1 Samuel 4:7

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Philistines	הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים ha.pe.lish.Tim	H6430	a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
afraid	וַיִּֽרְאוּ֙ vai.yir.'U	H3372	to fear · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
said	אָמְר֔וּ 'a.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
God	אֱלֹהִ֖ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
come	בָּ֥א ba'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
camp	הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה ha.ma.cha.Neh	H4264	an encampment (of travellers or troops) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
said	וַיֹּאמְרוּ֙ vai.yo.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Woe	א֣וֹי 'o	H188	lamentation · interjection
heretofore	אֶתְמ֥וֹל 'et.Mol	H865	heretofore · noun, common masculine singular absolute

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

Exodus 14:25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LO…
Exodus 15:14-16 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
Deuteronomy 32:30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 4:1-9

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 did not as yet interpose in public affairs; nor do we find any mention of his name henceforward till some years after (Sa1 7:3), only his word came to all Israel, that is, people from all parts that were…

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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 4:7

God is come into the camp - They took for granted, as did the Israelites, that his presence was inseparable from his ark or shrine.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 4:7

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 now their God is among them: for there hath not been such a thing heretofore; if by this they meant that the ark had never been in the camp of Israel before, they were mistaken; and it is no great wonder they shoul…

The Church Fathers

And the Philistines were afraid, saying, "God has come into the camp," etc. The pagans were afraid, recognizing the coming of the true God into the world, to fortify the spiritual camps of the faithful; and the worshippers of many and false gods groaned together with their destroyed cults, and they mutually strengthened one another wickedly to battle against the ranks of faith and truth. For there was not so much exultation yesterday and the day before. Neither in the law, nor before the law, were the hearts of the believers ever so ready for everything out of desire for the heavenly kingdom, whether to endure the things that horrify the earth, or to despise the things they love.
— 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…
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…
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 · .An oracle of God — .An oracle of God
Philistines · Defeated Israel and took the ark — Defeated Israel and took the ark

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 4:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 4:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 4:3

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 4:7

John Gill on 1 Samuel 4:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 4:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 4:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 4:3

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 4:7

John Gill on 1 Samuel 4:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 4:6-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 4:6-7

Rashi on 1 Samuel 4:2