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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1 Samuel 4
4
1Then Samuel would speak to the whole nation of Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Sacred Chest
One day the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They set up camp near Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2The Philistines made a fierce attack. They defeated the Israelites and killed about 4,000 of them.
3The Israelite army returned to their camp, and the leaders said, “Why did the Lord let us lose to the Philistines today? Let's get the sacred chest where the Lord's agreement with Israel is kept. Then the Lord#4.3 Lord: Or “chest.” will help us and rescue us from our enemies.”
4 #
Ex 25.22. The army sent some soldiers to bring back the sacred chest from Shiloh, because the Lord All-Powerful has his throne on the winged creatures on top of the chest.
As Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, 5brought the chest into camp, the army cheered so loudly that the ground shook. 6The Philistines heard the noise and said, “What are those Hebrews shouting about?”
When the Philistines learned that the sacred chest had been brought into the camp, 7they were scared to death and said:
The gods have come into their camp. Now we're in real trouble! Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. 8We're in big trouble! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They're the same gods who made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians in the desert.
9Philistines, be brave and fight hard! If you don't, those Hebrews will rule us, just as we've been ruling them. Fight and don't be afraid.
10The Philistines did fight. They killed 30,000 Israelite soldiers, and all the rest ran off to their homes. 11Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and the sacred chest was captured.
Eli Dies
12That same day a soldier from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefront to Shiloh. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show his sorrow. 13He went into town and told the news about the battle, and everyone started crying.
Eli was afraid that something might happen to the sacred chest. So he was sitting on his chair beside the road, just waiting. 14-15He was 98 years old and blind, but he could hear everyone crying, and he asked, “What's all that noise?”
The soldier hurried over and told Eli, 16“I escaped from the fighting today and ran here.”
“Young man, what happened?” Eli asked.
17“Israel ran away from the Philistines,” the soldier answered. “Many of our people were killed, including your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. But worst of all, the sacred chest was captured.”
18Eli was still sitting on a chair beside the wall of the town gate. And when the man said that the Philistines had taken the sacred chest, Eli fell backwards. He was a very heavy old man, and the fall broke his neck and killed him. He had been a leader#4.18 leader: The Hebrew word means that Eli may have been an army commander, a judge, and a priest. of Israel for 40 years.
19The wife of Phinehas was about to give birth. And soon after she heard that the sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and his father had died, her baby came. The birth was very hard, 20and she was dying. But the women taking care of her said, “Don't be afraid—it's a boy!”
She didn't pay any attention to them. 21-22Instead she kept thinking about losing her husband and her father-in-law. So she said, “My son will be named Ichabod,#4.21,22 Ichabod: Ichabod means “where is the glory?” or “there is no glory.” because the glory of Israel left our country when the sacred chest was captured.”
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