The Philistines and the Ark

5 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod;^(A)

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah^[a] and named it Ebenezer,^[b] for he said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”^(A)

4 ¹ And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel,^[a] and Israel went out to battle against them;^[b] they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.^(A)

³ (from the Shihor, which is near Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is reckoned as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim^(A)

⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

²² She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”^(A)

¹⁷ The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter^[a] among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli^[b] fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.^(A)

¹¹ The ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.^(A)

²² None of the Anakim was left in the land of the Israelites; some remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.