Bible Strands
1 Samuel 4:15
Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed because he could not see.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Eli is present when a fleeing messenger arrives to report the Israelite defeat. The narrator records his age and physical condition at this moment of crisis.
The words — קָמָה (Ka.mah) literally means "it was set," describing the fixed position of Eli's gaze. עֵינָיו ('ei.Na/v) translates to "his eyes," which the text explicitly states could not see.
The thread — This physical decline parallels other biblical figures noted for failing sight, including 1 Samuel 3:2, Genesis 27:1, and 1 Kings 14:4.
Why it lands — The verse records the intersection of advanced age and sudden catastrophe without embellishment. It requires the reader to acknowledge human vulnerability when judgment arrives.
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
Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 3:2 And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.
- Genesis 27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
- 1 Kings 14:4 Jeroboam’s wife did as instructed; she arose and went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.
- Psalms 90:10 The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.