1 Samuel 4
4
Philistines Take the Ark in Victory
1And the word of [the Lord through] Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and they camped beside Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2The Philistines assembled in battle formation to meet Israel, and when the battle was over, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3When the people (soldiers) came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” 4So the people sent word to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of the covenant of God.
5So it happened that as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all [the people of] Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth resounded. 6When 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?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe [disaster is coming] to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who will rescue us from the hand of these mighty #4:8 Even though the Philistines associated the God of Israel with the ark, they still thought in terms of multiple gods.gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, so that you do not become servants to the Hebrews, as they have been servants to you; act like men and fight!”
10So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated and every man fled to his tent. It was a very great defeat, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11Also the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed. [1 Sam 2:34]
12Now a man [from the tribe] of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head [as signs of mourning over the disaster]. 13When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road, keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. When the man arrived to report [the news] in the city, everyone in the city cried out [to God, for help]. 14When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he asked, “What is the noise of this uproar?” And the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; his eyes were dim so that he could not see. 16The man said to Eli, “I have come from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” Eli said, “How did things go, my son?” 17The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” 18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the [city] gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.
19Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, and was about to give birth; so when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her [labor] pains began. 20And about the time of her death [following the sudden birth] the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay any attention. 21And she named the boy #4:21 Hebrew for “Where is the glory?”Ichabod, saying, “The glory has left Israel,” because the ark of God had been taken and because of [the deaths of] her father-in-law and her husband. 22She said, “The glory has left Israel, for the ark of God has been taken.”
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1 Samuel 4
4
1 Samuel revealed the word of the Lord#tn Heb “and the word of Samuel was.” The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word (“Samuel” is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word (“Samuel” is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel. to all Israel.
The Ark of the Covenant is Lost to the Philistines
Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines.#tn Heb “and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle.” They camped at Ebenezer,#tn Heb “the stone, the help.” The second noun is in apposition to the first one and apparently is the name by which the stone was known. Contrast the expression used in 5:1 and 7:12, where the first word lacks the definite article, unlike 4:1. and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines arranged their forces to fight#tn Heb “to meet.” Israel. As the battle spread out,#tn The MT has וַתִּטֹּשׁ (vattittosh), from the root נטשׁ (ntsh). This verb normally means “to leave,” “to forsake,” or “to permit,” but such an idea does not fit this context very well. Many scholars have suspected that the text originally read either וַתֵּט (vattet, “and it spread out”), from the root נטה (nth), or וַתִּקֶשׁ (vattiqesh, “and it grew fierce”), from the root קשׂה (qsh). The former suggestion is apparently supported by the LXX ἔκλινεν (eklinen, “it inclined”) and is adopted in the translation. Israel was defeated by#tn Heb “before.” the Philistines, who#tn Heb “the Philistines, and they killed.” The pronoun “they” has been translated as a relative pronoun (“who”) to make it clear to the English reader that the Philistines were the ones who did the killing. killed about four thousand men in the battle line in the field.
3 When the army#tn Or “people.” came back to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by#tn Heb “before.” the Philistines? Let’s take with us the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. When it is with us, it will save us#tn Heb “and it will come in our midst and it will save.” After the cohortative (see “let’s take”), the prefixed verbal forms with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose or result. The translation understands the ark to be the subject of the third masculine singular verbs, although it is possible to understand the Lord as the subject. In the latter case, one should translate, “when he is with us, he will save us.” from the hand of our enemies.
4 So the army#tn Or “people.” sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly#tn Heb “shouted [with] a great shout.” that the ground shook.
6 When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp. 7 The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp.#tn The Hebrew text has a direct quote, “because they said, ‘Gods have come to the camp.’” Even though the verb translated “have come” is singular, the following subject should be taken as plural (“gods”), as v. 8 indicates. Some emend the verb to a plural form. They said, “Too bad for#tn Traditionally “woe to.” They thought disaster was imminent. us! We’ve never seen anything like this! 8 Too bad for us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert! 9 Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, or else you will wind up serving the Hebrews the way they have served you! Act like men and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated; they all ran home.#tn Heb “and they fled, each to his tents.” The slaughter was very great; thirty thousand foot soldiers fell in battle. 11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed.
Eli Dies
12 On that day#tn Or perhaps, “the same day.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.f. a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head. 13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of#tc Read with many medieval Hebrew mss, the Qere, and much versional evidence יַד (yad, “hand”) rather than MT יַךְ (yakh). the road, for he was very worried#tn Heb “his heart was trembling.” about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report,#tn Heb “and the man came to report in the city.” the whole city cried out.
14 When Eli heard the outcry,#tn Heb “the sound of the cry.” he said, “What is this commotion?”#tn Heb “the sound of this commotion.” The man quickly came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead;#tn Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision. he was unable to see.
16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity. asked, “How did things go, my son?” 17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from#tn Heb “before.” the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”
18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity. fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he#tn Heb “the man.” was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.
19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her. 20 As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, “Don’t be afraid! You have given birth to a son!” But she did not reply or pay any attention.#tn Heb “and she did not set her heart.”
21 She named the boy Ichabod,#sn The name Ichabod (אִי־כָבוֹד) may mean, “Where is the glory?” saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured.”
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