1 AND the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp.
7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
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.
19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.
20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.
21 And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battell, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

2And the Philistines put themselues in aray against Israel: and when they ioyned battell, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the armie in the field, about foure thousand men.

3 And when the people were come into the campe, the Elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten vs to day before the Philistines? Let vs fetch the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord out of Shiloh vnto vs, that when it commeth among vs, it may saue vs out of the hand of our enemies.

4So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord of hostes, which dwelleth betweene the Cherubims: and the two sonnes of Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas were there, with the Arke of the Couenant of God.

5And when the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord came into the campe, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang againe.

6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the campe of the Hebrewes? And they vnderstood, that the Arke of the Lord was come into the campe.

7And the Philistines were afraid, for they saide, God is come into the campe. And they said, Woe vnto vs: for there hath not bene such a thing heretofore.

8Woe vnto vs: who shall deliuer vs out of the hand of these mightie Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wildernesse.

9Bee strong, and quit your selues like men, O ye Philistines, that yee be not seruants vnto the Hebrewes, as they haue bene to you: quit your selues like men, and fight.

10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled euery man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirtie thousand footmen.

11And the Arke of God was taken, and the two sonnes of Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas were slaine.

12 And there ran a man of Beniamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth vpon his head.

13And when hee came, loe, Eli sate vpon a seat by the way side, watching: for his heart trembled for the Arke of God. And when the man came into the citie, and told it, all the city cried out.

14And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, hee said; What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.

15Now Eli was ninetie and eight yeeres old, and his eyes were dimme, that he could not see.

16And the man said vnto 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 sonne?

17And the messenger answered, and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath bene also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sonnes also, Hophni & Phinehas, are dead, and the Arke of God is taken.

18And it came to passe when hee made mention of the Arke of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his necke brake, and hee died: for hee was an old man, and heauie, and hee had iudged Israel fortie yeeres.

19 And his daughter in law Phinehas wife was with childe neere to be deliuered: and when shee heard the tidings that the Arke of God was taken, and that her father in law, and her husband were dead, shee bowed her selfe and traueyled; for her paines came vpon her.

20And about the time of her death, the women that stood by her, said vnto her: Feare not, for thou hast borne a sonne. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.

21And she named the childe Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel, (because the Arke of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.)

22And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the Arke of God is taken.

1 == 1st Sam 5:1 ; 7:12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV == Ex 25:18 , 22 ; Num 7:89 ; 2nd Sam 6:2 ; Ps 80:1 ; 99:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IX == Judg 13:1 1st Cor 16:13

 

 

 

X == Lev 26:17 ; Deut 28:25 ; 1st Sam 4:2 ; Ps 78:9 , 62

 

XI == 1st Sam 2:32 , 34 ; Ps 78:61 , 64

XII == Josh 7:6 ; 2nd Sam 1:2 ; 13:19 ; 15:32 ; Neh 9:1 ; Job 2:12

XIII == 1st Sam 1:9XV == 1st Sam 3:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

XVI == 2nd Sam 1:4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX == Gen 35:17

 

 

XXI == 1st Sam 14:3 ; Ps 26:8 ; 78:61

1 and Samuel spoke to all Israel.
At that time, the Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

2 The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.

3 When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies."

4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.

5 When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.

6 The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked, "What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,

7 the Philistines were frightened. They said, "Gods have come to their camp." They said also, "Woe to us! This has never happened before.

8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with various plagues and with pestilence.

9 Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So fight manfully!"

10 The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.

12 A Benjaminite fled from the battlefield and reached Shiloh that same day, with his clothes torn and his head covered with dirt.

13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting in his chair beside the gate, watching the road, for he was troubled at heart about the ark of God. The man, however, went into the city to divulge his news, which put the whole city in an uproar.

14 Hearing the outcry of the men standing near him, Eli inquired, "What does this commotion mean?"

15 (Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes would not focus, so that he could not see.)

16 The man quickly came up to Eli and said, "It is I who have come from the battlefield; I fled from there today." He asked, "What happened, my son?"

17 And the messenger answered: "Israel fled from the Philistines; in fact, the troops suffered heavy losses. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are among the dead, and the ark of God has been captured."

18 At this mention of the ark of God, Eli fell backward from his chair into the gateway; since he was an old man and heavy, he died of a broken neck. He had judged Israel for forty years.

19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child and at the point of giving birth. When she heard the news concerning the capture of the ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she was seized with the pangs of labor, and gave birth.

20 She was about to die when the women standing around her said to her, "Never fear! You have given birth to a son." Yet she neither answered nor paid any attention.

21 (She named the child Ichabod, saying, "Gone is the glory from Israel," with reference to the capture of the ark of God and to her father-in-law and her husband.)

22 She said, "Gone is the glory from Israel," because the ark of God had been captured.

v 1,2. Only a few years had elapsed since Samuel began serving Eli and this battle with Phislistines, but even as a young man, he was firmly established as a prophet in Israel. Ebenezer was named 20 yr. later. In this case Israel rebelled against the Philistine rule, another part of the cycle of God’s judgment on Israel for their sins.

v 3-5. The Israelites rightly observed that the Lord had not been with them in the losing battle, but they erred in bringing the ark to battle like it was a lucky rabbit’s foot or some other charm (Like church, baptism, communion financial gifts). In the ark they had the symbol of God’s presence with them, but because of their sins, He was far from them, and they failed. Eli should have risked his life to stop Hophni and Phinehas.  Perhaps they carried or assisted in carrying the ark, but we are not told if even the precaution of covering it with blue linen and skins was done. The soldiers were elated to see it in their midst.

v 6-9. The Philistines may have learned by the loud shouting that God was supposed to have come into Israel’s camp. They had heard of the mighty things God (or as they thought, the gods) had done for Israel in Egypt and the wilderness, and they assumed they would just have to fight harder to overcome Israel’s gods.

v 10-11. The Philistines fought in desperation, so without God, Israel not only lost 30,000 men, but Hophni and Phinehas were slain and the ark captured.

v 12-18. When the Benjamite runner came from the battle to report to Eli, he found him trembling, not for his sons, but for the ark of God, which he should have stopped them from taking, even if it cost him his life. When this 98 year old blind, overweight priest heard the news, he knew that the word of the man of God, 2:27-36 and of God through Samuel, 3:11-14, was beginning to come to pass. He was told, 2:24 that both his sons would die in one day. He apparently fainted and the fall broke his neck.

v 19-22. The news of the loss of the ark, her husband, and father-in-law caused Phinehas’ wife to go into premature labor from which she died. However, before her death she named him Ichabod, “No glory”, or “The glory is departed”, especially because the ark of God was taken. However, because of their sins, the glory had departed from Israel even before the ark was taken. Many churches today who have gone into apostasy should be called Ichabod instead of Bethel, “House of God.

Ebenezer 1 Samuel 4:1    <Twenty Years >    Ebenezer 1 Samuel 7:12
Israel in premature revolt                                         Lord leading enemy to defeat
Superstitiously carried ark to war                          Turned to the Lord Himself
Only the symbol of God’s presence                       God’s presence a reality
To war presumptuously                                            Sins are confessed
Suffered defeat                                                          God miraculously delivered
(Thunderstorm routed Philistines)