1 Samuel 4:12

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army,.... Out of the rank in which he was, before the whole army was quite broken up.

And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. No JFB commentary on these verses.

The usual rites in great sorrows. See , &c.; ,11.

1 Samuel 4:12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.Ver. 12. And there ran a man of Benjamin.] Not Saul, as some of the Jewish doctors have dreamed, but another Benjamite. With his clothes rent.] In token of grief to the breaking of his loins. And with earth upon his head.] As weary of his life, and not willing to be any longer above ground.

(12) And there ran a man of Benjamin.—The Rabbinical tradition relates that this messenger was Saul, who snatched from Goliath the tables of the Law taken out of the Ark, in order to save them. The whole of this account is so vivid, and is so full of detail that it must have come from some eye-witness—probably from Samuel himself. These swift runners are still employed to carry news in war time in the East. In the sacred story we possess several important instances of such messages: for instance, in the account of Absalom’s death, Cushi and Ahimaaz bring the tidings from Joab to King David (2 Samuel 18:21-27). Asahel, the son of Zeruiah, the sister of David, is mentioned as being famous for his running (2 Samuel 2:18). Elijah, again, we hear, once outran the chariot of Ahab between Carmel and Jezreel. Phidippides, when sent to urge the people of Sparta to come to the help of the Athenians against the Persians, arrived at Sparta on the second day after his departure from Athens (Herodotus, 6:105, 6). Running seems to have been an exercise specially cultivated among the athletes of old times. The rent clothes and the earth upon the head were the usual indications that the news brought by the messenger were tidings of evil.

Verse 12. Came to Shiloh the same day] The field of battle could not have been at any great distance, for this young man reached Shiloh the same evening after the defeat. With his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.] These were signs of sorrow and distress among all nations. The clothes rent, signified the rending, dividing, and scattering, of the people; the earth, or ashes on the head, signified their humiliation: "We are brought down to the dust of the earth; we are near to our graves." When the Trojan fleet was burnt, AEneas is represented as tearing his robe from his shoulder, and invoking the aid of his gods: - Tum pius AEneas humeris abscindere vestem, Auxilioque vocare Deos, et tendere palmas. VIRG. AEn. lib. v., ver. 685. "The prince then tore his robes in deep despair, Raised high his hands, and thus address'd his prayer." PITT. We have a remarkable example in the same poet, where he represents the queen of King Latinus resolving on her own death, when she found that the Trojans had taken the city by storm: - Purpueros moritura manu discindit amictus. AEn. lib. xii., ver. 603. She tears with both her hands her purple vest. But the image is complete in King Latinus himself, when he heard of the death of his queen, and saw his city in flames: - _______ It scissa veste Latinus, Conjugis attonitus fatis, urbisque ruina, Canitiem immundo perfusam pulvere turpans. Ib., ver. 609. Latinus tears his garments as he goes. Both for his public and his private woes: With filth his venerable beard besmears, And sordid dust deforms his silver hairs. DRYDEN. We find the same custom expressed in one line by Catullus: - Canitiem terra, atque infuso pulvere foedans. EPITH. Pelei et Thetidos, ver. 224. Dishonouring her hoary locks with earth and sprinkled dust. The ancient Greeks in their mourning often shaved off their hair: - Τουτονυκαιγεραςοιονοΐζυροισιβροτοισι, Κειρασθαιτεκομην, βαλεειντ' αποδακρυπαρειων. HOM. Odyss. lib. iv., ver. 197. "Let each deplore his dead: the rites of wo Are all, alas! the living can bestow O'er the congenial dust, enjoin'd to shear The graceful curl, and drop the tender tear." POPE. And again: - Κατθεμενενλεχεεσσικαθηραντεςχροακαλον Ὑδατιτελιαρῳκαιαλειφατι·πολλαδεσ' αμφις ΔακρυαθερμαχεονΔαναοι, κειροντοτεχαιτας. Ib., lib. xxiv., ver. 44. "Then unguents sweet, and tepid streams, we shed; Tears flow'd from every eye; and o'er the dead Each clipp'd the curling honours of his head." The whole is strongly expressed in the case of Achilles, when he heard of the death of his friend Patroclus: - Ὡςφατο·τονδ' αχεοςνεφεοςνεφεληεκαλυψεμελαινα Αμφοτερῃσιδεχερσινἑλωνκονιναοθαλοεσσαν, Χευατοκακκεφαλης, χαριενδ' ῃσχυνεπροσωπον· Νεκταρεῳδεχιτωνιμελαιν' αμφιζανετεφρη. Iliad, lib. xviii., ver. 22. "A sudden horror shot through all the chief, And wrapp'd his senses in the cloud of grief. Cast on the ground, with furious hands he spread The scorching ashes o'er his graceful head: His purple garments, and his golden hairs.

12–18. The Death of Eli

Runners who were swift of foot, and could go long distances were important and well-known persons (compare 2 Samuel 18:19-31).

12. His clothes rent, and… earth upon his head — Usual signs of calamity and grief. Compare Joshua 7:6; 2 Samuel 13:19; 2 Samuel 15:32.