1 Samuel 4:6

6 And the Philistines hear the noise of the shouting, and say, `What [is] the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?' and they perceive that the ark of Jehovah hath come in unto the camp.

1 Samuel 4:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:6

And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout
For it being so loud as to make the earth ring, it was heard in the camp of the Philistines, which might not be at any great distance from the camp of Israel; how far from each other were Aphek and Ebenezer is not certain;

they said, what meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of
the Hebrews?
they could not conceive what should be the reason of it, seeing they had no occasion to shout for joy, having been lately defeated; and a shout is made generally just before a battle is begun, and the onset made, or when victory is obtained; neither of which was the case now:

and they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp:
this they understood by spies, which they sent to find out the meaning of the shout; which is more probable than that they came to the knowledge of it by deserters; seeing it is not very likely that any Israelites would desert to the Philistines.

1 Samuel 4:6 In-Context

4 And the people sendeth to Shiloh, and they take up thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts, inhabiting the cherubs, and there [are] two sons of Eli, with the ark of the covenant of God, Hophni and Phinehas.

5 And it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto the camp, that all Israel shout -- a great shout -- and the earth is moved.

6 And the Philistines hear the noise of the shouting, and say, `What [is] the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?' and they perceive that the ark of Jehovah hath come in unto the camp.

7 And the Philistines are afraid, for they said, `God hath come in unto the camp;' and they say, `Wo to us, for there hath not been like this heretofore.

8 Wo to us, who doth deliver us out of the hand of these honourable gods? these [are] the gods who are smiting the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.