1 Samuel 4:14

14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, "What meaneth the noise of this tumult?" And the man came in hastily and told Eli.

1 Samuel 4:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:14

And when Eli heard the noise of the crying
The shrieks of the men and women, which were very clamorous and terrible. Eli had his hearing, though not his sight; he could not see the distress in their countenances, but he heard the lamentations they made:

and said, what meaneth the noise of this tumult?
it seems the people ran about, wringing their hands, and making doleful shrieks; the noise of which Eli heard, and the meaning of which he inquired after, or what should be the cause of it:

and the man came in hastily, and told Eli;
or made haste, and came to him, and related all that is later expressed; for Eli was not in any house, but on a seat by the way side, and therefore could not be said to come "in" to him; but he came to him, where he was, being brought by some of the citizens Eli had inquired of what should be the meaning of this noise; and therefore without delay the man was hastened to give the whole account unto him, as it was highly proper he should, being the supreme magistrate.

1 Samuel 4:14 In-Context

12 And there ran a man of Benjamin from the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head.

13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out.

14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, "What meaneth the noise of this tumult?" And the man came in hastily and told Eli.

15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old, and his eyes were dim so that he could not see.

16 And the man said unto Eli, "I am he that came from the army, and I fled today from the army." And he said, "What is done there, my son?"