1 Samuel 4:1-6

Philistines Take the Ark in Victory

1 Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside ¹Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in ²Aphek.

2 The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield *.

3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "³Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? ⁴Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies."

4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts ⁵who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 As the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, ⁶all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.

6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp.

1 Samuel 4:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 4

This chapter is a narrative of a war between Israel and the Philistines, in the time of Samuel, and of the consequences of it. In the first battle, the Philistines had the better of the Israelites, which caused the latter to inquire into the reason of it, and who proposed to fetch the ark of the Lord, and did, to repair their loss, and prepare for a second battle, in which they hoped to succeed, and which struck a panic into their enemies, 1Sa 4:1-7, who yet encouraged and stirred up one another to behave in a courageous manner, and victory a second time was on their side, a great number of the Israelites were slain, among whom were Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, and the ark of God was taken, 1Sa 4:8-11, the news of which being brought to Eli, he fell back and died, 1Sa 4:12-18 and to his daughter-in-law, who upon it fell into labour, and died also, 1Sa 4:19-22.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 7:12
• 2. Joshua 12:18; 1 Samuel 29:1
• 3. Joshua 7:7, 8
• 4. Numbers 10:35; Joshua 6:6
• 5. Exodus 25:22; 2 Samuel 6:2; Psalms 80:1
• 6. Joshua 6:5, 20

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "smitten"
• [b] Or "he"