1 Samuel 4:12

12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front line of the battle. He went to Shiloh that day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

1 Samuel 4:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:12

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army
Out of the rank in which he was, before the whole army was quite broken up. This was a young man as Josephus ^F2 says, which is highly probable; though not at all to be depended on is what the Jews ^F3 say, that this was Saul, later king of Israel:

and came to Shiloh the same day;
which, according to Bunting ^F4, was forty two miles from Ebenezer, near to which the battle was fought; and that it was a long way is pretty plain by the remark made, that this messenger came the same day the battle was fought; though not at such a distance as some Jewish writers say, some sixty, some one hundred and twenty miles ^F5; which is not at all probable:

with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head;
which were both tokens of distress and mourning, and showed that he was a messenger of bad tidings from the army; (See Gill on Joshua 7:6).

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 11. sect. 3.
F3 Shalshalet Hakabala. fol. 8. 1. Jarchi in loc.
F4 Travels of the Patriarchs p. 123.
F5 Midrash Schemuel apud Abarbinel in loc.

1 Samuel 4:12 In-Context

10 The Philistines fought and defeated Israel. Every [Israelite] soldier fled to his tent. It was a major defeat in which 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers died.

11 The ark of God was captured. Both of Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front line of the battle. He went to Shiloh that day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on a chair beside the road, watching. He was worried about the ark of God. The man went into the city to tell the news. The whole city cried out.

14 Hearing the cry, Eli asked, "What is this commotion?" So the man went quickly to tell Eli the news.