John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:4
So the people sent to Shiloh ,.... They liked the proposal of the elders, took their advice, and joined with them in a message to Eli the high priest at Shiloh: that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubim ; which overshadowed the mercy seat that was upon the ark, and was the residence of the divine Majesty; wherefore having this with them, they concluded they should have the presence of God with them, and so success,... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 4:1-9
The first words of this paragraph, which relate to Samuel, that his word came to all Israel, seem not to have any reference to the following story, as if it was by any direction of his that the Israelites went out against the Philistines. Had they consulted him, though but newly initiated as a prophet, his counsel might have stood them in more stead than the presence of the ark did; but perhaps the princes of Israel despised his youth, and would not have recourse to him as an oracle, and he... read more