1 Samuele 4:19 Commento

The predictions in the foregoing chapters concerning the ruin of Eli's house here begin to be fulfilled; how long after does not appear, but certainly not long. Such sinners God often makes quick work with. Here is, I. The disgrace and loss Israel sustained in an encounter with the Philistines (Sa1 4:1, Sa1 4:2). II. Their foolish project to fortify themselves by bringing the ark of God into their camp upon the shoulders of Hophni and Phinehas (Sa1 4:3, Sa1 4:4), which made them secure (Sa1 4:5) and struck a fear into the Philistines, but such a fear as roused them (Sa1 4:6-9). III. The fatal consequences of it: Israel was beaten, and the ark taken prisoner (Sa1 4:10, Sa1 4:11). IV. The tidings of this brought to Shiloh, and the sad reception of those tidings. 1. The city was put into confusion (Sa1 4:12, Sa1 4:13). 2. Eli fainted away, fell, and broke his neck (Sa1 4:14-18). 3. Upon hearing what had occurred his daughter-in-law fell in labour, bore a son, but died immediately (Sa1 4:19-22). These were the things which would make the ears of those that heard them to tingle.

We have here another melancholy story, that carries on the desolations of Eli's house, and the sorrowful feeling which the tidings of the ark's captivity excited. It is concerning the wife of Phinehas, one of those ungracious sons of Eli that had brought all this mischief on Israel. It cost her her life, though young, as well as that of her father-in-law, that was old; for many a green head, as well as many a hoary head, has been brought by sorrow to the grave: it worketh death. By what is here related of her it appears, I. That she was a woman of a very tender spirit. Providence so ordered it that, just at this time, she was near her time; and our Saviour hath said, Woe to those that are with child, or give suck, in such days as these, Mat 24:19. So little joy will there then be in the birth, even of a man-child, that it will be said, Blessed are the wombs that bear not, Luk 23:29. The amazing news coming at this unhappy juncture, it put her into labour, as great frights or other strong passions sometimes do. When she heard of the death of her father-in-law whom she reverenced, and her husband whom, bad as he was, she loved, but especially of the loss of the ark, she travailed, for her pains came thickly upon her (Sa1 4:19), and the tidings so seized her spirits, at a time when they needed all possible supports, that, though she had strength to bear the child, she, soon after, fainted and died away, being very willing to let life go when she had lost the greatest comforts of her life. Those who are drawing near to that trying hour have need to treasure up for themselves comforts from the covenant of grace, to balance, not only the usual sorrows, but any thing extraordinary that may add to the grief which they do not foresee. Faith, at such a time, will keep from fainting, Psa 27:13. II. That she was a woman of a very gracious spirit though matched to a wicked husband. Her concern for the death of her husband and father-in-law was an evidence of her natural affection; but her much greater concern for the loss of the ark was an evidence of her pious and devout affection to God and sacred things. The former helped to hasten her travail, but it appears by her dying words that the latter lay nearer her heart (Sa1 4:22): She said, The glory has departed from Israel, not lamenting so much the sinking of that particular family to which she was related as the general calamity of Israel in the captivity of the ark. This, this was it that was her grief, that was her death. 1. This made her regardless of her child. The women that attended her, who it is likely were some of the first rank in the city, encouraged her, and, thinking that he concern was mostly about the issue of her pains, when the child was born, said unto her, Fear not, now the worst is past, for thou has borne a son (and perhaps it was her first-born), but she answered not, neither did she regard it. The sorrows of her travail, if she had no other, would have been forgotten, for joy that a man-child was born into the world. Joh 16:21. But what is that joy, (1.) To one that feels herself dying? No joy but that which is spiritual and divine will stand us in any stead then. Death is too serious a thing to admit the relish of any earthly joy; it is all flat and sapless then. (2.) What is it to one that is lamenting the loss of the ark? Small comfort could she have of a child born in Israel, in Shiloh, when the ark is lost, and is a prisoner in the land of the Philistines. What pleasure can we take in our creature-comforts and enjoyments if we want God's word and ordinances, especially if we want the comfort of his gracious presence and the light of his countenance? As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs so such heavy hearts. 2. This made her give her child a name which should perpetuate the remembrance of the calamity and her sense of it. She has nothing to say to the child, only it being her province, now that her husband was dead, to name the child, she orders them to call it I-chabod, that is, Where is the glory? Or, Alas for the glory! or, There is no glory (Sa1 4:21), which she thus explains with her dying lips (Sa1 4:22): "The glory has departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken. Call the child inglorious, for so he is; the beauty of Israel is lost, and there appears no hope of ever retrieving it; never let the name of an Israelite, must less a priest, carry glory in it any more, now that the ark is taken." Note, (1.) The purity and plenty of God's ordinances, and the tokens of his presence in them, are the glory of any people, much more so than their wealth, and trade, and interest, among the nations. 2. Nothing is more cutting, more killing, to a faithful Israelite, than the want and loss of these. If God go, the glory goes, and all good goes. Woe unto us if he depart!

