1 Samuel 4:1-22
The Philistines Capture the Ark
1 Samuel 4:1-22 (NIV)
The Israelites Defeated
4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. In those days the Philistines mustered for war, and Israel went out to engage them in battle. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.
4:2 At the battle of Aphek, the Philistines defeated the Israelites, killing about four thousand of them.
The Israelites Consult the Lord
4:3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go among us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”
4:4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
4:5 When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel let out a mighty shout, so that the ground shook. 4:6 The Philistines heard the noise of the shouting and said, “What’s this uproar among the Hebrews?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord’s covenant had come into the camp, 4:7 the Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said. “Nothing like this has happened before.
4:8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with various plagues in the wasteland.
4:9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were to you. Be men, and fight!
4:10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The Philistines were vicious, and they killed about thirty thousand foot soldiers.
4:11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The News of the Defeat Reaches Eli
4:12 That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and he had dust on his head.
4:13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told the news, the whole town sent up a cry.
4:14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?” The man hurried over to Eli,
4:15 who was ninety-eight years old and blind. 4:16 And the man told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from the battle today.” Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”
4:17 The man replied, “Israel fled from the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
4:18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken, and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy.
4:19 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant and near the time of giving birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and about to give birth,
4:20 And no one was left to help her, either in the house or outside. 4:21 As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.
4:22 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.
