1 Samuel 4:11

And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
ark	וַאֲר֥וֹן va.'a.Ron	H727	a box · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
God	אֱלֹהִ֖ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
taken	נִלְקָ֑ח nil.Kach	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
two	וּשְׁנֵ֤י u.she.Nei	H8147	two · conjunction + noun, common both genders dual construct
sons	בְנֵֽי ve.nei-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Eli	עֵלִי֙ 'e.Li	H5941	Eli · proper noun, a man's name
Hophni	חָפְנִ֖י cha.fe.Ni	H2652	Chophni · proper noun, a man's name
Phinehas	וּפִֽינְחָֽס u.Fi.ne.Chas	H6372	Pinechas · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
slain	מֵ֔תוּ Me.tu	H4191	to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
Psalms 78:64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
Isaiah 3:11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
1 Samuel 2:32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine hous…
Psalms 78:60-61 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 4:10-11

Here is a short account of the issue of this battle. I. Israel was smitten, the army dispersed and totally routed, not retiring into the camp, as before (Sa1 4:2) when they hoped to rally again, but returning to their tents, every man shifting for his own safety and making the best of his way home, despairing to make head any more; and 30,000 were slain in the field of battle, Sa1 4:10. Israel was put to the worse, 1. Though they had the better cause, were the people of God and the Philistines were uncircumcised; they stood up in necessary defence of their just rights and liberties against invaders, and yet they failed of success, for their rock had sold them. A good cause often suffers for…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 4:3

Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us--Strange that they were so blind to the real cause of the disaster and that they did not discern, in the great and general corruption of religion and morals (Sa1 2:22-25; Sa1 7:3; Psa 78:58), the reason why the presence and aid of God were not extended to them. Their first measure for restoring the national spirit and energy ought to have been a complete reformation--a universal return to purity of worship and morals. But, instead of cherishing a spirit of deep humiliation and sincere repentance, instead of resolving on the abolition of existing abuses, and the re-establishing of the pure faith, they adopted what appeared…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 4:11

Hophni and Phinehas were slain - They probably attempted to defend the ark, and lost their lives in the attempt.

John Gill on 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 the Gospel being translated from the Jews to them: and the two sons of Eli: Hophni and Phinehas, were slain; which fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God, that they should both die in one day, 1 Samuel…

The Church Fathers

And the ark of God was captured, etc. And the kingdom was taken away from the Jews and given to a nation producing its fruits. The order of the priesthood, which had not behaved rightly, was transferred by the judgment of the Lord.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place. It demanded tribute from the priests, who, without right, were taking it away from those who made offerings; it dismissed the sons of Eli from their priesthood. For the lust of the belly is the captain of the host of the left side, and to it are fettered all the hosts of sin.
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence

And the ark of God was captured, etc. And with the proclamation of the apostles and the faith of the repenting people spreading far and wide, the grace of God was taken away from the Jews, and that priesthood of legal judgments, once glorious on the throne, fell backward, that is, it turned back on itself and did not fear to take up the sins it once abandoned; it perished with the breaking of its singular pride, and this near that door, namely which he says: "If anyone enters through me, he will be saved" (John 10), near which he sat by the mystery of figures, but by the merit of perfidy did not enter in.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Ark — Noah’s ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side…
Fast — The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called “the fast” (Acts 27:9). The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old…
Hophni — Pugilist or client, one of the two sons of Eli, the high priest (1 Sam. 1:3; 2:34), who, because he was “very old,” resigned to them the active duties of his office. By their scandalous conduct they…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
Phinehas — Mouth of brass, or from old Egypt, the negro. (1.) Son of Eleazar, the high priest (Ex. 6:25). While yet a youth he distinguished himself at Shittim by his zeal against the immorality into which the…
Tabernacle — (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., “Siccuth”). (3.) The human body (2 Cor.…
Aphek · .Philistines — .Philistines
Ark · .OF GOD — .OF GOD
Ark Of The Covenant · Captured by the Philistines — Captured by the Philistines
Eli · His — His
Hophni · General references — General references
Judgments · Eli’s house

1 Samuel 4:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 4:10-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 4:3

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 4:11

John Gill on 1 Samuel 4:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 4:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 4:10-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 4:3

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 4:11

John Gill on 1 Samuel 4:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 4:10-11

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 4:11

Rashi on 1 Samuel 4:8