The Capture of the Covenant Box

1At that time the Philistines gathered to go to war against Israel, so4.1 One ancient translation the Philistines… so; Hebrew does not have these words. the Israelites set out to fight them. The Israelites set up their camp at Ebenezer and the Philistines at Aphek. 2The Philistines attacked, and after fierce fighting they defeated the Israelites and killed about 4,000 men on the battlefield. 3When the survivors came back to camp, the leaders of Israel said, “Why did the LORD let the Philistines defeat us today? Let's go and bring the LORD's Covenant Box from Shiloh, so that he4.3 he; or it. will go with us and save us from our enemies.” 44.4: Ex 25.22So they sent messengers to Shiloh and fetched the Covenant Box of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned above the winged creatures.4.4 winged creatures: See Word List. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with the Covenant Box.

5When the Covenant Box arrived, the Israelites gave such a loud shout of joy that the earth shook. 6The Philistines heard the shouting and said, “Listen to all that shouting in the Hebrew camp! What does it mean?” When they found out that the LORD's Covenant Box had arrived in the Hebrew camp, 7they were afraid, and said, “A god has come into their camp! We're lost! Nothing like this has ever happened to us before! 8Who can save us from those powerful gods? They are the gods who slaughtered the Egyptians in the desert! 9Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men, or we will become slaves to the Hebrews, just as they were our slaves. So fight like men!”

10The Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites, who went running to their homes. There was a great slaughter: 30,000 Israelite soldiers were killed. 11God's Covenant Box was captured, and Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were both killed.

The Death of Eli

12A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran all the way from the battlefield to Shiloh and arrived there the same day. To show his grief, he had torn his clothes and put earth on his head. 13Eli, who was very anxious about the Covenant Box, was sitting on a seat beside the road, staring. The man spread the news throughout the town, and everyone cried out in fear. 14Eli heard the noise and asked, “What is all this noise about?” The man hurried to Eli to tell him the news. 15(Eli was now 98 years old and almost completely blind.) 16The man said, “I have escaped from the battle and have run all the way here today.”

Eli asked him, “What happened, my son?”

17The messenger answered, “Israel ran away from the Philistines; it was a terrible defeat for us! Besides that, your sons Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and God's Covenant Box was captured!”

18When the man mentioned the Covenant Box, Eli fell backwards from his seat beside the gate. He was so old and fat that the fall broke his neck, and he died. He had been a leader in Israel for forty years.

The Death of the Widow of Phinehas

19Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, and it was almost time for her baby to be born. When she heard that God's Covenant Box had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she suddenly went into labour and gave birth. 20As she was dying, the women helping her said to her, “Be brave! You have a son!” But she paid no attention and did not answer. 21She named the boy Ichabod,4.21 Ichabod: This name in Hebrew means “no glory”. explaining, “God's glory has left Israel” — referring to the capture of the Covenant Box and the death of her father-in-law and her husband. 22“God's glory has left Israel,” she said, “because God's Covenant Box has been captured.”