1 Samuel 4
4
The Philistines Capture the Ark
1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at #[ch. 5:1; 7:12] Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at #ch. 29:1; Josh. 12:18Aphek. 2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3And when the people came to 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 #Josh. 18:1from Shiloh, that it#4:3 Or he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, #Ex. 25:22; 2 Sam. 6:2; Ps. 80:1; 99:1; [Num. 7:89]who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel #Josh. 6:5, 20gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9#[2 Sam. 10:12; 1 Cor. 16:13] Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews #Judg. 13:1as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10So the Philistines fought, #ver. 2; Ps. 78:62; [Lev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25] and Israel was defeated, #2 Sam. 18:17; 19:8; 2 Kgs. 14:12; 2 Chr. 25:22and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11#[ch. 2:32; Ps. 78:60, 61] And the ark of God was captured, #ch. 2:34; Ps. 78:64and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Death of Eli
12A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, #See Josh. 7:6with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13When he arrived, #ver. 18; ch. 1:9Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old #1 Kgs. 14:4; [ch. 3:2]and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, #2 Sam. 1:4“How did it go, my son?” 17He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward #ver. 13from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, #Gen. 35:17“Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21And she named the child #ch. 14:3 Ichabod, saying, #Ps. 78:61; [Ps. 26:8] “The glory has departed#4:21 Or gone into exile; also verse 22 from Israel!” because #ver. 11the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, #[See ver. 21 above]for the ark of God has been captured.”
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Sh'mu'el Alef (1 Sa) 4
4
1So the word of Sh’mu’el came to all Isra’el.
Isra’el went out to fight against the P’lishtim, setting up camp at Even-‘Ezer, while the P’lishtim camped at Afek. 2The P’lishtim drew up in battle formation against Isra’el. The battle was fierce, and Isra’el was beaten by the P’lishtim — they killed about four thousand soldiers on the battlefield. 3When the army had returned to camp, the leaders of Isra’el asked, “Why has Adonai defeated us today before the P’lishtim? Let’s bring the ark for the covenant of Adonai from Shiloh to us, so that he will come among us and save us from our enemies.” 4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark for the covenant of Adonai-Tzva’ot, who is present above the k’ruvim. The two sons of ‘Eli, Hofni and Pinchas, were there with the ark for the covenant of God.
5When the ark for the covenant of Adonai entered the camp, all Isra’el gave a mighty shout that resounded through the land. 6On hearing the shout, the P’lishtim asked, “What does this great shout in the Hebrews’ camp mean?” Then they realized that the ark of Adonai had arrived in the camp, 7and the P’lishtim became afraid. They said, “God has entered the camp! We’re lost! There was no such thing yesterday or the day before. 8We’re lost! Who will rescue us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that completely overthrew the Egyptians in the desert. 9Be strong; and behave like men, you P’lishtim; so that you won’t become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Behave like men, and fight!”
10The P’lishtim fought, Isra’el was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. It was a terrible slaughter — 30,000 of Isra’el’s foot soldiers fell. 11Moreover, the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of ‘Eli, Hofni and Pinchas, died. 12One of the soldiers, a man from Binyamin, ran and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and earth on his head [as a sign of mourning]. 13As he arrived, ‘Eli was sitting on his seat by the road, watching; because he was trembling with anxiety over the ark of God. When the man entered the city and told the news, the whole city began crying out. 14On hearing the cries, ‘Eli asked, “What does this uproar mean?” So the man hurried, came to ‘Eli and told him. 15‘Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed, because he was blind. 16The man said to ‘Eli, “I’m the soldier that came; I escaped today from the battlefield.” He asked, “How did things go, my son?” 17The one who had come with the news answered, “Isra’el fled before the P’lishtim, and there was a terrible slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hofni and Pinchas, also are dead; and the ark of God was captured. 18As soon as he mentioned what had happened to the ark of God, ‘Eli fell backward off his seat next to the gate, broke his neck and died; for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Isra’el forty years.
19His daughter-in-law, Pinchas’s wife, was pregnant and near delivery-time. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into abnormal labor, bent over and gave birth. 20As she was dying, the women standing by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, because you have given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer or show any sign of recognition. 21She named the child I-Khavod [without glory], saying, “The glory has departed from Isra’el”; because the ark of God had been captured, and because of her father-in-law and husband. 22She said, “The glory of Isra’el has gone into exile, because the ark of God has been captured.”
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