Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

4:1b The Philistines make their first appearance in 1-2 Samuel. Aphek was 8 miles (13 km) east of Tel Aviv, north of the Philistia plain, and just to the west of the hill country of Ephraim. The Shillo River, which goes through the center of Ephraim, comes out of the mountains nearby. The location of Ebenezer is uncertain, but it may have been a site 2 miles (3.2 km) farther east. The Philistines were interested in expanding their control to the north.

4:3-4 from Shiloh. The ark of the covenant had been "in the temple of the Lord" in Shiloh (3:3). (On the details of the ark, cf. Ex. 25:10-22; 37:1-9; and illustration.) Moses was commanded by the Lord to put the tablets of the covenant, or the "testimony," into the ark (Ex. 25:16; Deut. 10:5; cf. 1 Kings 8:9). Cherubim often appear in the iconography of the ancient Near East as hybrid figures, with animal and human characteristics. enthroned. The ark was the visible sign of the holy presence of the Lord, whose real throne is on high, above the heavens. But it was more than just a sign, for the ark was also the focal point of God's actual presence among his people (Ex. 25:22 says, "There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you . . ."; cf. Num. 7:89; also Ex. 29:42-43; 30:6, 36; 37:1-9; 40:34-38; Lev. 16:2; Num. 17:4). The conception of the ark as a visible sign of the Lord's presence gave a military importance to the ark (as can be seen in Num. 10:33-36 and Joshua 3-4; 6); it functioned as a battle safeguard and showed that the Lord was present and fighting for Israel. This understanding was certainly behind the actions of the elders in the present story. They may have thought that the Lord smote them because they had not trusted in the ark and had neglected it. Or perhaps they just thought that it would perform a miracle if used magically. That the ark would inevitably grant victory was a persistent idea that even the present story was not able to dispel. For the phrase the Lord of hosts, see note on 1 Sam. 1:3; cf. chart. Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord . . . that it may come among us. The Hebrew might also mean "that he [the Lord] may come," but in either case, the elders are treating the Lord as a thing. By saying "bring," the narrator is probably conveying the idea that the people treated this sacred object disrespectfully as an instrument through which victory might be attained. Surely, the covenant people had lost the sense of awe toward God's holy presence. They brought from there the ark. The verb is literally "carried" (Hb. nasa’); to "carry" the ark by its poles was the proper way to move it (Ex. 25:14); see also 2 Sam. 6:13; cf. 2 Sam. 6:3, where "carried" is literally "made to ride" (Hb. rakab). That Hophni and Phinehas (cf. 1 Sam. 2:12-17, 27-36) were there suggests that they supported the move, at least to some extent. Eli, however, seems to have had reservations (4:13).

4:3 The elders of Israel appear throughout the history of Israel. They were a group of senior tribal leaders entrusted with important decisions. They are mentioned from the time of the sojourn in Egypt through to the NT (e.g., Ex. 3:16; Num. 11:16; Josh. 24:31; 1 Kings 20:7; Ezra 5:5; Matt. 16:21; Acts 22:5). Other nations also had them (Num. 22:7). Cities also were governed by elders (e.g., Deut. 19:12; 1 Sam. 11:3; 16:4; 1 Kings 21:8). In Samuel the elders of Israel are instrumental in establishing a king. They ask Samuel for a king (1 Sam. 8:4); Saul is concerned with their opinion (15:30); they are leaders in choosing a king after Saul's death (2 Sam. 3:17; 5:3); and they are in Absalom's council (2 Sam. 17:4).

4:5 a mighty shout. The Israelites are confident in the ark, but the rest of the story will show that they have failed to approach God's presence in faith and obedience.

4:6 In Samuel, the term Hebrews is usually used by the Philistines as a designation for the Israelites (14:11; 29:3). The term apparently derives from the name Eber (Gen. 10:21-25). So in the biblical tradition, "Hebrew" is an ethnic term (see Gen. 14:13) distinct from religio-political designations such as "Israel," "sons of Israel," etc.

