1 Samuel 4:1-22, Exodus 33:12-18, Psalm 16:1-11, Psalm 29:1-2 ESV

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:7

And the Philistines were afraid ,.... When the spies returned, and reported to them the reason of the shouting: for they said, God is come into the camp ; into the camp of Israel, because the ark represented him, and was the symbol of his presence; and these Heathens might take the ark itself for an idol of the Israelites; the Targum is,"the ark of God is come" and they said, woe unto us ; it is all over with us, destruction and ruin will be our case, victory will go on their side... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:8

Woe unto us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods ?.... Of whom they spoke in an ironical and sneering manner; or if seriously and through fear, they use their own Heathenish language, as if the Israelites had many gods, as they had, though mightier than theirs; though the Syriac and Arabic versions read in the singular, out of the hand of God, or the most strong God; and so the Targum, out of the hand of the Word of the Lord: these are the gods that smote the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:9

Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines ,.... Since this was all they had to depend upon, their manly courage; if they did not exert that it was all over with them; and seeing their case was desperate, having gods as well as men to fight with, it became them to exert themselves to the uttermost; which did they, there was a possibility still of gaining victory, and so immortal honour to themselves; these words seem to be spoken by the generals and officers of the army of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:10

And the Philistines fought ,.... With great ardour and spirit, quitted themselves like men of valour and courage, their case being desperate as they imagined, since God was in the camp of Israel: and Israel was smitten : were routed and beaten: and they fled every man into his tent ; such of them as escaped the sword of the Philistines fled to their own houses in the several cities from whence they came; so the Targum,"every man to his city'so that their army was quite broken up: ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:11

And the ark of God was taken ,.... By the Philistines; which was suffered partly as a punishment to the Israelites, for fetching it from the tabernacle without the will of God, and for their vain confidence in it; and partly that the Philistines might have an experiment of the power and might of God, as Procopius Gazaeus observes, by what they would suffer through having it among them; some have thought that this was an emblem of Christ being delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, and of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:12

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army ,.... Out of the rank in which he was, before the whole army was quite broken up. This was a young man as Josephus F2 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 11. sect. 3. says, which is highly probable; though not at all to be depended on is what the Jews F3 Shalshalet Hakabala. fol. 8. 1. Jarchi in loc. say, that this was Saul, later king of Israel: and came to Shiloh the same day ; which, according to Bunting F4 Travels of the Patriarchs,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:13

And when he came ,.... To Shiloh; he either passed by Eli, who being blind could not see him, 1 Samuel 4:15 or he came in at another gate of the city on the other side of it, as Abarbinel thinks; though the former seems more likely by what follows, he not choosing to deliver the bad news to Eli first, whom he knew it would very much grieve, and therefore slipped by him into the city: lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching : by the "hand" of the way, as the marginal reading,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:14

And when Eli heard the noise of the crying ,.... The shrieks of the men and women, which were very clamorous and terrible. Eli had his hearing, though not his sight; he could not see the distress in their countenances, but he heard the lamentations they made: and said, what meaneth the noise of this tumult ? it seems the people ran about, wringing their hands, and making doleful shrieks; the noise of which Eli heard, and the meaning of which he inquired after, or what should be the cause... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:15

Now Eli was ninety eight years old ,.... Which is very properly observed, he being now come to the end of his days, and which also accounts for his blindness after mentioned: and his eyes were dim, that he could not see ; could not see the messenger, and read in his countenance, and perceive by his clothes rent, and earth on his head, that he was a bringer of bad tidings; or his eyes each of them "stood" F8 קמה "stetit", Montanus; "stabant", Tigurine version. ; were fixed and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:16

And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army ,.... It is very probable that the people Eli inquired of told him there was a messenger come from the army, though they did not choose to relate to him the news he brought: and I fled today out of the army ; so that as he was an eyewitness of what was done in the army, the account he brought was the earliest that could be had, in bringing which he had made great dispatch, having ran perhaps all the way: and he said, what is... read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:8

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:11

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:16

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