1 Samuel 4:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

NIV: She said, 'The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.'

NASB: So she said, 'The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been taken.'

CSB: "The glory has departed from Israel," she said, "because the ark of God has been captured."

NLT: Then she said, 'The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.'

KJV: And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

NKJV: And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

The glory has departed—the Hebrew root can also mean "gone into exile"—from Israel. The ark of God has been captured (1 Samuel 4:10–11). These are the final recorded words of a grief-stricken woman in Shiloh. She has learned of Israel's defeat, the death of her husband, and the death of her father-in-law all moments before going into premature labor and bearing a son. Before she dies, from her own shock and trauma, she says aloud what many in Israel likely believed: Without the ark of God, Israel's glory was gone. At least, it was exiled away from God's people. They were on their own now.

And yet, this level of despair was based on a false conclusion. The Lord is the glory of His people Israel (Luke 2:32), but they had confused the Lord with the ark He commanded them to make as a holy place where He could meet with them on earth under strict conditions (Exodus 25:22). Likely under the influence of the idol-worshiping nations around them, the Israelites had come to see the ark as God Himself, in a way. The ark, though, was not the glory of Israel, and God could not be captured or taken into exile.

In truth, God was going to expand His glory beyond Israel by demonstrating His unstoppable power through the ark to the Philistines, who would learn to fear Him instead thinking they had beaten Him (1 Samuel 5).

First Samuel 4:12–22 describes the reaction of the people of Shiloh, to news from the battle with the Philistines. A runner arrives and finds Eli, now ninety-eight and blind, sitting by the road at the gate. When Eli hears the news that the battle is lost, his sons are dead, and the ark is captured, he falls over backwards and dies. His daughter-in-law also reacts badly, going into premature labor and then dying herself after giving birth. She names the baby Ichabod, indicating the glory has departed from Israel because the ark has been captured.

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.