I Samuel 4, Ichabod

Samuel has been recognized as a young prophet.  As a child, his first conversations with YHWH foretold the death of Eli's sons.

I Samuel 4: 1a, Battle against the Philistines

And Samuel's word came to all Israel. 

This sentence really concludes the paragraph about Samuel from the previous chapter, 

I Samuel 4: 1b-3, Battle against the Philistines

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.  The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.  

When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

Ebenezer means "stone of help". There are apparently a number of sites with this name as we will see another camp named Ebenezer in chapter 7, by Samuel (1 Samuel 7:12.)

The Israelite soldiers look for the reason for their defeat, and hope to use the ark as a talisman against the Philistines.

I Samuel 4: 4-5, The ark arrives

So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

There is enthusiasm and a renewal of morale in the Israelite camp.  Eli's degenerate sons travel with the ark. The ark is being viewed as an amulet, a totem, something with magical powers. It is the ark of the "covenant of YHWH", described as the "Lord of hosts, who sits above the cherabim" (NASB.) Tagging along with the ark are the sons of Eli, two priests who have not been following the covenant.  The Israelites are about to learn a lesson. 

I Samuel 4: 6-9, The Philistines rally

Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" 

When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! 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 desert. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!"

The Philistines will not be intimidated.  But they are desperate and are aware of YHWH's past work in Egypt and the Exodus.

I Samuel 4: 10-11, Israel defeated

So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.  

The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

What a large number of casualties!  30,000! (Or 30 eleph -- this is one more example of unusually large numbers in the Old Testament stories.)

God will not be a talisman.

I Samuel 4: 12-18, Eli's death

That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head.  When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. 

Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?"

The man hurried over to Eli, who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see. He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day."

Eli asked, "What happened, my son?"  

The man who brought the news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured."

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

Eli reacts more to the capture of the ark than to the death of his sons. We read a sad ending to a man of God.  It gets worse.

I Samuel 4: 19-22, Ichabod 

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.  As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention.

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"--because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

This woman, who is unnamed, had endured the infidelity of Phinehas, then his death and the defeat of Israel. Now she is dying just as a son is born.  Such sadness.

(NIV Footnotes: Ichabod means "no glory.")