1 Samuel 4:11

11 And the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin'ehas, were slain.

1 Samuel 4:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:11

And the ark of God was taken
By the Philistines; which was suffered partly as a punishment to the Israelites, for fetching it from the tabernacle without the will of God, and for their vain confidence in it; and partly that the Philistines might have an experiment of the power and might of God, as Procopius Gazaeus observes, by what they would suffer through having it among them; some have thought that this was an emblem of Christ being delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, and of the Gospel being translated from the Jews to them: and the two sons of Eli,

Hophni and Phinehas,
were slain; which fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God, that they should both die in one day, ( 1 Samuel 2:34 ) . It is very probable they stood fast by the ark, and chose rather to die than to give it up freely; having received a charge from their father, that if the ark was taken, not to desire life, nor ever dare to come into his presence more, as Josephus ^F1 relates.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 11. sect. 2.

1 Samuel 4:11 In-Context

9 Take courage, and acquit yourselves like men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; acquit yourselves like men and fight."

10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home; and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11 And the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin'ehas, were slain.

12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head.

13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.