1 Samuel 4:16

16 The man told Eli, "I've just come from the front lines of the battle. I ran away from there this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, 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 Eli heard the people crying out. He asked, "What's the meaning of all of this noise?" The man hurried over to Eli.

15 Eli was 98 years old. His eyes were so bad he couldn't see.

16 The man told Eli, "I've just come from the front lines of the battle. I ran away from there this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, son?"

17 The man who brought the news replied, "Israel ran away from the Philistines. Large numbers of men in the army were wounded or killed. Your two sons Hophni and Phinehas are also dead. And the ark of God has been captured."

18 When the man spoke about the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He had been sitting by the side of the gate. When he fell, he broke his neck and died. He was old and fat. He had led Israel for 40 years.