1 Samuel 4:10

So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes the battle’s outcome immediately following the Philistine commander’s exhortation to fight. Israel’s army collapses, and every soldier retreats to his own tent.

The words — The text highlights וַ/יִּנָּ֤גֶף (va/i.yi.Na.gef), meaning “and it was defeated,” and וַ/יָּנֻ֙סוּ֙ (va/i.ya.Nu.su), meaning “and they fled.” These consecutive verbs mark the irreversible sequence of Israel’s rout.

The thread — The motif of defeat and flight before enemies appears in 1 Samuel 4:2, Leviticus 26:17, and Deuteronomy 28:25. These passages trace a consistent pattern of military collapse following divine opposition or covenant breach.

Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that military failure precedes the loss of the ark and the deaths of Eli’s sons. It requires the reader to account for the concrete cost of Israel’s defeat without softening the recorded numbers or outcomes.

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

וַיִּלָּחֲמ֣וּva/i.yi.la.cha.Muand/ they fought פְלִשְׁתִּ֗יםfe.lish.Tim[the] Philistines וַיִּנָּ֤גֶףva/i.yi.Na.gefand/ it was defeated יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Yis.ra.'ElIsrael וַיָּנֻ֙סוּ֙va/i.ya.Nu.suand/ they fled אִ֣ישׁ'isheach man לְאֹהָלָ֔יוle./'o.ha.La/vto/ own tents/ his וַתְּהִ֥יva./te.Hiand/ it was הַמַּכָּ֖הha./ma.Kahthe/ slaughter גְּדוֹלָ֣הge.do.Lahgreat מְאֹ֑דme.'Odexceedingly וַיִּפֹּל֙va/i.yi.Poland/ he fell מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֔לmi./Yis.ra.'Elof/ Israel שְׁלֹשִׁ֥יםshe.lo.Shimthirty אֶ֖לֶף'E.lefthousand רַגְלִֽי׃rag.Lifoot soldier[s]

King James Version

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 4:2 The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.
Leviticus 26:17 And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
Deuteronomy 28:25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
2 Kings 14:12 And Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his home.
2 Samuel 18:17 They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
Psalms 78:60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
2 Samuel 18:7 There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men.
2 Samuel 19:8 So the king got up and sat in the gate, and all the people were told: “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So they all came before the king. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled, each man to his home.
2 Samuel 20:1 Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”
1 Kings 12:16 When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home,