1 Samuel 4
Constable1 Samuel 4:1-7
II. THE HISTORY OF THE ARK OF THE 4:1-7:1 Many serious students of 1 Samuel have noted the writer’s emphasis on the ark of the covenant that begins here in the text. Critical scholars have long argued that 1 Samuel 4:1 b to 1 Samuel 7:1 and 2 Samuel 6 are the only remaining fragments of an older and longer ark narrative, which was a source document for the writer here. Of the 61 references to the ark in 1 and 2 Samuel, 36 appear in 1 Samuel 4:1 b to 1 Samuel 7:2. More recently some scholars have come to believe that the old ark narratives were somewhat shorter. Conservative scholars generally believe that the ark narratives were not necessarily independent documents but may simply reflect the writer’s particular emphasis on the ark here. [Note: For a discussion of this subject, including a bibliography of books and articles dealing with it, see Youngblood, pp. 593-94. One writer believed that their purpose was to explain Israel’s demand for a king, as well as the reasons for the end of Eli’s branch of the Aaronic family. [Note: Merrill, “1 Samuel,” p. 208.
1 Samuel 4:12-18
- The response of Eli 4:12-18 The deaths of Hophni and Phinehas, who accompanied the soldiers into battle, were the sign God promised Eli that He would remove the priestly privilege from Eli’s descendants eventually (1 Samuel 2:34). The writer carefully recorded that it was the news that the Philistines had captured the ark, not that his two sons had died, that shocked Eli and caused him to die (1 Samuel 4:18). Eli’s primary concern, to his credit, was the welfare of Israel.
There is a word play in the Hebrew text that helps us understand the significance of the departure of God’s glory. The Hebrew word for “heavy” (1 Samuel 4:18) is kabed, and the word for “glory” (1 Samuel 4:21) is kabod. Rather than Israel enjoying glory from God’s presence through Eli’s priesthood, Eli himself had received the glory, as his heavy weight implies. Eli’s apparent self-indulgence was responsible for the departure of God’s glory from Israel and from his line of priests. [Note: See John H. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative, p. 400-401. The battle of Aphek recorded in this chapter took place in 1104 B.C. Since Eli was 98 years old when he died on hearing the news that the Philistines had taken the ark in this battle, he must have been born in 1202 B.C. [Note: See the “Chronology of 1 and 2 Samuel” earlier in these notes.]
1 Samuel 4:19-22
- The response of Phinehas’ wife 4:19-22 Likewise the news of the loss of the ark is what distressed Phinehas’ wife more than the news of the deaths of her husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law (1 Samuel 4:21-22). “Ichabod” is usually translated, “The glory has departed,” but it may mean, “Where is the glory?”
“With the surrender of the earthly throne of His glory, the Lord appeared to have abolished His covenant of grace with Israel; for the ark, with the tables of the law and the capporeth [mercy seat], was the visible pledge of the covenant of grace which Jehovah had made with Israel.” [Note: C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel, pp. 56-57. Phinehas’ wife’s words may also reflect a pagan viewpoint to some extent, that because the Philistines had stolen what represented Yahweh, the Lord Himself had abandoned the nation. In view of God’s promises and revealed plans for Israel, she should have known that He had not totally abandoned His people (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 12:7; cf. Matthew 28:20).
Furthermore the Israelites knew that the true God is omnipresent. Israel’s pagan neighbors typically believed that their gods were limited geographically. On the other hand, she may have had Deuteronomy 28:47-48 in mind: “Because you did not serve the LORD your God .. . you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD shall send against you .. . and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.”
Most of the Israelites evidently thought that since Israel had lost the ark she had lost God. [Note: For a further discussion of the role of the ark at this time in Israel’s history, and how Samuel’s ministry related to it, see Clive Thomson, “Samuel, the Ark, and the Priesthood,” Bibliotheca Sacra 118:417 (July-September 1961):259-63. For a more critical study of the ark, see P. R. Davies, “The History of the Ark in the Books of Samuel,” Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 5 (1977):9-18. However, because the people had not lived in proper covenant relationship with Him, Israel had only lost God’s blessing, not His presence. They were disregarding God’s Law, so God’s glory had departed from Israel (1 Samuel 4:22; cf. Exodus 19:5-6; Ezekiel 10). His people could not enjoy fertility.
Someone has said that if you feel far from God, you need to remember that He is not the one who moved. God has promised that if His people will draw near to Him He will draw near to them (2 Chronicles 7:14; James 4:8; Hebrews 10:22).