12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?
17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
12 And there ran H7323 a man H376 of Benjamin H1144 out of the army, H4634 and came H935 to Shiloh H7887 the same day H3117 with his clothes H4055 rent, H7167 and with earth H127 upon his head. H7218
13 And when he came, H935 lo, Eli H5941 sat H3427 upon a seat H3678 by the wayside H1870 H3027 H3197 watching: H6822 for his heart H3820 trembled H2730 for the ark H727 of God. H430 And when the man H376 came H935 into the city, H5892 and told H5046 it, all the city H5892 cried out. H2199
14 And when Eli H5941 heard H8085 the noise H6963 of the crying, H6818 he said, H559 What meaneth the noise H6963 of this tumult? H1995 And the man H376 came H935 in hastily, H4116 and told H5046 Eli. H5941
15 Now Eli H5941 was ninety H8673 and eight H8083 years H8141 old; H1121 and his eyes H5869 were dim, H6965 that he could H3201 not see. H7200
16 And the man H376 said H559 unto Eli, H5941 I am he that came H935 out of the army, H4634 and I fled H5127 to day H3117 out of the army. H4634 And he said, H559 What is there done, H1697 my son? H1121
17 And the messenger H1319 answered H6030 and said, H559 Israel H3478 is fled H5127 before H6440 the Philistines, H6430 and there hath been also a great H1419 slaughter H4046 among the people, H5971 and thy two H8147 sons H1121 also, Hophni H2652 and Phinehas, H6372 are dead, H4191 and the ark H727 of God H430 is taken. H3947
18 And it came to pass, when he made mention H2142 of the ark H727 of God, H430 that he fell H5307 from off the seat H3678 backward H322 by H1157 the side H3027 of the gate, H8179 and his neck H4665 brake, H7665 and he died: H4191 for he was an old H2204 man, H376 and heavy. H3513 And he had judged H8199 Israel H3478 forty H705 years. H8141
12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
13 And when he came, lo, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the wayside watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man hasted, and came and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.
16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, How went the matter, my son?
17 And he that brought the tidings answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that `Eli' feel from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
12 And a man of Benjamin runneth out of the ranks, and cometh into Shiloh, on that day, and his long robes `are' rent, and earth on his head;
13 and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare `it' in the city, and all the city crieth out.
14 And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, `What -- the noise of this tumult!' And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to Eli.
15 And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.
16 And the man saith unto Eli, `I `am' he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;' and he saith, `What hath been the matter, my son?'
17 And he who is bearing tidings answereth and saith, `Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and also a great slaughter hath been among the people, and also thy two sons have died -- Hophni and Phinehas -- and the ark of God hath been captured.'
18 And it cometh to pass, at his mentioning the ark of God, that he falleth from off the throne backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck is broken, and he dieth, for the man `is' old and heavy, and he hath judged Israel forty years.
12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the battle, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head.
13 And when he came, behold, Eli was sitting upon the seat by the way-side watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out.
14 And Eli heard the noise of the crying, and said, What is the noise of this tumult? And the man came hastily, and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, that he could not see.
16 And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the battle, and I have fled to-day out of the battle. And he said, What has taken place, my son?
17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18 And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died; for the man was old, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
12 There ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with earth on his head.
13 When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
14 When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What means the noise of this tumult? The man hurried, and came and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.
16 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 went the matter, my son?
17 He who brought the news answered, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18 It happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that [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.
12 And a man of Benjamin went running from the fight and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothing out of order and earth on his head.
13 And when he came, Eli was seated by the wayside watching: and in his heart was fear for the ark of God. And when the man came into the town and gave the news, there was a great outcry.
14 And Eli, hearing the noise and the cries, said, What is the reason of this outcry? And the man came quickly and gave the news to Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were fixed so that he was not able to see.
16 And the man said to Eli, I have come from the army and have come in flight today from the fight. And he said, How did it go, my son?
17 And the man said, Israel went in flight from the Philistines, and there has been great destruction among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.
18 And at these words about the ark of God, Eli, falling back off his seat by the side of the doorway into the town, came down on the earth so that his neck was broken and death overtook him, for he was an old man and of great weight. He had been judging Israel for forty years.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Samuel 4
Commentary on 1 Samuel 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
1Sa 4:1-11. Israel Overcome by the Philistines.