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 4 This chapter is a narrative of a war between Israel and the Philistines, in the time of Samuel, and of the consequences of it. In the first battle, the Philistines had the better of the Israelites, which caused the latter to inquire into the reason of it, and who proposed to fetch the ark of the Lord, and did, to repair their loss, and prepare for a second battle, in which they hoped to succeed, and which struck a panic into their enemies, Sa1 4:1, who yet encouraged and stirred up one another to behave in a courageous manner, and victory a second time was on their side, a great number of the Israelites were slain, among whom were Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, and the ark of God was taken, Sa1 4:8, the news of which being brought to Eli, he fell back and died, Sa1 4:12 and to his daughter-in-law, who upon it fell into labour, and died also, Sa1 4:19.

And his daughter in law, Phinehas's wife, was with child, near to be delivered,.... Was near her time, as it is commonly expressed. Ben Gersom derives the word from a root which signifies to complete and finish (k); denoting that her time to bring forth was completed and filled up; though Josephus (l) says that it was a seven months' birth, so that she came two months before her time; the margin of our Bibles is, "to cry out" (m); and so Moses Kimchi, as his brother relates, derives the word from a root which signifies to howl and lament, and so is expressive of a woman's crying out when her pains come upon her: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken: which is mentioned first, as being the most distressing to her: and that her father in law and her husband were dead; her father-in-law Eli is put first, being the high priest of God, and so his death gave her the greatest concern, as the death of an high priest was always matter of grief to the Israelites; and next the death of her husband, who should have succeeded him in the priesthood; for though he was a bad man, yet not so bad as Hophni, as Ben Gersom observes; and therefore the priesthood was continued in his line unto the reign of Solomon; and no notice is taken by her of the death of her brother-in-law: she bowed herself, and travailed; put herself in a posture for travailing; perceiving she was coming to it, she fell upon her knees, as the word used signifies; and we are told (n), that the Ethiopian women, when they bring forth, fall upon their knees, and bear their young, rarely making use of a midwife, and so it seems it was the way of the Hebrew women: for her pains came upon her; sooner it is very probable than otherwise they would, which is sometimes the case, when frights seize a person in such circumstances: or were "turned upon her" (o); they ceased, so that she could not make the necessary evacuations after the birth, which issued in her death; some render it, "her doors were turned" (p), or changed; the doors of her womb, as in Job 3:10, though these had been opened for the bringing forth of her child, yet were reversed, changed, and altered, so as to prevent the after birth coming away, which caused her death, as follows. (k) "absolvere, consummare, perficere", Buxtorf. (l) Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 3.) sect. 4. (m) "ad ululandum", Montanus; so some in Munster; "ad ejulandum", as some in Vatablus. (n) Ludolph. Hist. Aethiop. l. 1. c. 14. (o) "versae erant", Pagninus, Montanus. (p) "Quoniam inversi sunt super eam eardines ejus", Munster; so Jarchi; Vid. T. Bab. Becorot, fol. 45. 1.

Read the Scriptures and you will never find holy women bearing children in pain, with the exception of Rachel, who, when she was on a journey and in the hippodrome, that is, in the course for horses which had been sold to Egypt, suffered while delivering her son, whom his father later called “son of the right hand.” Eve, when she was expelled from paradise and was told “You will bear children in pain,” is described as experiencing pain in childbirth. The wife of Phinehas, who was bent over and could not stand erect, like the woman whom the devil bound in the gospel, gave birth after she had heard that the ark of God was captured and her people were destroyed. But Sarah, because she was holy and postmenopausal, said to Isaac when he was born: “God has made laughter for me, for whoever hears about this will congratulate me.” The pains, therefore, which overcame the tower of the flock, are the pains of hell and the pains of death, which surrounded and attacked even the Savior but were never able to overtake him, as he himself says in PSALM 17:5: “The pains of death surrounded me and the torrents of evil shook me and the pains of hell attacked me.”

