1 Samuel
Chapter 4
Philistine Victory
At that time, Samuel was a prophet of Israel. The Israelites went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines encamped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation. They attacked Israel, and after fierce fighting, Israel was defeated, leaving about four thousand men dead on the battlefield.
When the troops retreated to their camp, the elders of Israel asked: “Why has the Lord allowed us to be defeated by the Philistines? Let us take the Ark of God from Shiloh and bring it here so that the Lord may be with us and save us from our enemies.”
So the people sent messengers to Shiloh to take the Ark of the Lord, which was seated on the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, accompanied the Ark.
As soon as the Ark of the Lord entered the camp, the Israelites began to cheer so loudly that the earth resounded. ?
The Philistines heard the shouting and asked: “What does this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And they were told that the Ark of the Lord had been brought to the camp.
The Philistines were overcome with fear. They exclaimed: “A god has come into the camp.
Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can save us from the power of these mighty gods? These gods struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues, both in the desert and elsewhere.
Take courage and conduct yourselves like men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews in the same way they have been slaves to you. Be manly and fight.”
So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. Everyone fled to his home. It was a disastrous defeat; thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel were killed.
The Ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
Death of Eli
A man from the tribe of Benjamin fled from the battle line and arrived that same day in Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and his head was covered with dust.
When this man arrived, Eli was on his seat by the road, watching, for his heart trembled for what might happen to the Ark of God. When the people heard the news the man had brought, the whole city cried out.
Eli heard their outcry and asked: “What is all this noise?” The man came to Eli immediately and told him what had happened.
Eli was by then ninety-eight years old and had already become blind.
The man said to him: “I came from the battle, for I was able to flee from it.” Then Eli asked him: “How did the battle go, my son?”
The news bearer answered: “Israel fled before the Philistines. It has been a disaster for our men. Your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are among the dead, and the Ark of God has been taken.”
As soon as the man mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat by the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was an old and heavy man. Eli judged Israel for forty years.
Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and was about to give birth. When she heard that the Ark of God was taken and that both her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she gave birth prematurely.
As she lay dying, the women attending her said to her: “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she neither answered nor listened.
She then named the child Ichabod, saying: “The glory has departed from Israel!”
And she said: “Gone is the glory from Israel,” meaning the Ark of God that had been captured.
Commentaries
Samuel’s Calling.
The triple call that Samuel responds to by addressing the elderly Eli shows the confusion and uncertainty the people face as they move forward. It can be said that the primary focus of this passage is not Eli or Samuel, but the Word of God that breaks into the darkness and shadows, sparking the beginning of Samuel’s new life. Thus, it is the Word of life that calls him to serve, which is fundamentally aimed at life. Samuel, previously under Eli’s guidance, will now serve the Word alone. It is God himself who calls this human instrument to do new things, and Samuel becomes well-known throughout Israel, from north to south, not for his merit, but because he served the Word.
Philistine Victory.
From this point forward, and until Chapter 6, the Ark of the Covenant is repeatedly referenced as a central symbol in the story, representing God’s presence among the Israelites. However, this divine presence does not always accompany the Ark. In this passage, we see how Israel fails twice in the war against the Philistines: once because they go into battle without it, and a second time, even though they have turned to it. They carry it into battle, but God’s presence is not there. Therefore, it is not a complete absence of God, but rather a way the narrator shows that when people turn away from God, their efforts fail. This explains the poignant question of the elders, “Why has the Lord brought this defeat upon us today…?” (3). The second defeat is much more devastating than the first and has more serious consequences: the Ark has been captured by the Philistines, and with it, one might say, the enemy has seized the best spoils of war, leaving Israel “orphaned.” The sign of this absence of the Ark is the death of Eli’s sons.
Death of Eli.
Due to a series of misfortunes caused by the absence of the Ark, the story recounts the deaths of Eli, who receives the news of this event, and his daughter-in-law, who gives birth prematurely. The name of Eli’s grandson is loaded with symbolism: “No Glory,” because the Glory of God has been banished from Israel, and the impact on the people will be truly deadly, yet instructive.