1 Samuel 4:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.

NIV: We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

NASB: Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

CSB: Woe to us, who will rescue us from these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

NLT: Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness.

KJV: Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

NKJV: Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

From the perspective of Israel's ancient Near East neighbors, the "gods" of the Israelites had a reputation for demonstrating real power. Though the Philistines did not understand that the Israelite "gods" were actually a single deity—the One True God of all things—they did know that the Lord struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague when He was freeing His people from their slavery to Egypt. The story of Israel's exodus following the plagues in Egypt had not faded from the memory of the surrounding nations. They still feared the Lord of Israel even years later.

When they hear that the ark of God is in Israel's camp, the Philistines are terrified. Because of their wrong view of idols, they are certain the ark of the covenant is God Himself. Woe—or "alas"—to us! the Philistines cry out. They do not trust their own god Dagon (1 Samuel 5:2–5) to deliver them from the power of the God of Israel.

The theology of the Israelites in their own camp is not much better. God's presence sometimes came to rest on the ark of the covenant, in a narrow sense (Leviticus 16:2). Israel is misinterpreting this to mean God's power can be wielded like a mindless tool or weapon. They think He is obliged to give them victory over the Philistines simply because the ark is near the battlefield. They have failed, though, to repent of their own worship of false gods and to ask the Lord to help them. Samuel will call them to do so twenty years later, leading to much different results (1 Samuel 7).

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.