1 Samuel 4:16

16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today. ” And he said, ¹“How did it 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 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar? ” Then 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 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today. ” And he said, “How did it go, my son? ”

17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured. ”

18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

Cross References

• 1. 4:16 2 Sam. 1:4