1 Samuel 4

1 Thus the word [message, declaration] of Samuel [Shemuel, a prophet of Israel] came to all [every single one, the entire nation] Israel. Now the Israelites [descendants of Jacob] went out [marched, proceeded] to meet [encounter, confront] the Philistines [a non-Israelite people] in battle [war, combat] and camped [pitched their tents, settled] at Ebenezer [the stone of help, a memorial stone], while the Philistines camped [set up their forces, encamped] at Aphek [a city, an enclosure]. word study 2 The Philistines [a non-Semitic, immigrant people] arrayed [set in order, formed a battle line] themselves against Israel [the descendants of Jacob], and as the battle [war, conflict] spread, Israel [God’s chosen people] was defeated [overcome, smitten] by the Philistines [enemies of God’s people], who struck down [slew, killed] about four thousand [a large number, 4000] men [soldiers, warriors] on the battlefield [in the field, on the ground]. word study 3 When the troops [the army, the people of Israel] returned to the camp [the military encampment, the gathering place], the elders [the respected leaders, the wise men] of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] brought defeat [smitten, struck us down] on us before [in the presence of, face to face with] the Philistines [the enemies of Israel, the opposing nation] today [in this day, at this time]? Let us bring [take, fetch] the ark [the chest, the container] of the covenant [the promise, the agreement] of the LORD from Shiloh [the place of rest, the city of the Tabernacle], so that it may go [come, accompany] with us to save [rescue, deliver] us from the hand [the power, the control] of our enemies [those who oppose us, our adversaries].” word study 4 So the people [a nation, a large group] sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark [a chest, a box] of the covenant [a promise, an agreement] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] of Hosts [armies, a large group], who sits [dwells, remains] enthroned [on a throne, in a position of authority] between the cherubim [angelic beings, guardians]. And the two [a pair, a duo] sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there [in that place, at that time] with the ark of the covenant [a promise, an agreement] of God [Elohim, the one supreme God]. word study 5 When the ark [a box or chest] of the covenant [promise, agreement] of the LORD [Yehovah, the self-existent God] entered the camp [gathering place, army], all [every single one] the Israelites [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] raised such a great [loud, joyful] shout [cry of triumph, cheer] that it shook [made noise, caused a commotion] the ground [land, earth]. word study 6 On hearing [with attention and obedience] the noise of the shout [a loud, joyful sound], the Philistines [immigrants from other places] asked, “What is [what means] this loud shouting [a great, triumphant cry] in the camp [a group of people, an army] of the Hebrews [descendants of Eber, Israelites]?” And when they realized [ascertained by seeing, understood] that the ark [a box, a chest, the Ark of the Covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] had entered [come into, approached] the camp [the Israelites’ encampments], word study 7 the Philistines [a non-Israelite people, immigrants from other places] were afraid [filled with fear, stood in awe]. “The gods [divine beings, Elohim] have entered [come into, approached] their camp [army, encampment]!” they said. “Woe to us [alas, oh no], for nothing like this [such an event, this thing] has happened before [previously, heretofore]. word study 8 Woe [alas, oh no] to us! Who [what person, which one] will deliver [rescue, save] us from the hand [power, direction] of these [specific, notable] mighty [powerful, great] gods [divine beings, Elohim]? These are the gods [divine ones, heavenly rulers] who struck [smote, inflicted] the Egyptians with all kinds [every type, various] of plagues [afflictions, calamities] in the wilderness [desert, uninhabited land]. word study 9 Take courage [be strong, behave like men] and be men [male persons, individuals], O Philistines [people from the region of Philistia]! Otherwise [lest, beware that], you will serve [be slaves, work for] the Hebrews [descendants of Eber, Israelites] just as they served [were slaves, worked for] you [in the same manner, similarly]. Now be men [courageous, valiant] and fight [engage in battle, conquer]!” word study 10 So the Philistines [a non-Semitic people from the eastern Mediterranean] fought [engaged in battle, to feed on or consume], and Israel [the descendants of Jacob] was defeated [smitten, struck down], and each man [individual, male person] fled [ran away quickly, to escape danger] to his tent [nomadic dwelling, temporary home]. The slaughter [carnage, wound, or blow] was very great [exceedingly, greatly, of a large magnitude]—thirty [thirtieth in order] thousand [a large number, a company of] foot soldiers [on foot, infantry] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, his descendants] fell [were defeated, failed, or came to an end]. word study 11 The ark [sacred chest, box of the