1 Samuel 4 (NET)

1 Samuel revealed the word of the Lord1 to all Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant is Lost to the Philistines

Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines.2 They camped at Ebenezer,3 and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines arranged their forces to fight4 Israel. As the battle spread out,5 Israel was defeated by6 the Philistines, who7 killed about four thousand men in the battle line in the field.

3 When the army8 came back to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by9 the Philistines? Let’s take with us the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. When it is with us, it will save us10 from the hand of our enemies.

4 So the army11 sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly12 that the ground shook.

6 When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp. 7 The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp.13 They said, “Too bad for14 us! We’ve never seen anything like this! 8 Too bad for us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert! 9 Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, or else you will wind up serving the Hebrews the way they have served you! Act like men and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated; they all ran home.15 The slaughter was very great; thirty thousand foot soldiers fell in battle. 11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed.

Eli Dies

12 On that day16 a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head. 13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of17 the road, for he was very worried18 about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report,19 the whole city cried out.

14 When Eli heard the outcry,20 he said, “What is this commotion?”21 The man quickly came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead;22 he was unable to see.

16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli23 asked, “How did things go, my son?” 17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from24 the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli25 fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he26 was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her. 20 As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, “Don’t be afraid! You have given birth to a son!” But she did not reply or pay any attention.27

21 She named the boy Ichabod,28 saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured.”

1tn Heb “and the word of Samuel was.” The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word (“Samuel” is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word (“Samuel” is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel. 2tn Heb “and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle.” 3tn Heb “the stone, the help.” The second noun is in apposition to the first one and apparently is the name by which the stone was known. Contrast the expression used in 5:1 and 7:12, where the first word lacks the definite article, unlike 4:1. 4tn Heb “to meet.” 5tn The MT has וַתִּטֹּשׁ (vattittosh), from the root נטשׁ (ntsh). This verb normally means “to leave,” “to forsake,” or “to permit,” but such an idea does not fit this context very well. Many scholars have suspected that the text originally read either וַתֵּט (vattet, “and it spread out”), from the root נטה (nth), or וַתִּקֶשׁ (vattiqesh, “and it grew fierce”), from the root קשׂה (qsh). The former suggestion is apparently supported by the LXX ἔκλινεν (eklinen, “it inclined”) and is adopted in the translation. 6tn Heb “before.” 7tn Heb “the Philistines, and they killed.” The pronoun “they” has been translated as a relative pronoun (“who”) to make it clear to the English reader that the Philistines were the ones who did the killing. 8tn Or “people.” 9tn Heb “before.” 10tn Heb “and it will come in our midst and it will save.” After the cohortative (see “let’s take”), the prefixed verbal forms with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose or result. The translation understands the ark to be the subject of the third masculine singular verbs, although it is possible to understand the Lord as the subject. In the latter case, one should translate, “when he is with us, he will save us.” 11tn Or “people.” 12tn Heb “shouted [with] a great shout.” 13tn The Hebrew text has a direct quote, “because they said, ‘Gods have come to the camp.’” Even though the verb translated “have come” is singular, the following subject should be taken as plural (“gods”), as v. 8 indicates. Some emend the verb to a plural form. 14tn Traditionally “woe to.” They thought disaster was imminent. 15tn Heb “and they fled, each to his tents.” 16tn Or perhaps, “the same day.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.f. 17tc Read with many medieval Hebrew mss, the Qere, and much versional evidence יַד (yad, “hand”) rather than MT יַךְ (yakh). 18tn Heb “his heart was trembling.” 19tn Heb “and the man came to report in the city.” 20tn Heb “the sound of the cry.” 21tn Heb “the sound of this commotion.” 22tn Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision. 23tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 24tn Heb “before.” 25tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 26tn Heb “the man.” 27tn Heb “and she did not set her heart.” 28sn The name Ichabod (אִי־כָבוֹד) may mean, “Where is the glory?”