1 Samuel 4

1 Samuel 4 is the fourth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter describes how the Ark of Covenant was taken by the Philistines, a part of the "Ark Narrative" (1 Samuel 4:1–7:1) within a section concerning the life of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1–7:17).

Text
This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 22 verses.

Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 (4QSam$a$; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 3–4, 9–10, 12.

Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; $$ \mathfrak{G}$$B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; $$ \mathfrak{G}$$A; 5th century).

Places

 * Aphek
 * Ebenezer
 * Shiloh

Period

 * The event in this chapter happened at the end of judges period in Israel, about 1100 BC.

Analysis
In the beginning of this chapter, Samuel was no longer a boy, as he had grown into a powerful prophet whose words were fulfilled and with Shiloh stripped of its pre-eminence, Samuel was no longer associated with that town.

Verses 4:1b to 7:1 forms the so-called "the Ark Narrative", because of their distinctive vocabulary, focusing mainly on the Ark of the Covenant, while Samuel disappeared from the scene, and Shiloh's influence diminished. The historical setting suggests the tenth century BCE as the composition date of this narrative, with the main argument that 'an account of the previous misfortunes of the ark would be unnecessary and irrelevant once David was on his way to be king in Jerusalem'.

The Philistines capture the Ark (4:1–10)


The position of the two camps at Ebenezer and Aphek in the southern end of the plain of Sharon indicates the intention of the Philistines to gain land further north from their current territories, whereas the Israelites had the intention to move westwards. Israel was defeated twice: the first occasion was attributed to God's decision 'to put us to rout today' (verse 3), and on the second occasion happened despite the presence of the Ark of the Covenant in battle (verse 7). The importance of the ark in Israel's battles is known from several passages such as Numbers 10:35–36 and 2 Samuel 11:11, being a visible sign of God's presence. The loss of Israel and the capture of the ark by the Philistines was attributed in verse 11 (recalling 1 Samuel 2:34) to 'the degenerate priesthood of Shiloh'. The Philistines regarded the Israelites as worshippers of several gods (verses 7–8) and they were aware of the Exodus tradition.

Verse 1

 * And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
 * And Israel went out to battle against the Philistines and they made camp beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

Before the words "and Israel", LXX (Septuagint) and Vulgate have the statements: "And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight" (LXX adds further "against Israel"); this addition is not found in the Masoretic Text and Targum.
 * "Ebenezer": literally, "the stone, the help", where 'the second noun is in apposition to the first one'; apparently forming the name by which the stone was known; cf. the expression used in 1 Samuel 5:1 and 7:12, where, unlike 4:1, the first word lacks the definite article.
 * "Philistines": a group of people coming from the northeastern Mediterranean area (which includes the island of Crete; cf. Amos 9:7) and entering "Palestine" (which is derived from "Philistine") around 1200 BCE.

Death of Eli (4:11–22)
News of Israel's defeat was brought to Eli (verses 12–17), who was 'more concerned about the ark than anything else' (verse 13). The loss of the ark caused a triad of calamities for Eli and his family as Eli fell to his death (verses 17–18), Phinehas's wife give premature birth and this led to her untimely death (verse 19). The naming of her son, Ichabod ('where is glory?' or 'alas (for) glory'), and her death-cry 'both allude to the loss of the ark'.

Verse 18

 * Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.


 * "The side of the gate": A comparison with explains exactly the position of Eli's seat (or "throne"), which was without a back, but with the side against the jamb of the gate, leaving the passage clear but ensuring that every one passing through the gate must pass in front of him.