1 Samuel 7:12

12 And Samuel took one stone, and put it betwixt Mizpeh, and Shen; and he called the name of that place The stone of help (and he called the name of that place Ebenezer). And he said, Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.

1 Samuel 7:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 7:12

And Samuel took a stone, and set it
Not for worship, but as a monument of the victory obtained by the help of God: and this he placed

between Mizpeh and Shen;
which latter signifies a tooth, and designs the precipice of a rock which juts out, and hangs over in the form of one:

and called the name of it Ebenezer;
which signifies "the stone of help"; and is the same place which by anticipation has this name, ( 1 Samuel 4:1 ) , so that in the selfsame place where the Israelites were twice beaten by the Philistines, and the ark taken, was this salvation wrought for them:

saying, hitherto hath the Lord helped us;
this was but the beginning of their deliverance from the Philistines, and which was owing to the help of the Lord; and as he had begun to help them, they might hope and encourage themselves that he would go on to help them until their deliverance was completed: however, they with Samuel thought it their duty, which was right, to acknowledge what the Lord had done for them, and perpetuate the memory of it, though they could not be sure what he would do for them hereafter; yet as they were sensible of, and thankful for this instance of his goodness, they hoped for more, and had their dependence on him for future success against their enemies.

1 Samuel 7:12 In-Context

10 And it was done, when Samuel offered the burnt sacrifice, that the Philistines began (to do) battle against Israel. And the Lord thundered with great thunder in that day upon the Philistines, and made them afeared; and they were slain of the sons of Israel (and they fled in panic before the Israelites).

11 And the sons of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them unto the place that was under Bethcar.

12 And Samuel took one stone, and put it betwixt Mizpeh, and Shen; and he called the name of that place The stone of help (and he called the name of that place Ebenezer). And he said, Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.

13 And the Philistines were made low, and they added no more to come into the terms of Israel (And so the Philistines were humbled, and they did not come any more into the land of Israel). And so the hand of the Lord was made [up]on (the) Philistines in all the days of Samuel.

14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel, were yielded again to Israel, from Ekron unto Gath, and the coasts of Gath; and the Lord delivered Israel from the hand of (the) Philistines; and peace was betwixt Israel and Amorites (and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites).