1 Sam 1:1-4 Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and encamped near the Stone of Help—that is, the place which was later called the Stone of Help—while the Philistines encamped in Aphek. And the Philistines drew up their battle line against Israel, and when the conflict began, Israel was struck down before the Philistines, and they slew about four thousand men in the battle line in the field. And the people came to the camp, and the elders of Israel said: "Why has the Lord struck us down today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and let it come into our midst so that it may save us from the hand of our enemies."
A devout intention and a hope to be commended, if only the actions had corresponded to the intention and the hope. For confidence in the Ark of the Lord, though it be good and holy in itself, is nevertheless insufficient unless it is proven by good works. These people turned to the exterior ceremony while omitting the internal repentance of their sins, and in this they sinned, abandoning the true cause of their protection.
And the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts. It has already been said that in Hebrew it is held as YHWH of hosts, dwelling above the Cherubim. It matters little that in Hebrew it is held as "dwelling of the Cherubim." According to the letter, because the Mercy Seat which was in the temple, as if it were the seat of God, was supported by two golden angels, He is therefore called God dwelling over the Cherubim. Truly, from these figures Moses taught that God reigns quietly over all Cherubim and Seraphim and the entire heavenly host; and therefore, as to the meaning, He is most excellently said to be "sitting"—that is, reigning quietly in all the supreme spirits signified by the Cherubim.
1 Sam 1:4 cont.-1 Sam 1:5-8 And the two sons of Eli were there with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, Hophni and Phinehas. And when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth rang out. And the Philistines heard the voice of the shouting and said: "What is this voice of great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" And they recognized that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, because they said: "God has come into the camp." The name used is Elohim, which is repeated twice in the subsequent words of the Philistines. And they said: "Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing as this yesterday or the day before. Woe to us! Who shall save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck Egypt with every plague in the desert."
1 Sam 4:9 These are words of manifest fear among the Philistines on account of the strength of the Elohim of Israel, which they confess from the striking of the Egyptians in the desert—that is, in the Red Sea as the Egyptians were pursuing Israel going into the desert. "Take courage and be men, O Philistines, lest you serve the Hebrews as they themselves served us; be men and fight!" This voice could be that of those same fearful ones, so that the fear itself, which is the father of counsel, led them to exhort everyone to act manfully against such a strong enemy whom they were obliged to fight lest they serve the Israelites. This voice could nonetheless be that of other Philistines rebuking certain fearful Philistines who had said "Woe to us," etc.
1 Sam 4:10-11 The plague was sacred. And the Philistines fought, and Israel was struck down, and every man fled into his tent; and there was a very great slaughter, and thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell. And the Ark of God was captured. The name is written Elohim, so that by the just judgment of God the Ark is written as captured. And the two sons of Eli died, Hophni and Phinehas. Behold, the sign given to Eli concerning the death of his two sons in one day was fulfilled.
1 Sam 4:12-14 And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh on that day, and his clothes were torn and there was earth upon his head. And when he had come, Eli was sitting upon a chair facing the way, watching; for his heart was trembling for the Ark of God. The sense and its reasoning are rightly rendered: the tremor of a heart anxious for the Ark of Elohim lest that which happened should happen. The man entered the city announcing it, and the whole city wailed. And Eli heard the voice of the outcry and said: "What is the voice of this tumult?" But the man hurried and came and told Eli.
1 Sam 4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had grown dim so that he could not see. According to the Hebrew, it is held that "his eyes had finished," and he was not able to see. Behold the disparity: previously it said "his eyes had begun to grow dim," now it says "his eyes had finished." And consequently, previously it said "he was not able to see even the lamp before its extinction," now it says "he will not be able to see" absolutely, so that we may understand he was entirely deprived of sight.
1 Sam 416-17 And the man said to Eli: "I come from the battle line, and I fled from the battle line today." He said: "What was the matter, my son?" And the messenger answering said: "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and also there has been a great slaughter among the people; also your two sons are dead, Hophni and Phinehas, and the Ark of God is captured." The name is Elohim, and similarly when it is added: And when he had named the Ark of God, he fell from his chair backward by the place of the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died; for he was an old man and of great age.
1 Sam 4:18 Where also observe the holy mind of Eli in this: that he was moved neither by the hearing of the ruin of the people nor the hearing of the death of his sons, but upon hearing that the Ark of God was captured, he was moved to such an extent that he fell backward, and with his neck broken—or as others prefer, the joint broken—he died. He judged Israel for forty years. He performed the office not only of priest but also of judge.
1 Sam 4:19 Also his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, struggling to give birth upon hearing the news that the Ark of God was captured—and here also the name is Elohim—and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her pains had rushed upon her. In the very moment of her death, according to the Hebrew, it is held: "And as the time of her dying." She is not written as dead, but as if dead, or as if she were dying; for the subsequent words testify that she was not dead then. For it is added that she did not respond nor take notice, thus she took notice neither within nor without then concerning her son. And when it is added that she named the son Ichabod, therefore she returned to herself and imposed a name on her son; she was not therefore dead then.
1 Sam 4:20-22 The women who stood by her spoke: "Do not fear, for you have brought forth a son," to which she did not respond nor take notice. And she called the boy Ichabod, that is, "Where is the glory?" or "No glory." Either of these is sounded by the Hebrew word, which is nevertheless the proper name of that man who was later a priest. Saying: "The glory of the Lord is translated from Israel." According to the Hebrew, it is held: "The honor is rolled away from Israel." The reasoning for the name imposed on the son is rendered, and the reasoning fits both senses; for the rolling away of honor from Israel serves both the migration signified by "Where is the glory?" and the negation signified by "No glory," because the Ark of God was captured. According to the Hebrew, these three—namely the captured Ark, the father-in-law, and the husband—are all arranged in the accusative case immediately after those words "the honor is rolled away from Israel." Thus it is added regarding the Ark of Elohim being captured, and regarding her father-in-law and her husband. And the sense is that she imposed this name in relation to these three. Then immediately it is added: And she said, "The honor is rolled away from Israel because the Ark of Elohim is captured." The woman had said two things: one is "Ichabod," the other is "The honor is rolled away from Israel"; and in the text it is declared to what the woman referred both. For first it is declared that she referred the name of the infant to the three: to the Ark, to the father-in-law, and to the husband; now it declares that she referred the rolling away of glory to the captured Ark of Elohim.
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