1 Samuel 4:16
in 1 Samuel 4“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, How went the matter, my son?
KJV
And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?
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This verse in 1 Samuel 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The calamities announced to Samuel as about to fall upon the family of Eli [1Sa 2:34] were now inflicted in the death of his two sons, and after his death, by that of his daughter-in-law, whose infant son received a name that perpetuated the fallen glory of the church and nation [1Sa 4:19-22]. The public disaster was completed by the capture of the ark.
This site's exposition
Eli was ninety-eight years old
on 1 Samuel 4:15-18
Eli is ninety-eight and blind, and the messenger tells him all at once that Israel fled, his sons are dead and the ark is taken. It is the ark that fells him, for “As soon as the ark of God was mentioned” he falls backward, breaks his neck and dies. The chapter closes his life in one line: “Eli had judged Israel forty years”.
This site's exposition
I have just come from the battle
The messenger first establishes that he saw the battle himself and fled the field that same day. Matthew Henry stressed that Eli's news came from an eyewitness who told it plainly. Eli calls him son, as he called Samuel at 3:16.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
18. He who said the following recalled as if he had been in battle: 'You have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it, and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of my fathers' (Gal. 1:13–14). But he who says the following came from battle: 'Who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor; but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly' (1 Tim. 1:13).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), but the messenger was loth to tell him first, and therefore passed him by, and told it in the city, with all the aggravating circumstances; and now both the ears of every one that heard it tingled, as was foretold, ch. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:98%@v20-22
And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army,....
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָאִ֜ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֵלִ֗י | ʾeli | Eli | H5941 → | 33 times |
| אָֽנֹכִי֙ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| הַבָּ֣א | haba' | [am] the [one who] comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמַּעֲרָכָ֔ה | hamaarakhah | the battle line | H4634 → | 19 times |
| וַאֲנִ֕י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמַּעֲרָכָ֖ה | hamaarakhah | the battle line | H4634 → | 19 times |
| נַ֣סְתִּי | nasti | I have fled | H5127 → | 159 times |
| הַיּ֑וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיֹּ֛אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֶֽה־ | meh- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | was it | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַדָּבָ֖ר | hadavar | the word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| בְּנִֽי׃ | beni | O son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הָאִ֜ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֵלִ֗יEli
ʾeliH5941 →33 times
אָֽנֹכִי֙I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
הַבָּ֣א[am] the [one who] comes
haba'H935 →2568 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמַּעֲרָכָ֔הthe battle line
hamaarakhahH4634 →19 times
וַאֲנִ֕יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמַּעֲרָכָ֖הthe battle line
hamaarakhahH4634 →19 times
נַ֣סְתִּיI have fled
nastiH5127 →159 times
הַיּ֑וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
וַיֹּ֛אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֶֽה־what?
meh-H4100 →752 times
הָיָ֥הwas it
hayahH1961 →3559 times
הַדָּבָ֖רthe word
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
בְּנִֽי׃O son my
beniH1121 →4930 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
Joshua 7:19So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 6:5
Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and…
- Jeremiah 13:16
Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.
- John 9:24
So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
- 1 Samuel 14:43
“Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must…
- 2 Chronicles 30:22
And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- 1 Samuel 6:5
Through
2 Samuel 1:4“What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 31:1–6
Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
- 1 Chronicles 10:1–6
Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
- 1 Samuel 31:1–6
Through
1 Samuel 3:6Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 18:22
Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “Regardless of whatever may happen, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” “My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since…
- 2 Samuel 18:22
Where this verse is studied
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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 on the Old Testament; 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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.