1 Samuel 2:34

And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — A man of God delivers a divine pronouncement to Eli the priest, confirming the impending judgment on his household. The message marks the transition from warning to guaranteed fulfillment regarding Eli’s lineage.

The words — הָ/א֗וֹת (ha./'ot) translates as "the sign," and יָבֹא֙ (ya.Vo') means "it will come." Together they establish that the announced judgment is not a possibility but an inevitable event.

The thread — The text points forward to 1 Samuel 4:11, where the sign is realized as Hophni and Phinehas die on the same day. It also echoes the structural pattern of prophetic signs in 1 Kings 13:3.

Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that divine warnings carry historical weight and will be verified by events. It requires the reader to treat prophetic declarations as binding accounts of what will occur.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְזֶה־ve./zeh-and/ thisלְּךָ֣le./Khafor <the>/ youהָא֗וֹתha./'ot[will be] the/ sign אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherwhich יָבֹא֙ya.Vo'it will come אֶל־'el-to שְׁנֵ֣יshe.Nei[the] two בָנֶ֔יךָva.Nei./khasons/ your אֶל־'el-to חָפְנִ֖יcha.fe.NiHophni וּפִֽינְחָ֑סu./fin.Chasand/ Phinehas בְּי֥וֹםbe./Yomon/ a day אֶחָ֖ד'e.Chadone יָמ֥וּתוּya.Mu.tuthey will die שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃she.nei./Hemboth of/ them

King James Version

And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 4:11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
1 Kings 13:3 That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”
1 Samuel 4:17 The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
1 Samuel 3:12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end.
1 Kings 14:12 As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die.

People named

PhinehasHophni