1. the word of Samuel came to all Israel—The character of Samuel as a prophet was now fully established. The want of an "open vision" was supplied by him, for "none of his words were let fall to the ground" (1Sa 3:19); and to his residence in Shiloh all the people of Israel repaired to consult him as an oracle, who, as the medium of receiving the divine command, or by his gift of a prophet, could inform them what was the mind of God. It is not improbable that the rising influence of the young prophet had alarmed the jealous fears of the Philistines. They had kept the Israelites in some degree of subjection ever since the death of Samson and were determined, by further crushing, to prevent the possibility of their being trained by the counsels, and under the leadership, of Samuel, to reassert their national independence. At all events, the Philistines were the aggressors (1Sa 4:2). But, on the other hand, the Israelites were rash and inconsiderate in rushing to the field without obtaining the sanction of Samuel as to the war, or having consulted him as to the subsequent measures they took.
Israel went out against the Philistines to battle—that is, to resist this new incursion.
Eben-ezer … Aphek—Aphek, which means "strength," is a name applied to any fort or fastness. There were several Apheks in Palestine; but the mention of Eben-ezer determines this "Aphek" to be in the south, among the mountains of Judah, near the western entrance of the pass of Beth-horon, and consequently on the borders of the Philistine territory. The first encounter at Aphek being unsuccessful, the Israelites determined to renew the engagement in better circumstances.
3-9. Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us—Strange that they were so blind to the real cause of the disaster and that they did not discern, in the great and general corruption of religion and morals (1Sa 2:22-25; 7:3; Ps 78:58), the reason why the presence and aid of God were not extended to them. Their first measure for restoring the national spirit and energy ought to have been a complete reformation—a universal return to purity of worship and morals. But, instead of cherishing a spirit of deep humiliation and sincere repentance, instead of resolving on the abolition of existing abuses, and the re-establishing of the pure faith, they adopted what appeared an easier and speedier course—they put their trust in ceremonial observances, and doubted not but that the introduction of the ark into the battlefield would ensure their victory. In recommending this extraordinary step, the elders might recollect the confidence it imparted to their ancestors (Nu 10:35; 14:44), as well as what had been done at Jericho. But it is more probable that they were influenced by the heathenish ideas of their idolatrous neighbors, who carried their idol Dagon, or his sacred symbols, to their wars, believing that the power of their divinities was inseparably associated with, or residing in, their images. In short, the shout raised in the Hebrew camp, on the arrival of the ark, indicated very plainly the prevalence among the Israelites at this time of a belief in national deities—whose influence was local, and whose interest was especially exerted in behalf of the people who adored them. The joy of the Israelites was an emotion springing out of the same superstitious sentiments as the corresponding dismay of their enemies; and to afford them a convincing, though painful proof of their error, was the ulterior object of the discipline to which they were now subjected—a discipline by which God, while punishing them for their apostasy by allowing the capture of the ark, had another end in view—that of signally vindicating His supremacy over all the gods of the nations.
1Sa 4:12-22. Eli Hearing the Tidings.
13-18. Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside—The aged priest, as a public magistrate, used, in dispensing justice, to seat himself daily in a spacious recess at the entrance gate of the city. In his intense anxiety to learn the issue of the battle, he took up his usual place as the most convenient for meeting with passers-by. His seat was an official chair, similar to those of the ancient Egyptian judges, richly carved, superbly ornamented, high, and without a back. The calamities announced to Samuel as about to fall upon the family of Eli [1Sa 2:34] were now inflicted in the death of his two sons, and after his death, by that of his daughter-in-law, whose infant son received a name that perpetuated the fallen glory of the church and nation [1Sa 4:19-22]. The public disaster was completed by the capture of the ark. Poor Eli! He was a good man, in spite of his unhappy weaknesses. So strongly were his sensibilities enlisted on the side of religion, that the news of the capture of the ark proved to him a knell of death; and yet his overindulgence, or sad neglect of his family—the main cause of all the evils that led to its fall—has been recorded, as a beacon to warn all heads of Christian families against making shipwreck on the same rock.