4:7-8 A god . . . the gods. The Hebrew word for "god(s)" in both cases is ’elohim, the plural of ’eloah ("god"). Elohim is the usual word to refer to the God of Israel (e.g., Gen. 1:1); the plural form is used to express majesty, but it is always used with a singular verb. In 1 Sam. 4:7, the Philistines think that the ark is a god (or God) that has come (singular); in v. 8, they use the plural form for "struck." The narrator seems to be mocking their misunderstanding of the one God of Israel. Exodus 7-12 describes how God "struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague." Struck the Egyptians . . . in the wilderness probably reflects the Philistines' ignorance about the exact course of events during Israel's wilderness wanderings.

4:10 Israel was defeated. In view of v. 3, one cannot suppose that the Philistines on their own were the cause. every man to his home. Literally, "every man to his tent." This is a common cliché for disbanding an army, either by decision (Judg. 20:8; 1 Sam. 13:2; 2 Sam. 20:1, 22; 1 Kings 12:16) or because of defeat (2 Sam. 18:17; 19:8; 2 Chron. 25:22).

4:12 The messenger ran a distance of nearly 22 miles (35 km). Tearing one's clothes, often along with putting dirt on one's head, was the normal reaction to grief or horror in the OT (e.g., 2 Sam. 1:2, 11; 3:31; 13:19, 31; 15:32; Job 2:12).

4:13 Eli was sitting beside the gate (v. 18) watching the road. But he could not see the messenger when he entered. Presumably the people of the city brought the messenger to Eli to tell him the news in person.

4:17 Your two sons . . . are dead is the sign that Eli had been told to expect as a forewarning of the near demise of his house (2:34), but it seems that he is even more concerned about the ark.

4:19 Bowed is literally "crouched," the position for giving birth. It was probably a premature delivery brought on by shock.

4:21-22 Like Eli, Phinehas's wife seems more concerned with the ark than with her husband. Ichabod means "where is the glory?" She mourns for Israel without the presence of God. Departed (Hb. galah) does not mean just to "go away," but to be "exiled" (see ESV footnote). She doesn't know that the Lord is going to demonstrate his glory in the land of Philistia, as seen in ch. 5.

5:1 Ashdod and Ekron were the two northernmost cities of the Philistine pentapolis (five ruling cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron; see 6:17). Ashdod was near the coast, on the important Via Maris (Sea Road), about 30 miles (48 km) south of Aphek (see map).

5:2 Dagon is a deity known from Early Bronze Age Mesopotamian and northern Syrian cities such as Ebla, Mari, Emar, and Ugarit. The Philistines apparently adopted him as their principal god (Judg. 16:23; 1 Chron. 10:10) soon after their arrival in Canaan. It was once thought that the name meant "fish," but this view is no longer accepted. More recently, derivation from a word meaning "grain" has been proposed, but it is not certain. The practice of capturing the enemy's gods was common in ancient Near East warfare and is often mentioned in documents such as the Assyrian royal inscriptions. It was understood that a people whose gods were in enemy hands was completely conquered.

5:3 The next morning, the statue of Dagon is found in a position suggesting submission before the ark of the Lord. This has become a battle between deities. Dagon cannot protect himself or his people from the hand of the Lord (v. 6).

5:5 The temple threshold was considered especially worthy of respect because it separated sacred and common areas; similarly, doorposts, which marked the entrance to a home, were important (e.g., Ex. 12:7; 21:6; Deut. 6:9). The narrator makes the observation that the Philistines to this day still bear witness to the humiliation of their god. This custom is said to have survived in Gaza into the first centuries a.d.

5:6 The tumors, together with an apparently abnormal number of mice in the area (6:5), have led most commentators to identify the disease as bubonic plague. Yet 5:12 has no reference to the mice at all. See note on 6:4.

5:8 The five (6:4, 16) lords were the rulers of the five ruling Philistine cities (i.e., the Philistine pentapolis; see 6:17). Gath was the city of Goliath (17:4), Achish (21:10; 27:2), and Ittai and the 600 Gittites (2 Sam. 15:18-19). Gath is probably Tel ets-Tsafi, about 12 miles (19 km) east of Ashdod and 5 miles (8 km) south of Ekron (1 Sam. 5:10), at the foot of the Judean hills.

5:10 Ekron is another city of the Philistine pentapolis, most probably Tel Miqne, 22 miles (35 km) west of Jerusalem, on the western border between Philistia and Judah. This journey of the ark, taken from city to city by its panicky "captors," is almost a parody of a triumph march. Ekron has been discovered and excavated by archaeologists. A monumental inscription, belonging to the early seventh century b.c., has been found in what appears to be a temple complex. It is a plea to a goddess to protect Achish, the ruler of Ekron, and to bless him with long life, and to bless his land.

