1 Samuel 4:14

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.

1 Samuel 4:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:14

And when Eli heard the noise of the crying
The shrieks of the men and women, which were very clamorous and terrible. Eli had his hearing, though not his sight; he could not see the distress in their countenances, but he heard the lamentations they made:

and said, what meaneth the noise of this tumult?
it seems the people ran about, wringing their hands, and making doleful shrieks; the noise of which Eli heard, and the meaning of which he inquired after, or what should be the cause of it:

and the man came in hastily, and told Eli;
or made haste, and came to him, and related all that is later expressed; for Eli was not in any house, but on a seat by the way side, and therefore could not be said to come "in" to him; but he came to him, where he was, being brought by some of the citizens Eli had inquired of what should be the meaning of this noise; and therefore without delay the man was hastened to give the whole account unto him, as it was highly proper he should, being the supreme magistrate.

1 Samuel 4:14 In-Context

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?