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
And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout ,.... For it being so loud as to make the earth ring, it was heard in the camp of the Philistines, which might not be at any great distance from the camp of Israel; how far from each other were Aphek and Ebenezer is not certain: they said, what meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews ? they could not conceive what should be the reason of it, seeing they had no occasion to shout for joy, having been lately... read more
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
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
God is come into the camp - They took for granted, as did the Israelites, that his presence was inseparable from his ark or shrine. 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
But they, sure of its talismanic influence, shout for joy as they see its approach, and the Philistines ask the meaning of the great shout in the camp of the Hebrews. This name is constantly given to the Israelites by those not belonging to them, and probably has a certain amount of animosity in it, as showing that they were foreigners; literally, passers over, people who in the person of Abraham had come from the other side of the Euphrates, and having began as feeble immigrants, had... read more
Of the Hebrews - This was the name by which the Israelites were known to foreign nations (compare Exodus 1:15; Exodus 2:6). 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
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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