1 Samuel 4:16

16 And the man said to Eli, "I am the [one] who has come from the battle line! I have fled today from the battle line!" And he said, "{What exactly happened}, 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 noise of the outcry, he said, "What [is] the noise of this commotion?" Then the man {came quickly} and told Eli.

15 Now Eli [was] {ninety-eight years old} and his eyes {stayed fixed ahead} and he was not able to see.

16 And the man said to Eli, "I am the [one] who has come from the battle line! I have fled today from the battle line!" And he said, "{What exactly happened}, my son?"

17 Then the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before [the] Philistines. There has been a great defeat among the troops. Also, your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark of God has been captured."

18 Just as he mentioned the ark of God, he fell from his chair backwards against the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, because the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "what [is] the thing/matter"