5:11 a deathly panic. I.e., one that causes death.

6:2 The Philistines reluctantly admit defeat and consult with their priests and diviners on how to send the ark back.

6:3 While a guilt offering as described in Lev. 5:14-17 did not exist for the Philistines, the ancient Near East shared the concept of misappropriating holy things or places for profane use. Thus the Philistines viewed their current plight as God's "heavy hand" (1 Sam. 5:11) upon them for their desecration of the sacred ark; this desecration required a sacrifice as some kind of recompense to the God of the ark.

6:4 Five golden tumors and five golden mice. The exact relationship between the tumors and the mice is difficult to determine, but from the list in vv. 17-18 one possibility is that only five golden objects are involved and that the "and" should be taken here as "namely," as is not uncommon in Hebrew, yielding "five golden tumors, namely, five golden mice" (see also v. 11). While that reading is grammatically possible, most interpreters understand 10 items set forth here: five golden tumors as well as five golden mice.

6:5 Even the pagan Philistines must eventually give glory to the God of Israel.

6:6 as the Egyptians. The Philistine religious professionals knew all about the events of the exodus (see esp. Ex. 10:1-2).

6:7-9 This is an experiment to discover whether the cause of the Philistines' troubles was a natural event (coincidence, v. 9) or a supernatural one (it is he who has done us this great harm, v. 9). Untrained milk cows could not pull a cart together well, and if they went anywhere, it would be home to their calves. Therefore, if they pulled the cart uphill toward Israel, it must be the work of the Lord (v. 9).

6:11 The golden mice and the images of their tumors refers either to 10 items or to five (see note on v. 4). If the latter, then the images would be "mouse-shaped" gold items made to symbolize their tumors.

6:12 Beth-shemesh was partway up the Sorek Valley, a valley connecting Israel and Philistia, the scene of many of Samson's exploits. Zorah, Eshtaol, Timnah, and Delilah's home were all in that valley (Judg. 13:25; 14:1; 16:4). Ekron was near the place where the valley opens up into the plain.

6:15 Beth-shemesh is listed among the Levitical cities in Josh. 21:16.

6:17-18 This is a formal list with a heading, details (lit., "for Ashdod one; for Gaza one; for Ashkelon one; for Gath one; for Ekron one"), and summary. Many similar lists have been discovered all over the ancient Near East. In these, the summary always encapsulates the details. This structure suggests that the gold tumors in the heading and details may be the same as the gold mice in the summary (v. 18; see also the lists in 30:26-31 and 2 Sam. 23:8-39; but see notes on 1 Sam. 6:4; 6:11). The summary is: "and [or, namely] the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords," i.e., both walled forts and their surrounding unwalled villages. This phraseology was probably chosen to ensure that no part of the Philistine territory was left out. The five cities named in v. 17 would include "all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords," since each of the five Philistine cities would have unwalled villages associated with it. (Note "Ashdod and its territory" in 5:6; a similar phrase refers to a political unit in Assyrian annals. In 27:5-6, Ziklag is a "country town" belonging to the "royal city" of Gath.) This list may have been put into the box with the gold items.

6:19 The Hebrew expression looked upon indicates staring, and perhaps gloating; this irreverence explains why God struck some of the men. The puzzling Hebrew text "seventy men, fifty thousand men" (ESV footnote) may possibly mean "seventy men, i.e., five people out of every thousand" (or "every clan"). If this is the correct meaning, then the population of the city would have been 14,000 people (or 14 clans).

6:20 The people of Beth-shemesh sound like the people of Ashdod (5:7-8).

6:21 Kiriath-jearim was about 10 miles (16 km) farther up the Sorek Valley toward Jerusalem. It was a strategic location, situated on a hill at the juncture of the boundaries of Judah, Dan, and Benjamin.

7:1 Eleazar is also the name of Aaron's son (e.g., Ex. 6:23, 25; Num. 3:2); the name Eleazar was probably common in the Levitical families. In fact, it may be that Eleazar was descended from Aaron and that was why the people of Beth-shemesh asked Kiriath-jearim to take the ark.