And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp ,.... Being brought thither by the men that carried it: all Israel shouted with a great shout , so that the earth rang again; this they did as now sure of victory, because of the ark, and to give spirit and courage to each other to go forth to battle, and to strike a panic into their enemies. read more
All Israel shouted - Had they humbled themselves, and prayed devoutly and fervently for success, they would have been heard and saved. Their shouting proved both their vanity and irreligion. read more
Moral causes of disaster. Assuming that the first sentence properly belongs to the third chapter, and refers generally to the acceptance of Samuel as prophet by the whole nation, the section ( 1 Samuel 4:1-11 ) sets forth the following facts:— 1 . Israel, suffering from subjection to the Philistines, enters on war for the recovery of freedom and suffers defeat. 2 . Ordinary means failing, recourse is had to the ark of God in order to insure success. 3 . The visible presence... read more
1 Samuel 4:5. All Israel shouted From their great joy, and confidence of success. So formal Christians triumph in external privileges and performances; as if the ark in the camp would bring them to heaven, though the world and flesh reign in their hearts. read more
The Philistines capture the ark (4:1-22)For many years the Philistines had oppressed Israel (Judges 13:1). Samson had begun to save Israel from them (Judges 13:5), but the Philistines now fought back and decided to extend their rule further into Israel’s territory. The Israelites should have realized that their defeats were God’s punishments upon them because of their sin, and turned to him in repentance. Instead they thought that they would guarantee his help by carrying the symbol of his... read more
shouted . . . shout . Figure of speech Polyptoton. App-6 . See note on Genesis 26:28 . read more
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT ARRIVES IN ISRAEL'S CAMP"When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean"? And when they heard that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid; for they said, "A god has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us! Who can deliver us from... read more
1. The battle of Aphek 4:1-11The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel’s primary enemy to the west at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judges 13-16). [Note: For a good, brief history of the Philistines, see Edward Hindson, The Philistines and the Old Testament.] There are about 150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel. They originally migrated from Greece primarily by way of Crete (Caphtor, cf. Genesis 10:14; Jeremiah 47:4; Amos 9:7). Their major... read more
A. The Capture of the Ark 4:1-22A new subject comes to the forefront in this section and continues to be a significant motif throughout the rest of Samuel. It is the ark of the covenant. The writer drew attention to the ark in this chapter by mentioning it seven times, including a notation at the end of each text section (1 Samuel 4:4; 1 Samuel 4:11; 1 Samuel 4:17-19; 1 Samuel 4:21-22). Following the reference to Samuel the prophet in 1 Samuel 4:1, the writer did not mention him again until 1... read more
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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