“Their priests fell by the sword and their widows were not mourned.” We read that during the captivity the sons of the priest Eli were put to the sword by the foreigners. The wife of one of them thus widowed suddenly gave birth and prematurely died. So it happened that his widow went wholly unmourned, since they were all preoccupied by the widespread deaths. We must believe that this fate befell many widows among the people, since divine authority has cited a plurality of widows, and we know that no detail recorded is useless.

26. But who was the daughter-in-law of Eli, if not the people of the Jews, subject to reprobate priests? Because she had received the seeds of unbelief in her mind through their preaching, she was pregnant. And because she was also thinking of pouring forth the malice she had conceived, she is said to have been not only pregnant but also near to giving birth. But what does it mean that, upon hearing of the capture of the ark and the death of her father-in-law and her husband, she is said to have given birth, except that the remnant of the Jewish people, when it recognizes that the spiritual mysteries of the Scriptures have passed over to the instruction of the Gentiles, when it now sees that the wise men of the Synagogue have perished along with both priesthoods, does not cease to pour forth by speaking the seeds of its heresy, which it had conceived? For her to give birth is to disclose to others by speaking the depravity she had conceived. And because she preaches reprobate things, while she is said to give birth, she is recorded as having bent over. For those who speak of heavenly things give birth, as it were, without bending over, because in the standing posture of faith they raise the hearts of their hearers to the pursuit of good works. She, therefore, who asserts crooked things gives birth bent over, because indeed by her speaking she brings it about that the more intently she speaks, the more deeply she is cast down into the abyss of her own damnation. Rightly, therefore, while she is bent over in giving birth, she is said to die. For she dies in giving birth, because she is condemned in the guilt of her blasphemy. And because she does not foresee the torments of her death, sudden pains are said to rush upon her. For sudden pains are the unexpected afflictions of death coming without foresight. For pains rush upon her suddenly when the retributions of everlasting punishments confront the Jewish people, which now, set in contempt of the truth, does not fear them. For because she thinks that by dying in observance of ancestral traditions she is passing over to eternal life, she falls into sudden pains when she begins to endure the torments she had not expected. And it should be noted that it is said of the dying woman: "Sudden pains rushed upon her," because evidently while she is driven to the end of life through bodily afflictions, then the scourges of pains begin to rush upon her in time, by which her impiety may be punished with eternal vengeance; and because, with the end drawing near, the reprobate minds of the Jews exhort one another to unbelief. But at the very moment of her death, those who stood near her said to her: "Do not fear, for you have borne a son." For she bore a son because she trained up a people hardened in wickedness and unconquerable. But what are the women who stand near her, if not minds bound by an equal order of impiety? They stand, indeed, not by the truth and rectitude of faith, but by the presumption and boasting of religion. Therefore they encourage her not to fear, because she has borne a son — so that, namely, she may not fear to die in the old tradition all the more securely, the more she sees that even those whom she knows to have been trained by her teaching are hardened and unconvertible in it. But while she is driven more abundantly by pain within herself, she counts as nothing whatever others have gained from her instruction, whence it is added: "She did not answer, nor did she take heed." For when she begins to experience the bitterness of eternal pain, that which she temporarily held authority over others does not bring delight. Or certainly she does not rejoice over the boy who is born because he who is brought forth by her instruction is seen to be in captivity. Whence it is also added: (Verses 21, 22.) "And she called the boy Ichabod, saying: The glory of the Lord has been taken away, because the ark of God has been captured."

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, etc. The Synagogue, entrusted with the children of the legal priesthood to govern, indeed received the seed of the word from the teachers and was near to producing the fruit of faith, which it had long sought, at the Lord's preaching. However, she too, after the fall of the teachers, turned away from the uprightness of living, and although she bore not a small crowd of people, she herself, because she killed the Author of life, gave birth to death.

A battle between Israel and the Philistines, in which the former are defeated, with the loss of four thousand men, Sa1 4:1, Sa1 4:2. They resolve to give the Philistines battle once more, and bring the ark of the Lord, with Hophni and Phinehas the priests, into the camp, Sa1 4:3, Sa1 4:4. They do so, and become vainly confident, Sa1 4:5. At this the Philistines are dismayed, Sa1 4:6-9. The battle commences; the Israelites are again defeated, with the loss of thirty thousand men; Hophni and Phinehas are among the slain; and the ark of the Lord is taken, Sa1 4:10, Sa1 4:11. A Benjamite runs with the news to Eli; who, hearing of the capture of the ark, falls from his seat, and breaks his neck, Sa1 4:12-18. The wife of Phinehas, hearing of the death of her husband, and father-in-law, and of the capture of the ark, is taken in untimely travail, beings forth a son, calls him I-chabod, and expires, Sa1 4:19-22.

