1 Samuel 4:1
in 1 Samuel 4Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
KJV
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben–ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 4
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Some attach the opening words to the close of 1 Sam. 3, as the complement of what is there said, “The Lord revealed himself to Samuel ... in Shiloh, and the word of Samuel went forth to all Israel.” If placed at the commencement of 1 Sam. 4, and in connection with what follows, they are to be understood in the sense that Samuel called all Israel to battle against the Philistines. (Compare 1Sa 7:5.) But this is not the natural interpretation of the words, which seem clearly to belong to what went before.
This site's exposition
camped at Ebenezer
on 1 Samuel 4:1-2
Israel camps at Ebenezer and the Philistines at Aphek, and the first clash costs about four thousand men. The place bears the name Ebenezer, years before Samuel sets up the stone and names it at 7:12. The defeat opens the chapter with no prayer and no enquiry of the Lord.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church4 voices
For Israel went out to meet the Philistines, etc. The people went out, meaning, after gaining knowledge of the law, to openly perform good works which it had learned; and to the extent it could, to root out the error of Gentile customs, by which …
And they encamped beside the stone of Help. And placed all its confidence for spiritual warfare in His aid; of whom it was said: When my heart was troubled, You lifted me up on a rock (Psalm. LX). And elsewhere: The Lord is my rock …
Moreover, the Philistines came to Aphek, etc. As Israel was progressing in the true God, a new fury of envying and corrupting immediately seized the worshipers of many false gods; and this is what it means for the Philistines to draw up their battle lines …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
1. The blessed Apostle shows that there are spiritual battles, when he exhorts the camp of holy Church to victory, saying: "Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). Concerning these battles, also providing counsel for obtaining victory, he says: "And take up the shield of faith, with which you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (ibid., 16, 17).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It was an attempt to throw off the yoke of their oppression, and would have succeeded better if they had first repented and reformed, and so begun their work at the right end. It is computed that this was about the middle of the forty years' dominion that the Philistines had over Israel ( Judg. xiii.
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4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The word - That is, the word of the Lord revealed to Samuel, and by him to the people. A word of command, that all Israel should go forth to fight with the Philistines, as the following words explain it, that they might he first humbled and punished for their sins, and so prepared for deliverance.
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Israel went out against the Philistines to battle--that is, to resist this new incursion. Aphek--Aphek, which means "strength," is a name applied to any fort or fastness.
The word of Samuel came to all Israel - This clause certainly belongs to the preceding chapter, and is so placed by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic. Pitched beside Eben-ezer - This name was not given to this place till more than twenty years after this battle, see 1Sa 7:12; for the monument called האבן העזר haeben haezer, the “Stone of Help,” was erected by Samuel in the place which was afterwards from this circumstance, called Eben-ezer, when the Lord had given the Israelites a signal victory over the Philistines. It was situated in the tribe of Judah, between Mizpeh and Shen, and not far from the Aphek here mentioned. This is another proof that this book was compiled after the times and transactions which it records, and probably from memoranda which had been made by a contemporary writer.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The word of Shmuel went out to all of Yisroel. The word which was said to Shmuel, was fulfilled, and came to all Yisroel. How did this misfortune befall them? "Yisroel went out to war against the Philistines.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and it came | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֖ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיֵּצֵ֣א | vaiyetze' | and it went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֩ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לִקְרַ֨את | likrat | to meet | H7122 → | 139 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֜ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| לַמִּלְחָמָ֗ה | lamilchamah | for <the> battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וַֽיַּחֲנוּ֙ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאֶ֣בֶן | haeven | <the> Eben- | H72 → | 6 times |
| הָעֵ֔זֶר | haezer | -ezer | H72 → | 6 times |
| וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים | ufelishtim | and [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| חָנ֥וּ | chanu | they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| בַאֲפֵֽק׃ | vaafek | at Aphek | H663 → |
וַיְהִ֥יand it came
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
דְבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֖לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיֵּצֵ֣אand it went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֩Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לִקְרַ֨אתto meet
likratH7122 →139 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֜ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
לַמִּלְחָמָ֗הfor <the> battle
lamilchamahH4421 →320 times
וַֽיַּחֲנוּ֙and they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאֶ֣בֶן<the> Eben-
haevenH72 →6 times
הָעֵ֔זֶר-ezer
haezerH72 →6 times
וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖יםand [the] Philistines
ufelishtimH6430 →287 times
חָנ֥וּthey encamped
chanuH2583 →143 times
בַאֲפֵֽק׃at Aphek
vaafekH663 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 7:12Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
- Joshua 4:9
Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.
- Acts 26:22
But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
- Genesis 22:14
And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
- Genesis 35:14
So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
Through
1 Samuel 3:11Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 1:5
“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.
- Acts 13:41
‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”
- Habakkuk 1:5
Through
1 Samuel 29:1Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.
it leads to
- Joshua 19:30
Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two cities, along with their villages.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 19:30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
On this verse
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.