Chronological

The Battle of Aphek

4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle, and they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. ² The Philistines lined up for the battle to meet Israel, and the battle was prolonged^[a] until Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who^[b] killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.^{[c] 3} When the army^[d] came back to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to us from Shiloh so that it may come into our midst and deliver^[e] us from the hand of our enemies.” ⁴ So the army sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵ Now when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh arrived at the camp, all Israel let out a loud shout^[f] so that the earth shook.

⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What is the noise of this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they learned that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. ⁷ So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come^[g] to the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us, for this has never happened before!^{[h] 8} Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the same gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert. ⁹ Take courage and be men, you Philistines, lest you end up serving the Hebrews just like they have served you. Be men and fight!” ¹⁰ So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and each man fled to his tent, for the slaughter was very great. Thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell. ¹¹ Furthermore, the ark of God was captured,^[i] and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day, and his clothes were torn and earth was on his head. ¹³ When he came, there was^[j] Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road^[k] watching, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. Now the man had come to give his report^[l] in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What is the noise of this commotion?” Then the man came quickly^[m] and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old^[n] and his eyes stayed fixed ahead^[o] and he was not able to see. ¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who has come from the battle line! I have fled today from the battle line!” And he said, “What exactly happened,^[p] my son?” ¹⁷ Then the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines. There has been a great defeat among the troops. Also, your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ Just as he mentioned the ark of God, he^[q] fell from his chair backwards against the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, because the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news concerning the capture of the ark of God and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she went into labor^[r] and gave birth, because her labor pains came upon her. ²⁰ Just before the time of her death, those attending her^[s] said, “Do not fear, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer, or pay any attention.^{[t] 21} She called the boy Ichabod,^[u] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and concerning her father-in-law and husband. ²² And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was captured.”^[v]

The Ark of the Covenant among the Philistines

5 Now the Philistines had captured^[w] the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. ³ When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, there was^[x] Dagon fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. ⁴ When they got up early in the morning the next day, there was^[y] Dagon fallen again with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! The head of Dagon and the palms of his two hands were cut off, lying at^[z] the threshold; only the body^[aa] of Dagon was left. ⁵ (Therefore the priests of Dagon and all who come into the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod until this very day.)

⁶ Now the hand of Yahweh was heavy against the Ashdodites and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors,^[ab] both in Ashdod and its territories. ⁷ The men of Ashdod saw that it was so, and they said, “The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, because his hand is harsh on us and on Dagon our god!” ⁸ So they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines to them, and they asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around toward Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.

⁹ After they moved it, the hand of Yahweh was against the city, causing a very great confusion, and he struck the men of the city from the youngest to the oldest,^[ac] causing tumors^[ad] to break out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought around the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our^[ae] people!” ¹¹ So they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines, and they said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For a deadly confusion^[af] was throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men who did not die were struck with the tumors,^[ag] so that the cry of the city for help went up to heaven.

The Return of the Ark of Covenant

6 Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months, ² and the Philistines called to the priests and to those who practiced divination, saying, “What should we do with the ark of Yahweh? Inform us how we should send it to its place.” ³ They said, “If you are sending the ark of the God of Israel away, you must not send it away empty, but by all means return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will become known to you why his hand is not turned aside from you.” ⁴ And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we should return to him?” They said, “The number of the rulers of the Philistines is five. Therefore send five gold tumors^[ah] and five gold mice, because one plague was on all of you and all your rulers. ⁵ You must make images of your tumors^[ai] and images of your mice that are ravaging the land, and you must give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand on you and on your gods and on your land. ⁶ Why should you harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Is it not just like when he dealt with them wantonly so that they sent them away and they left? ⁷ So then, prepare^[aj] one new utility cart and two milking cows that have never had a yoke on them, and you must harness the cows to the utility cart and then turn their calves from following them to their stall. ⁸ And you must take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the utility cart with the gold objects that you are returning to him as a guilt offering. You must place them in the container^[ak] beside the ark and then send it off so that it goes away. ⁹ You must watch; if it goes up by the way of its territory to Beth Shemesh, he has caused this great disaster to come on us. But if not, then we will know his hand has not struck us; it was by chance that this happened to us. ¹⁰ So the men did so; they took two milking cows and harnessed them to the utility cart, but they shut up their calves in the stall. ¹¹ Then they put the ark of Yahweh on the utility cart with the container^[al] holding the gold mice and the images of their tumors. ¹² The cows went straight on the way on the road to Beth Shemesh, on the one main road, lowing as they went.^[am] They did not turn aside to the right or to the left, and the rulers of the Philistines were walking after them up to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley. They lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and they were glad to see it. ¹⁴ The utility cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there where there was a large stone. They split the wood of the utility cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. ¹⁵ Then the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the container^[an] that was beside it, in which were the gold objects, and they set them on the large stone.^[ao] Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings, and they made^[ap] sacrifices to Yahweh on that day. ¹⁶ The five rulers of the Philistines saw it and returned to Ekron that same day.

