1 Samuel 4:1-11
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4[a]
The Defeat of the Israelites.[b] 1 Samuel’s word came to all of Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. They were camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines were encamped in Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in battle line against the Israelites, and when they joined up in battle, the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.
3 When the soldiers came back into camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord brought defeat upon us today at the hands of the Philistines? Let us go get the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh so that it can go out before us and save us from the hands of our enemies.”
The Ark Is Captured. 4 So the people sent to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned between the cherubim.[c] The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. 5 When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all of the Israelites raised such a loud shout that it shook the earth.
6 When the Philistines heard the uproar, they asked, “What is this great uproar in the Hebrew camp?” When they found out that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp, 7 the Philistines became frightened. They said, “A god has come into the camp!” They said, “Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us out of the hands of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert. 9 Be strong. Act manfully, O Philistines, or you will end up as slaves to the Hebrews, just like they were to you. Act manfully and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated, and each man fled to his own tent. The slaughter was great, for Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The Ark of God was captured and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.[d]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 4:1 This story of the Ark, which is now part of the Book of Samuel, had in all probability existed as an independent narrative; it is one episode in the wars between the tribes and the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 4:1 The Lord punishes the sin of the sons of Eli; the scales are weighed against them.
- 1 Samuel 4:4 Enthroned between the cherubim: in the Old Testament, cherubim, part human and part beast, are distinct from angels. The golden cherubim on the Ark cover the propitiation (Ex 25:10-22). The Israelites believed that God’s presence on the Ark would bring victory for Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, in battle.
- 1 Samuel 4:11 The battle was a total failure for Israel from the slaughter of men, the capture of the Ark of God, and the fulfillment of the prophecy that Eli’s sons would die on the same day (1 Sam 2:34).
