1 Samuel 4:16

16 The man said to 'Eli, "I'm the soldier that came; I escaped today from the battlefield." He asked, "How did things go, my son?"

1 Samuel 4:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:16

And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army,
&c.] It is very probable that the people Eli inquired of told him there was a messenger come from the army, though they did not choose to relate to him the news he brought:

and I fled today out of the army;
so that as he was an eyewitness of what was done in the army, the account he brought was the earliest that could be had, in bringing which he had made great dispatch, having ran perhaps all the way:

and he said, what is there done, my son?
has a battle been fought? on which side is the victory? is Israel beaten, or have they conquered? how do things go? he uses the kind and tender appellation, my son, to engage him to tell him all freely and openly.

1 Samuel 4:16 In-Context

14 On hearing the cries, 'Eli asked, "What does this uproar mean?" So the man hurried, came to 'Eli and told him.

15 'Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed, because he was blind.

16 The man said to 'Eli, "I'm the soldier that came; I escaped today from the battlefield." He asked, "How did things go, my son?"

17 The one who had come with the news answered, "Isra'el fled before the P'lishtim, and there was a terrible slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hofni and Pinchas, also are dead; and the ark of God was captured.

18 As soon as he mentioned what had happened to the ark of God, 'Eli fell backward off his seat next to the gate, broke his neck and died; for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Isra'el forty years.