood that the LORD’s ark had come into the camp.

The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” They said, “Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing before.

Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

Be strong and behave like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Strengthen yourselves like men, and fight!”

The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter; for thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell.

God’s ark was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

The Death of Eli

A man of Benjamin ran out of the army and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head.

When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for God’s ark. When the man came into the city and told about it, all the city cried out.

When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, “What does the noise of this tumult mean?” The man hurried, and came and told Eli.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set, so that he could not see.

The man said to Eli, “I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.” He said, “How did the matter go, my son?”

He who brought the news answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and God’s ark has been captured.”

When he made mention of God’s ark, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to giving birth. When she heard the news that God’s ark was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her.

About the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer, neither did she regard it.

She named the child Ichabod,(a) saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because God’s ark was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

She said, “The glory has departed from Israel; for God’s ark has been taken.”

Footnotes

(a)4:21 “Ichabod” means “no glory”.