Bible Strands
1 Samuel 4:13
When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrative describes a fleeing soldier arriving at Shiloh to find Eli waiting by the road. This moment occurs immediately after the Israelite army's defeat and the capture of the ark of God.
The words — יֹשֵׁ֨ב (yo.Shev) = [was] sitting and הַ/כִּסֵּ֜א (ha./ki.Se') = the/ seat describe Eli's fixed posture on his chair beside the road.
The thread — 1 Samuel 1:9 previously places Eli sitting on a chair in Shiloh, establishing his long-standing presence there. 1 Samuel 4:18 later shows him falling backward from that same chair when the ark's fate is announced.
Why it lands — The text states that Eli's heart trembled while watching the road, and the city's outcry erupted when the messenger entered. It requires the reader to note how anticipation and sudden dread manifest in physical stillness followed by collective noise.
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
King James Version
And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 1:9 So after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 4:18 As 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.
- Joshua 7:9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
- Nehemiah 1:3 And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
- Psalms 26:8 O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
- Psalms 79:1 A Psalm of Asaph. The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
- Psalms 137:4 How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?