covenant] of God [Elohim, the supreme deity] was captured [taken, seized], and Eli’s [the high priest] two [a pair, dual] sons, Hophni [the corrupt priest] and Phinehas [the dedicated priest], died [passed away, met their end, perished]. word study 12 That same day [on that very day, at the same time] a Benjamite [man of the tribe of Benjamin, son of the right hand] ran [with haste, swiftly] from the battle line [rank, army, military array] all the way to Shiloh [place of rest, city of the Ark], with his clothes [garment, attire] torn [rent, ripped apart] and dirt [earth, soil] on his head [the topmost part of the body]. word study 13 When he arrived, there was Eli [sitting upon a seat, on his throne], sitting on his chair [by the wayside] beside the road and watching [observing, waiting], because his heart [the center of his emotions, will, and intellect] trembled [was fearful, reverent] for the ark [a sacred chest] of God [the supreme Creator, Elohim]. When the man [the messenger, a male person] entered the city [a town, a place of gathering] to give a report [to tell, declare], the whole [all, everything] city cried out [in distress, with a loud voice]. word study 14 Eli [the high priest, a leader of God’s people] heard [listened carefully to, gave attention to] the outcry [cry of distress, desperate plea] and asked, “Why [what is the reason for] this commotion [noise of the tumult, crowd in an uproar]?” So the man [male person, individual messenger] hurried [rushed quickly, made haste] over and reported [told, declared openly] to Eli [the spiritual leader]. word study 15 Now Eli [a high priest, a leader of God’s people] was ninety-eight [ninety and eight, a significant age] years old, and his gaze [eyes, vision] was fixed [set, dim, unable to see] because he could not [was unable to, lacked the power to] see [perceive, look after, care for]. word study 16 “I [the messenger, a man] have just come [arrived, from the scene] from the battle [war, conflict],” the man said to Eli [the high priest]. “I fled [ran away, escaped] from there [the battlefield] today [this day, at this time].” “What happened [occurred, took place], my son [child, descendant]?” Eli asked. word study 17 The messenger [bearing tidings, announcing news] answered, “Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants] has fled [quickly left, escaped] before the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia], and there has been a great [large, significant] slaughter [plague, divine judgment] among the people [nation, community]. Your two [a pair, dual] sons, Hophni [a priest, son of Eli] and Phinehas [a priest, known for zeal and dedication], are both dead [have died, perished], and the ark [a box, chest, the Ark of the Covenant] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] has been captured [taken, seized].” word study 18 As soon as the ark [box or chest] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] was mentioned, Eli fell backward [to the rear, in reverse] from his chair [throne, seat of authority] by the city gate [entrance to the city], and being [existing as] old [aged, advanced in years] and heavy [severe, burdensome], he broke [shattered, ruptured] his neck [the joint connecting the head to the body] and died [passed away, came to an end]. And Eli had judged [governed, vindicated] Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] forty [a significant period of time, a generation] years. word study 19 Now Eli’s daughter-in-law [bride, wife of Phinehas], the wife of Phinehas [a priest, son of Eleazar], was pregnant [with child, expecting] and about to give birth [to be delivered, to bring forth]. When she heard the news [tidings, report] of the capture [taking, seizure] of God’s [Elohim, the supreme] ark [a sacred chest, the Ark of the Covenant] and the deaths [passing away, demise] of her father-in-law [relative by marriage, Eli] and her husband [man, spouse], she collapsed [bowed herself, sank down] and gave birth [brought forth, delivered], for her labor pains [travail, birth pangs] overtook her [came upon, seized]. word study 20 As she was dying [at the point of death, near death’s door], the women attending to her said, “Do not [absolutely not] be afraid [fear, revere], for you have given birth [to beget] to a son [a male child]!” But she did not [lo, no] respond [anah, to answer] or pay any heed [to set her heart]. word study 21 And she named the boy Ichabod [a name meaning no glory], saying, “The glory [great honor or splendor] has departed [been removed or taken away] from Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants],” because the ark [a box or chest, the Ark of the Covenant] of God [the one supreme God, Elohim] had been captured [taken or seized] and her father-in-law [the father of her husband, a relative by marriage] and her husband [her male spouse] had been killed [slain or put to death]. word study 22 “The [divine, heavenly] glory [honour, splendor, Israel’s pride] has departed [removed, gone away] from Israel [God’s chosen people],” she said, “for [because, since] the ark [sacred chest] of God [Elohim, the supreme Lord] has been captured [taken, seized, by the enemy].” word study