And his daughter-in-law - This is another very affecting story; the defeat of Israel, the capture of the ark, the death of her father-in-law, and the slaughter of her husband, were more than a woman in her circumstances, near the time of her delivery could bear. She bowed, travailed, was delivered of a son, gave the child a name indicative of the ruined state of Israel, and expired!

ISRAEL OVERCOME BY THE PHILISTINES. (Sa1 4:1-11) the word of Samuel came to all Israel--The character of Samuel as a prophet was now fully established. The want of an "open vision" was supplied by him, for "none of his words were let fall to the ground" (Sa1 3:19); and to his residence in Shiloh all the people of Israel repaired to consult him as an oracle, who, as the medium of receiving the divine command, or by his gift of a prophet, could inform them what was the mind of God. It is not improbable that the rising influence of the young prophet had alarmed the jealous fears of the Philistines. They had kept the Israelites in some degree of subjection ever since the death of Samson and were determined, by further crushing, to prevent the possibility of their being trained by the counsels, and under the leadership, of Samuel, to reassert their national independence. At all events, the Philistines were the aggressors (Sa1 4:2). But, on the other hand, the Israelites were rash and inconsiderate in rushing to the field without obtaining the sanction of Samuel as to the war, or having consulted him as to the subsequent measures they took. Israel went out against the Philistines to battle--that is, to resist this new incursion. Eben-ezer . . . Aphek--Aphek, which means "strength," is a name applied to any fort or fastness. There were several Apheks in Palestine; but the mention of Eben-ezer determines this "Aphek" to be in the south, among the mountains of Judah, near the western entrance of the pass of Beth-horon, and consequently on the borders of the Philistine territory. The first encounter at Aphek being unsuccessful, the Israelites determined to renew the engagement in better circumstances.

War with the Philistines. Loss of the Ark.Death of Eli and His Sons - 1 Samuel 4 At Samuel's word, the Israelites attacked the Philistines, and were beaten (Sa1 4:1, Sa1 4:2). They then fetched the ark of the covenant into the camp according to the advice of the elders, that they might thereby make sure of the help of the almighty covenant God; but in the engagement which followed they suffered a still greater defeat, in which Eli's sons fell and the ark was taken by the Philistines (Sa1 4:3-11). The aged Eli, terrified at such a loss, fell from his seat and broke his neck (Sa1 4:12-18); and his daughter-in-law was taken in labour, and died after giving birth to a son (Sa1 4:19-22). With these occurrences the judgment began to burst upon the house of Eli. But the disastrous result of the war was also to be a source of deep humiliation to all the Israelites. Not only were the people to learn that the Lord had departed from them, but Samuel also was to make the discovery that the deliverance of Israel from the oppression and dominion of its foes was absolutely impossible without its inward conversion to its God.

The judgment which fell upon Eli through this stroke extended still further. His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child (near) to be delivered. ללת, contracted from ללדת (from ילד: see Ges. 69, 3, note 1; Ewald, 238, c.). When she heard the tidings of the capture (אל־הלּקח, "with regard to the being taken away") of the ark of God, and the death of her father-in-law and husband, she fell upon her knees and was delivered, for her pains had fallen upon her (lit. had turned against her), and died in consequence. Her death, however, was but a subordinate matter to the historian. He simply refers to it casually in the words, "and about the time of her death," for the purpose of giving her last words, in which she gave utterance to her grief at the loss of the ark, as a matter of greater importance in relation to his object. As she lay dying, the women who stood round sought to comfort her, by telling her that she had brought forth a son; but "she did not answer, and took no notice (לב שׁוּת = לב שׂוּם, animum advertere; cf. Psa 62:11), but called to the boy (i.e., named him), Ichabod (כבוד אי, no glory), saying, The glory of Israel is departed," referring to the capture of the ark of God, and also to her father-in-law and husband. She then said again, "Gone (גּלה, wandered away, carried off) is the glory of Israel, for the ark of God is taken." The repetition of these words shows how deeply the wife of the godless Phinehas had taken to heart the carrying off of the ark, and how in her estimation the glory of Israel had departed with it. Israel could not be brought lower. With the surrender of the earthly throne of His glory, the Lord appeared to have abolished His covenant of grace with Israel; for the ark, with the tables of the law and the capporeth, was the visible pledge of the covenant of grace which Jehovah had made with Israel.