And when the Philistines heard the noise of the
shout
For it being so loud as to make the earth ring, it was heard in
the camp of the Philistines, which might not be at any great
distance from the camp of Israel; how far from each other were
Aphek and Ebenezer is not certain;
they said, what meaneth the noise of this great shout in
the camp of
the Hebrews?
they could not conceive what should be the reason of it, seeing
they had no occasion to shout for joy, having been lately
defeated; and a shout is made generally just before a battle is
begun, and the onset made, or when victory is obtained; neither
of which was the case now:
and they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into
the camp:
this they understood by spies, which they sent to find out the
meaning of the shout; which is more probable than that they came
to the knowledge of it by deserters; seeing it is not very likely
that any Israelites would desert to the Philistines.