¹⁷ Now these are the gold tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron. ¹⁸ And the gold mice according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, for their five rulers, from the fortified city to the unwalled village of the open country as far as the great stone, where they set^[aq] the ark of Yahweh until this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. ¹⁹ He^[ar] struck seventy men^[as] among the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked into the ark of Yahweh. So the people mourned because Yahweh had struck a great blow among the people. ²⁰ Then the men of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall it^[at] go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of Yahweh. Come down and take it up to yourselves.”

Revival and Victory at Mizpah

7 The men of Kiriath Jearim came and brought up the ark of Yahweh, and they brought it to the house of Abinadab in Gibeah. They consecrated Eleazer his son to guard the ark of Yahweh. ² From^[au] the day the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim, days multiplied and became twenty years^[av] while all the house of Israel mourned after Yahweh. ³ And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If with all your heart you are turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths^[aw] from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites^[ax] removed the Baals^[ay] and the Ashtoreths, and they served Yahweh alone.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.” ⁶ So they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh. They fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh!” So Samuel judged the Israelites^[az] at Mizpah. ⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the Israelites^[ba] had gathered at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites^[bb] heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.^{[bc] 8} Then the Israelites^[bd] said to Samuel, “You must not cease^[be] from crying out to Yahweh our God, so that he will deliver us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ So Samuel took a single nursing lamb^[bf] and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh. Then Samuel cried out to Yahweh on behalf of Israel, and Yahweh answered him. ¹⁰ While^[bg] Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near for the battle against Israel. But Yahweh thundered against the Philistines with a great noise on that day and threw them into confusion so that they were defeated before Israel. ¹¹ Then the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and they struck them down as far as below Beth Car.

¹² So Samuel took a single stone and put it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer and said, “Up to here Yahweh has helped us.” ¹³ So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come into the territory of Israel again, and the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The towns^[bh] which the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territories from the hand of the Philistines. Then there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

The Circuit Ministry of Samuel

¹⁵ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ He used to go on the circuit from year to year.^[bi] He went around Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he returned^[bj] to Ramah, because his house was there, and there he judged Israel, and he built an altar to Yahweh there.

Israel’s Demand for a King

8 When Samuel grew old he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “Look, you are old and your sons do not follow in your ways. So then appoint a king for us to judge^[bk] us, like all the nations. ⁶ But the matter was displeasing to Samuel^[bl] when they said, “Give us a king to judge^[bm] us,” so Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

⁷ Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people concerning all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. ⁸ Like all the deeds they have done from the day I brought them up from Egypt until this day, they have forsaken me and have served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹ And so then, listen to their voice. However, you must earnestly warn them; you must explain to them the custom of the king who will rule over them.”

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who were requesting a king from him. ¹¹ He said, “This will be the custom of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. ¹² He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and those to do his plowing^[bn] and to reap his harvest, and those to make weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters as his perfume makers and as cooks and as bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive trees and will give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and to his servants. ¹⁶ He will take your male slaves and your female slaves and the best of your young men^[bo] and your donkeys and will use them for his projects.^{[bp] 17} He will take a tenth of your flocks,^[bq] and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ So you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you on that day!” ¹⁹ However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, “No, but there must be a king over us, ²⁰ so that we also^[br] may be like all the nations, and our king may rule us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ Now when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh. ²² Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice, and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel spoke to the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his own town.”