1 Samuel 4:18
in 1 Samuel 4As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
KJV
And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 4
Commentary
12 notes on this verseSee what chastity is required in a bishop! If his child is unchaste, he himself cannot be a bishop, and he offends God in the same way as did Eli the priest, who had indeed rebuked his sons, but because he had not put away the offenders, fell backwards and died before the lamp of God went out.
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
As soon as the ark of God was mentioned
Albert Barnes pictured Eli's seat set against the jamb of the gate, so that everyone coming through passed in front of him. The line that he judged Israel forty years joins this book to the record of Judges. Jerome held that Eli rebuked his sons and never removed them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Harsh preaching provides remedies for souls that are sick and arranges adornments for the healthy. What the Holy Spirit threatens the Lord's priests through the prophet is not a slight matter. "If you do not declare to the wicked his iniquity," he says, "I will …
The Medieval Church2 voices
The man was an old man, and advanced in years, etc. That priesthood had become aged at that time, once glorious with rich virtue, and it showed, at the appropriate time, judgments of the divine law, which is encompassed in the Decalogue, to the people …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
22. What is it that Eli, upon hearing of Israel's flight, when the ruin of the people was reported to him, when the death of his sons was announced, does not at all fall from his seat: but upon learning of the capture of the ark, both falls from his seat and loses his life? But because we have said that in Eli the wise men and lawyers of the Jews are signified, upon hearing of Israel's flight, he did not fall from his seat: because he considers it a small matter that the simple children of the Synagogue are overcome by the doctors of holy Church in preaching. He does not fall when the ruin of the people is reported to him: because, when he hears that those who die in Judaism are perishing, he is not at all terrified. He does not fall when the death of his sons is announced: because, even when the cessation of both priesthoods is objected to him, he does not cease to be proud. But when the capture of the ark is brought to him, he falls: because, when he sees that the mysteries of his own Scripture are known deeply and spiritually by the preachers and faithful of holy Church, he does not dare to boast of the learning of sacred eloquence which he understands only in a carnal way. He therefore falls from his seat, because, once the spiritual sense is known, he does not presume to boast of his carnal mastery. But because he hears the truth preached sublimely and does not at all believe, while he is confounded and not saved, he falls and dies. Indeed he falls from his seat, because he ceases to be exalted by his learning. But in falling he dies, because if he is overcome by reason, he nevertheless does not merit, by the judgment of that same reason, to attain to eternal joys. 23. In this matter it must be noted that he who falls and dies, falls beside the door. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thus was the wickedness of those sons of his, whom he had indulged, his ruin. Thus does God sometimes set marks of his displeasure on good men, that others may hear and fear. Yet we must observe, it was the loss of the ark that was his death, and not the slaughter of his sons.
), 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
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
When he made mention of the ark of God - Eli bore all the relation till the messenger came to this solemn word; he had trembled before for the ark, and now, hearing that it was captured, he was transfixed with grief, fell down from his seat, and dislocated his neck! Behold the judgments of God! But shall we say that this man, however remiss in the education of his children, and criminal in his indulgence towards his profligate sons, which arose more from the easiness of his disposition than from a desire to encourage vice, is gone to perdition?
A 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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A comparison of 2Sa 18:4, explains exactly the meaning of the “side of the gate,” and Eli’s position. His seat or throne, without a back, stood with the side against the jamb of the gate, leaving the passage through the gate quite clear, but placed so that every one passing through the gate must pass in front of him. Forty years - This chronological note connects this book with that of Judges. (Compare Jdg 3:11, etc.) It is an interesting question, but one very difficult to answer how near to the death of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the High Priest, Eli’s forty years of judgeship bring him. It is probable that at least one high priesthood intervened.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֞י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּהַזְכִּיר֣וֹ׀ | kehazkiro | when brought to remembrance he | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֣וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיִּפֹּ֣ל | vaiyipol | and he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| מֵֽעַל־ | meal- | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַ֠כִּסֵּא | hakise' | the seat | H3678 → | 135 times |
| אֲחֹ֨רַנִּ֜ית | ʾachoranit | backwards | H322 → | |
| בְּעַ֣ד׀ | bead | behind | H1157 → | 105 times |
| יַ֣ד | yad | [the] side of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַשַּׁ֗עַר | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| וַתִּשָּׁבֵ֤ר | vatishaver | and it was broken | H7665 → | |
| מַפְרַקְתּוֹ֙ | mafrakto | neck his | H4665 → | |
| וַיָּמֹ֔ת | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| זָקֵ֥ן | zaken | he was old | H2204 → | 27 times |
| הָאִ֖ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְכָבֵ֑ד | vekhaved | and heavy | H3515 → | |
| וְה֛וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| שָׁפַ֥ט | shafat | he had judged | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אַרְבָּעִ֥ים | ʾarbaim | forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| שָׁנָֽה׃ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
וַיְהִ֞יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּהַזְכִּיר֣וֹ׀when brought to remembrance he
kehazkiroH2142 →230 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲר֣וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וַיִּפֹּ֣לand he fell
vaiyipolH5307 →435 times
מֵֽעַל־from on
meal-H5921 →5755 times
הַ֠כִּסֵּאthe seat
hakise'H3678 →135 times
אֲחֹ֨רַנִּ֜יתbackwards
ʾachoranitH322 →
בְּעַ֣ד׀behind
beadH1157 →105 times
יַ֣ד[the] side of
yadH3027 →1618 times
הַשַּׁ֗עַרthe gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
וַתִּשָּׁבֵ֤רand it was broken
vatishaverH7665 →
מַפְרַקְתּוֹ֙neck his
mafraktoH4665 →
וַיָּמֹ֔תand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
זָקֵ֥ןhe was old
zakenH2204 →27 times
הָאִ֖ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
וְכָבֵ֑דand heavy
vekhavedH3515 →
וְה֛וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
שָׁפַ֥טhe had judged
shafatH8199 →202 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אַרְבָּעִ֥יםforty
ʾarbaimH705 →136 times
שָׁנָֽה׃year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 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
Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I…
it leads to
- Exodus 19:22
Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”
- Isaiah 49:3
He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”
- Leviticus 21:6
They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be…
- Numbers 20:12
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that…
- Exodus 19:22
Through
Psalms 69:9because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
it leads to
- Romans 15:3
For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.”
- John 2:14–17
In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.
- Psalms 119:139
My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words.
- Mark 11:15–17
When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of…
- Romans 15:3
Where this verse is studied
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Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 5; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 1.35; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.