1 Samuel 4:12
in 1 Samuel 4That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
KJV
And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseCame to Shiloh the same day - The field of battle could not have been at any great distance, for this young man reached Shiloh the same evening after the defeat. With his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head - These were signs of sorrow and distress among all nations.
This site's exposition
with his clothes torn and dirt on his head
on 1 Samuel 4:12-14
A Benjamite runs from the battle line to Shiloh “with his clothes torn and dirt on his head”, the signs of disaster. Eli sits by the road watching “because his heart trembled for the ark of God”, which older writers read as a rightly ordered fear despite his failure as a father. The city's outcry reaches Eli before the messenger does, so he asks about the noise first.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
But a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line, etc. The people who remained from the Jews perishing because of their perfidy, hearing from the apostles: "Save yourselves from this crooked generation" (Acts 2), came to instruct those who, having been emptied of Christ, …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
14. What is represented by that man who fled from the battle line, if not that part of the Jewish people which, by coming to the knowledge of the Redeemer, abandoned Jewish faithlessness? For his running was to cease from the depravity of his error with the swiftness of devotion. Because he resolved to act bravely in professing the Redeemer, he was a man.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Runners who were swift of foot, and could go long distances were important and well-known persons (compare 2Sa 18:19-31). There seem to have been always professional runners to act as messengers with armies in the field (2Ki 11:4, 2Ki 11:6,2Ki 11:19, the King James Version “guards”). Earth upon his head - In token of bitter grief. Compare the marginal references.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
A Binyaminite man. This was Shaul, 5 Perhaps the reason for Scripture not revealing that it was Shaul, was to protect the honor of his kingship being that he was responsible in part for Eili’s death.—Da’as Sofrim who grabbed the Tablets from the hands of Golyas and fled.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
By the road looking out. By the side of the road, he was anxiously waiting. 6 He wanted to be situated in a place where a messenger would have to pass him first, and thus give him the news.
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֤רָץ | vaiyarotz | and he ran | H7323 → | 103 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בִּנְיָמִן֙ | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| מֵהַמַּ֣עֲרָכָ֔ה | mehamaarakhah | from the battle line | H4634 → | 19 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֥א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שִׁלֹ֖ה | shiloh | Shiloh | H7887 → | 32 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֑וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וּמַדָּ֣יו | umadav | and garments his | H4055 → | 11 times |
| קְרֻעִ֔ים | keruim | [were] torn | H7167 → | 63 times |
| וַאֲדָמָ֖ה | vaadamah | and earth | H127 → | 225 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשֽׁוֹ׃ | rosho | head his | H7218 → | 599 times |
וַיָּ֤רָץand he ran
vaiyarotzH7323 →103 times
אִישׁ־[the] man of
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
בִּנְיָמִן֙Benjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
מֵהַמַּ֣עֲרָכָ֔הfrom the battle line
mehamaarakhahH4634 →19 times
וַיָּבֹ֥אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
שִׁלֹ֖הShiloh
shilohH7887 →32 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֑וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
וּמַדָּ֣יוand garments his
umadavH4055 →11 times
קְרֻעִ֔ים[were] torn
keruimH7167 →63 times
וַאֲדָמָ֖הand earth
vaadamahH127 →225 times
עַל־[was] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹאשֽׁוֹ׃head his
roshoH7218 →599 times
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
Job 2:12When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.
it leads to
- Joshua 7:6
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Lamentations 2:10
The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to…
- Ezekiel 27:30
They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.
- Nehemiah 9:1
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
- Joshua 7:6
Through
Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
it leads to
- Genesis 37:29
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
- Genesis 37:34
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Genesis 37:29
Through
2 Samuel 15:32When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.
it leads to
- Joshua 16:2
It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth.
- Joshua 16:2
Through
Nehemiah 9:1On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
it leads to
- Acts 13:2–3
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
- Acts 13:2–3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).