1 Samuel 4:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.

NIV: And Samuel’s word came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.

NASB: So the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped beside Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped in Aphek.

CSB: And Samuel’s words came to all Israel. Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

NLT: And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel. At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek.

KJV: And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

NKJV: And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

As is sometimes the case in translations of Scripture, this chapter traditionally begins with a line that better fits at the end of the previous chapter. These divisions—verses and chapters—are not original to the text, so they should not be seen as "had" breaks in the flow of a passage. First Samuel 3:19–20 relays how Samuel grew in the Lord, how God was with him, and how the Israelites recognized Samuel as a prophet. Verse 21 indicates that God revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by His Word—God spoke His messages to Samuel. And now, in this verse, the word of Samuel came to all Israel. God spoke to Samuel and Samuel shared the message with the Israelites. In short, Samuel was a prophet to Israel.

Samuel, though, disappears from the story completely until 1 Samuel 7:3, after twenty years have passed. Then he is introduced as the next judge of Israel (Judges 2:16–19). During the events that begin with the second part of this verse, commentators suggest Samuel was growing from a young boy into a man, first at Shiloh and then elsewhere.

For the first time in this book, Israel's most constant enemy of the era of Kings is introduced. A people now referred to as the Philistines first came to Palestine around 2000 BC, during the time of Abraham. It was the second migration of Philistines, though, around 1200 BC that dramatically upset the power dynamic in the region. The Philistines migrated to Canaan by boat from locations in the Aegean Sea, including Crete and Greece. Known as the Sea Peoples, they defeated major powers in Canaan and waged a mighty war against Egypt, which they eventually lost. They settled into five major cities along the southern coast of Palestine: Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza (1 Samuel 6:17).

The Philistines had apparently come to attack Israel seeking to expand their own territories to the north. Evidently, they had already had some success against the Israelites (1 Samuel 4:9). The book of Judges indicated that the latest judge, Samson, had only "begun" to free Israel from Philistine oppression (Judges 13:5; 16:28–30).

The city of Aphek is the most northern of the five cities of the Philistines. Israel encamped against the Philistine army at Ebenezer, just east of Aphek, to make a stand against them. This area is west of Shiloh, where Eli and his sons and Samuel were all tending the tabernacle of the Lord.

First Samuel 4:1–11 mentions Samuel's new role delivering God's Word to Israel. It then describes a battle between Israel and the Philistines. After losing an initial skirmish, the elders of Israel bring the ark of the covenant to the battlefield. This briefly terrifies the Philistines but doesn't stop them. The Israelites are defeated, losing many men. In a humiliating blow, the ark of the covenant is captured. Eli's sons are killed, and every survivor of the battle runs for home.

Israel amasses an to fight against the Philistines. After losing badly in the first battle, the elders send for the ark of God to be brought from Shiloh. They seem to assume the mere presence of the ark will act like a lucky charm or talisman. The Philistines are terrified at the idea of fighting Israel's deity, but they still defeat the Israelites, slaughtering many soldiers and capturing the ark. A runner delivers the news to Eli that his sons are dead and the ark is captured. He dies, and his daughter-in-law goes into premature labor. Before she dies, she names the baby Ichabod, saying that the glory has departed from Israel.

First Samuel 4 begins a new section of 1 Samuel. The young prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1—3) disappears from the story for several chapters. Israel brings the ark of the covenant to a battle with the Philistines, but they are wiped out anyway. The Philistines rout the army and capture the ark. A runner delivers the news to Eli that his sons are dead and the ark is taken. Eli dies, as does his daughter-in-law after giving birth to a son she names Ichabod. She declares that the glory has departed from Israel because the ark has been captured. Despite this, the Philistines will soon learn the ark is not a mere trophy (1 Samuel 5).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.