1 Samuel 4:9

9 Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were our slaves. So fight like men, or we will become their slaves."

1 Samuel 4:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:9

Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines
Since this was all they had to depend upon, their manly courage; if they did not exert that it was all over with them; and seeing their case was desperate, having gods as well as men to fight with, it became them to exert themselves to the uttermost; which did they, there was a possibility still of gaining victory, and so immortal honour to themselves; these words seem to be spoken by the generals and officers of the army of the Philistines to the common soldiers:

that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you;
that is, before and in the times of Samson; but it appears from hence that at this time neither the Philistines ruled over the Israelites, nor the Israelites over them; but as there was danger of their becoming subject to Israel, they had better die gloriously in the field of battle than to be in the base state of servitude:

quit yourselves like men, and fight;
this is repeated to animate them to battle, which they supposed was not far off by the shoutings of the Israelites, and which they must prepare for.

1 Samuel 4:9 In-Context

7 They were afraid and said, "A god has come into the Hebrew camp! We're in trouble! This has never happened before!

8 How terrible it will be for us! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They are the ones who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of disasters in the desert.

9 Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were our slaves. So fight like men, or we will become their slaves."

10 So the Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites, and every Israelite soldier ran away to his own home. It was a great defeat for Israel, because thirty thousand Israelite soldiers were killed.

11 The Ark of God was taken by the Philistines, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.